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Once you have some channels set up with information about yourself,

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it will be vital to continue and populate them with new, updated content.

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Whether you're a coder, developer, or builder,

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it will take more than funny blog posts or tweets to get yourself noticed.

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You need to show off your best work.

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Personal websites are an option.

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They should already feature a bio and resume of some sort,

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but depending on the type of job you want, the most important content

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may be a portfolio of your best work as well as a list of skills and expertise

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that help define what you do and the type of job you're looking for.

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If you already have a site, it's worth getting feedback to see how effective it is.

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For example, some quick usability testing can be quite helpful.

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Get someone to help you out, even a friend or family member,

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and then ask them, "If someone recommended me for website work

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and you found this site, what would you think?"

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"Would you be interested, compelled to contact me,

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or is there anything here that could raise some doubt?"

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Don't let them sugarcoat their responses to spare your feelings.

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Getting honest feedback is the only way to improve what you've got.

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Whether you have a site or not, it's always important to check out the competition.

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Remember the activity where we searched for ourselves using our name?

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Well, now let's do another search, but instead of the name,

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type in the skills or job we'd like to have.

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Also, narrow the results by including your location.

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So for example, searching for freelance web designer Orlando

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or iOS app developer San Diego will return individual sites

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and social media profiles for professionals who have something to offer in either case.

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Make note of the keywords you use, what and who you found,

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and which websites and profiles had the most helpful information.

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Everyone's needs are different, so by learning from the people you follow who inspire you,

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you can create a presence that inspires others.

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Specific to designers and developers,

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there are more places you can share information about yourself

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that appeal to the people and businesses who might be looking for you.

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[Allison Grayce - Design Teacher, Treehouse] I think the best way to showcase your work

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as a web designer is to put it everywhere on the Web,

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sites like Behance, Dribbble, Twitter.

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Just kind of take over your identity online

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and really take advantage of all the different resources out there to display your work.

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I think places like Twitter and following people in the industry

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and letting them know that you exist and interacting with them

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and sharing your work, all that kind of stuff is really important.

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[Mat Helme - Design Teacher, Treehouse] Showcasing your work nowadays

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is a lot easier than it was, say, 5+ years ago

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because social networking is tied in.

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So we have Dribbble, Behance, Forrst where you can upload your latest work

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and show it off to the world, basically.

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There's also sites like Squarespace where you can create portfolio sites

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if you're not looking to actually build your own.

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But if you are looking to build your own and show off your HTML, CSS,

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and/or programming skills, you can program your own CMS if you want

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and show that off, open it up open source,

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or you can use something like WordPress and create your own theme.

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[Jim Hoskins - Head of Treehouse Labs] The best way to showcase your work,

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especially as a web developer, is to have at least a basic website up.

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If you're doing design, I think it's a little more clear how to put together a portfolio.

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But for developers, it can be a little more difficult because if you're working in a job,

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a lot of times the code you have you can't display to other people very well.

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Having side projects is a good thing or contributing on other projects,

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and GitHub has been a really great tool for that

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because it opens up a lot of open source projects

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that you can easily contribute on now.

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You can easily import code and work on it or take a look at issues

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or submit bug fixes or even just suggestions.

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And having your own projects up there gives people an idea of what you can build

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and how good you are and what skills you have.

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Keep these options in mind as you extend your presence.

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Beyond your website and social network profiles, there are many opportunities

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to market yourself and share information that will make you more attractive

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as a business partner or job candidate.