October 26th

The first thing a recruiter or manager wants to see before you'll get an interview scheduled is your online portfolio. In this live class, we will teach you how to use a free WordPress site and template to create a great looking portfolio and resume site. At the end of the course, you will be able to continue on with the skills you learn to continue working to improve your initial creation. 

The reasons why you want an online resume and portfolio include:

• Most managers want to see it before interviewing you

• It makes you look more professional

• Creates a great first impression

• Increases your online visibility

Continental breakfast included. Bring a bag lunch. 

 No registration at the door. You must register in advance as we have to print workbooks prior to the date of the class.

You must check in prior to the class to make sure your configuration is correct.

Download the WordPress Setup 2019.

Check Ins

Using Zoom

If you’ve never used Zoom, log in early to download the application on your laptop or desktop. For this meeting, using your cell phone will not work as I will need you to share your computer screen so I can see your implementation of WordPress to check you off.

Also, test out your speaker and audio connections the first time you open the application the first time or I guarantee you will not be able to hear the audio and will need to connect separately by calling in on your phone.

Check in dates to check out WordPress configuration

1. Download the WordPress Setup 2019 and follow the setup instructions prior to attending the check in. 
2. Select one time and attend online for 10-15 minutes. We don't have time to configure your laptop during the class. This is also a great time to getting your questions answered.
3. Make sure to bring the content needed to work on your site in class. 

Check In Dates and Times

• 10/12 10 am - 10:45 am https://washington.zoom.us/j/2081466117

• 10/16 6:30-7:15 pm https://washington.zoom.us/j/2081466117

• 10/20 10 am - 10:45 am https://washington.zoom.us/j/2081466117

• 10/23 6:30-7:15 pm https://washington.zoom.us/j/2081466117

Other Details: Call in   +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 208 146 6117

Bring the following to your class!

Before the class, make sure you’ve got the following materials ready to use in the class:

• An electronic version of your resume

• Electronic copies of the portfolio pieces you want to display online. I recommend that you save them all as PDFs and that way no one can take a document and use it as their own and it displays better.

• A screen shot tool such as SnagIt to use in creating graphic images (under $50)

• We will also need 350×150 pixel images (thumbnail) of each of your portfolio pieces plus a larger image for each portfolio piece. The size of this image will depend on how large you want your portfolio example to be.

• Banner image for the front page of 1180 × 360 pixels.

• Site Icon (will show up at the top of your web browser tab and must be 512×512 pixels.

• Bring the link addresses to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and any other social media that you want to connect to your online resume.

  The Dara theme, there are a few generic social media icons at the top of the theme. We’ll be personalizing the ones on the site and adding more (if you want), using your personal URL information so people can click on them and be connected directly to your social media sites.

• Have a description of each portfolio piece that contains the story about each portfolio piece. How did you develop it? Was it a team project or a solo piece that you worked on alone? What tools did you use to create it? Why did you select it if you had lots of other work samples? The story about each portfolio piece is almost as important as the sample itself.

Some Things to Consider with Portfolio Pieces

Here are some things to think about prior to the class is getting your portfolio pieces ready:

• Plan to have at least a screenshot of the best parts of a web-based portfolio piece. Do not plan to link to a live site for the following reasons:

  • Web sites are constantly maintained and one day your work could be written over.

  • Entire sites can disappear and then you have nothing to show for your work.

  • Show the parts that you did and not the entire sites.

• A sample of your work is nothing without the story behind it. Make sure to answer these questions in the story you tell about each portfolio piece:

  • What parts did you do?

  • What tools did you use?

  • How long did it take?

  • What obstacles did you overcome to create it?

  • What were the constraints?

    • Was it an internal document?

    • For instance, was it revised daily in a War Room environment and delivered nightly to another site so people could continue working 24/7?

  • Make the story interesting and compelling to show yourself in your best light.

  • Make yourself the hero of your own story. If you don’t toot your own horn here, who will?

• When using pieces that are marked as confidential, proprietary, etc., here is a work around. I worked for a medical lab where much of the material was proprietary. However, I was using an online help design and navigation system that I owned and there were pages on the site that didn’t give away any confidential information. Here’s the solution I came up with:

  • I was able to take screenshots of those pages.

  • I showcased my work without compromising any confidentiality agreements.

  • I created a short story about each page and called attention to the information I wanted my viewer to see.

You can see a sample of how I did that at www.linlaurie.com/portfolio1/ and click on the image showing Genoptix Medical Laboratory.

• Supply lots of samples of your work. You never know what will appeal to the person reviewing your portfolio. I got my second writing job because I happened to bring editing proofs from a SDK review I’d done at Microsoft where I’d marked Gerund and circled each heading that needed to be changed. The interviewer, whom I originally thought was just not that into me, perked up when he saw my editing work and said, “Well I guess since you know what a gerund is, we’ll give you a try.”

Look at other people’s sites for ideas. Here are two sites we’ve used in last year’s class and I encourage you to explore and come to our course ready to build something special that shows who you are and the type of work you do.

• https://gordonhowardsite.wordpress.com/

• https://thelinlaurie.wordpress.com/portfolio/

Note: Because the themes have changed since I did this course last year, our portfolios will look different from these examples.

Presenter: Lin Laurie

Cost: $50

Schedule:

9-9:30 am socializing and continental breakfast

10-1 pm or completion: Workshop