At some point, you’re probably going to need a résumé website. But where do you start? To make it easy, here’s a guide to creating an awesome (and easy) WordPress résumé site using iThemes Builder and our latest Builder child theme, Résumé.
Tools or “Supplies” Needed
- Your résumé (a paper version will do)
- Your own domain name
- Hosting
- WordPress installed
- iThemes Builder
- Builder child theme Résumé
So, Why WordPress? Why iThemes Builder?
If you’re new to WordPress, check out a few reasons why you should be using it from our Why WordPress series. WordPress overs a ton of advantages to users – everything from ease of use to flexibility and countless features.
iThemes Builder allows you to quickly and easily create your own WordPress page layouts – without having to touch code. Builder makes it easy to design and create a custom résumé website to fit your needs, so you don’t have to tailor your content to the limitations of other WordPress themes.
Recreating an Example Résumé Site
We’ll be using the demo site for Builder child theme Résumé as an excellent example of a WordPress résumé website.
The demo site provides a few ideas for ways to organize your résumé information into pages or sections to showcase your qualifications:
Builder child theme Résumé - a great example of a resume website
The home page includes several key résumé sections:
- About
- Experience
- Education
- Skills
- References
- Projects (or portfolio)
The Builder Layout of the Home Page
From the backend of the demo site, you can see how the home page was built using iThemes Builder’s Layouts:
The Layout of the Résumé home page
Based on the layout of modules above, you can see how each of the résumé sections have been created to build the home page of the site.
The About Section: A Widget Bar
As you can see from the Builder Layout above, the About section is comprised of two-column widget bar: the section for the actual “about” text and for the headshot image to the right:
The About section
Content for these two widget areas were created from the WordPress dashboard > Widget Content > Add New and then dropped into the widget areas for the corresponding widget bar above:
About widget content
The Experience and Education Section: A Content Area
Again from the Builder Layout view above, you can see the Experience and Education section comprises the actual content area of the home page:
The Experience and Education section
Content for the home page was created from the WordPress dashboard > Pages > Add New:
Page content for the Experience and Education section
The Skills and References Section: Another Widget Area
Just like the About section above, the Skills and References section is comprised of a two-column widget bar:
The Skills and References section
Again, content for these two widget areas were created from the WordPress dashboard > Widget Content > Add New and then dropped into the widget areas for the corresponding widget bar.
The Projects Section: One More Widget Area
The final section on the home page of the demo resume site is a Projects section, comprised of one single widget bar:
The Projects Section
Pages Included in the Nav
In addition to a home page with basic résumé information, it’s a good idea to include a few more pages that can “elaborate” or provide additional information. Here are a few ideas for additional pages to include in the navigation of your résumé site:
- Blog – Use the blog to post about new or ongoing projects or accomplishments, post examples of recent work or any other content that showcases your qualifications, experience and talent.
- Projects/Portfolio - Keep this page updated with screenshots, photos or video of your work. You can create a static page or use a gallery plugin like Carousel or Slideshow to display content.
- Contact - Provide a contact form or your contact info (just use discretion).
Oh, and a Free eBook
To get a few more pointers on developing a great resume, check out I Want to Hire You But Your Résumé Sucks from the iThemes eBook library. You’ll learn a few great pointers on what to include (and what to exclude) from your résumé.
