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Take charge of your personal brand online with an easy to implement website[/caption]Many professionals today identifying in the Baby Boomer and X generations rely solely on their resume or LinkedIn alone to put them ahead of the game when it comes to professional opportunities. But they may be missing out on one tool that can set them apart from their peers – a personal website. Unfortunately, many people who have a presence online do not have a central hub to control the information that turns up in a search result for their name.By establishing your online personal brand you are centralizing and steering the information about you online and putting yourself ahead in the mobile age. In addition, you are also letting parties interested in your professional achievements and work know that you are adaptable to the ever evolving needs in a digitally driven world.“But I don’t know how to design or code”“It will cost me too much”“I don’t have the time”“None of my peers have websites...”Don’t let these common excuses stand in the way of you taking control of your personal brand and future! There are many FREE resources to use when setting up a simple personal website for professional use.

A few of our favorite free personal website builder tools:

• Strikingly
• Jimdo
• Squarespace
• About.me
• Branded.me
• Weebly
• Wix
• IMCreator

When recruiters or talent acquisition specialists (such as HR or talent search vendors) are looking for their next ideal hire, candidates who stand out and make an immediate impression are ones who not only have the credentials, but are also digitally savvy as well. A majority of talent in the Boomer/X generations are missing out on this easy and impressive way to tell the world about you/your talents and share examples of your work via an online portfolio or blog.

But Why?

When the Boomers and Generation X were entering the job market and climbing the professional ladder in their careers a resume, cover letter, and a few solid references were the gold standard for getting in the door. While these tools are still very applicable today, they have evolved to the needs of a job market that must accommodate a time-crunched economy requiring online ease to get work done. Job seeking whether actively or passively is not immune from these changes.To put it simply, many Boomers/X’ers got comfortable with the way “things have always been done” when it comes to the job search and thus, saw no benefit to adapting to an ever-evolving market that now also includes job seekers from Y/Millennials (who grew up with the internet).While LinkedIn is certainly a start and step in the right direction to taking charge of your online professional brand, it should not be the only tool you use to discern yourself as a candidate. Go ahead and expand your brand and enhance your capabilities today by building a free professional website and impress the hiring authorities with an online space tailored uniquely for you.