It's been six months, maybe a year. Few calls. Fewer interviews. The great thing about a new year is that everything starts over.

In an age of social media, we don't make resolutions, we rebrand ourselves. So start with your online portfolio. Reorganization and a new look may add new life to your search. And if you don't have an online book, make a resolution to have one ready before you apply for any positions.

I won't rank online sites, because I haven't used them all. I do know that one site does not meet everyone's needs, so I will point out features to help you choose the best one for you.

Community Sites vs. Personal Domain
When it comes to getting the job, it's you against the world. It's one of the reasons why I am uncomfortable with community sites. Your work is posted side-by-side with hundreds of candidates. It's the equivalent of you trying to sell your car on a dealership lot. Imagine getting a recruiter to visit your posted samples, so what's stopping him/her from visiting a few other candidates on the site? You did all of the work attracting their attention, now someone else benefits from your efforts.

On the plus side, they are generally easier and cheaper to use. Still, I think it is extremely important to have your own domain. Create your brand and build it. Make decisions-makers come to you — and only you. It's fine to have community sites host your work, but make your domain the only entry and exit points.

Ease of Use
To template or not to template? That is the question. If you are not a designer, you'll want the drop in features. Just check to see if your files are compatible with the service you're using. For example, will the site accept Quicktime video or do you have to convert them to WAV files? Then there's JPEG or TIFF? If you don't have conversion software available, look elsewhere.

Some templates are pretty rigid where everyone is forced into the same look. If that's the case, you may not want the community site where you can't stand out. If you aren't a designer, you can still opt for sites that let you play with images and fonts. Designers, you'll want a site that will let you exercise your artistic expression. But please don't go crazy with long flash intros or using fonts that only exist on your computer. Stick to the first rule of building your online portfolio: Keep it clean and easy to navigate.

Before you invest time and money, look at their tutorials and see if you are able to follow, otherwise their claims to have a site up in minutes mean nothing.

Price
Yes, there are free sites, but you only get limited use and most of them are cluttered with ads. The ads can be pretty — pretty distracting from your work, but sites like Krop allow for 10 free posted images without ads.

Monthly fees range from $4-13. The low end just gives you a minimal site without ads, but a limited site will also keep you from overwhelming your portfolio with too many samples. Your budget and file sizes should determine if you should pay for all of the bells and whistles.

Examples of Community Web Site Builders:

• Big Black Bag. It's a community site, but they allow you to use your own domain.
• Creative Hotlist. Site also offers job search.
• Krop

Examples of Personal Web Site Builders:

• Mac iWeb. Great drop and drag for Mac users. If you need assistance, they offer classes at Mac stores.
• Godaddy Website Tonight. I use this, mainly because I like having all of my online accounts in one place, but they have the Quicktime incompatibility I mentioned. You can also purchase Website Tonight through GoWebsite.com.
• Top 10 Web Hosting. They offer a list of various sites and features to help you select.

For design inspiration, see "101 Awesome Portfolio Sites." And for more information on portfolio builders and content, visit "Crafting an Online Portfolio."

Image courtesy of stock.xchng.