Hopefully, the ultimate goal of earning this degree is to establish a great career. We each have our own definition of what makes a good career. For many, a great career is one that involves growth and promotion, while earning a living comfortable enough for a house, a car, and maybe to support a family. Others want to wake up loving what they do in spite of income. No matter where you stand, there are others out there wanting the same thing. Believe that.
One major thing to bare in mind is that the working world is truly a marketplace. Potential employers set up their "booth" showing off what their company is about, what they provide, and what type of people they need. However, this marketplace so to speak, is bustling with potential employees, with less employer booths to visit. Even setting aside the economic problems we've faced recently, finding the job is extremely competitive.
You have to stand out from the crowd.
Fortunately, being forced to take cornerstone and capstone will, with a little effort, give you a head start of your competition. A lot people have a standard resume, and maybe a cover letter. That's all the promotional tools they use. Generally, we would opt to not be just another standard resume. Half the battle of getting a job, is getting an interview. Therefore, using the e-portfolio to show your accomplishments, your skills, and your personality may be the difference between getting your foot in the door or getting your resume into a "no need to contact" file. Building your e-portfolio will give you insight into where you are academically and where you want to go in the future. If you take your assignments seriously, or at least put some genuine thought into them, you should end up with a portfolio of your academic accomplishments, a head start on a resume, as well as a good grasp on what career you will aim for once you've got your degree in hand. If it is not done well it could work against you or not give any insight at all. That is why it is something that is started in Cornerstone, and then hopefully perfected in Capstone. Ultimately, your e-portfolio should express the hard work and effort you put into this degree and show off what you can bring to the table in any future endeavors. Whether it's for graduate school or to get the interview, make yourself look good.
You have to stand out from the crowd.
Fortunately, being forced to take cornerstone and capstone will, with a little effort, give you a head start of your competition. A lot people have a standard resume, and maybe a cover letter. That's all the promotional tools they use. Generally, we would opt to not be just another standard resume. Half the battle of getting a job, is getting an interview. Therefore, using the e-portfolio to show your accomplishments, your skills, and your personality may be the difference between getting your foot in the door or getting your resume into a "no need to contact" file. Building your e-portfolio will give you insight into where you are academically and where you want to go in the future. If you take your assignments seriously, or at least put some genuine thought into them, you should end up with a portfolio of your academic accomplishments, a head start on a resume, as well as a good grasp on what career you will aim for once you've got your degree in hand. If it is not done well it could work against you or not give any insight at all. That is why it is something that is started in Cornerstone, and then hopefully perfected in Capstone. Ultimately, your e-portfolio should express the hard work and effort you put into this degree and show off what you can bring to the table in any future endeavors. Whether it's for graduate school or to get the interview, make yourself look good.
This is exactly what I love about this degree, not only getting to study three areas that I am interested in, but that I will end up with a better than the norm resume and hopefully get that interview over someone else. I am really excited to start building my e-portfolio to one day show off what I have learned!
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree Cassandra! The e-portfolio might seem like a lot of work to some, but I think if people invested just a little bit of time, it will go along way! Now a days competition is getting fierce and we need something to make people want us over the next guy, what makes us more qualified then them? Sometimes there is nothing, we have the same credentials, but our information isn't on a piece of paper. We have background information, examples of our work, proof this is what we love to do. This portfolio is an advantage for sure!
ReplyDeleteThinking back to when I was interviewing (or trying to get an interview that is...) just several months ago, having an e-portfolio would have been very helpful. I actually have a pretty good resume for a 19 year old, including retail, hospitality, an d management positions. This seemed to be enough when I was looking for an entry level job and everywhere I looked there was a job opening, but now in todays economy, the competition is even more fierce. Jobs that once had few applicants now have people who are over qualified and have amazing resumes. However, how many actually have e-portolios? Probably not many and if someone does have one, they will probably be looked at and hopefully get that interview.
ReplyDeleteI really love the idea of acquiring a career is like setting up a "booth." Each person is out there marketing themselves and one way of doing that is through e-Portfolio. That way you can present yourself and your unique qualities to the employers.
ReplyDeleteI feel the e-Portfolio can be a helpful tool to demonstrate interdisciplinarity through the very useful tab tools. As I view other e-Portfolios I think of the introduction page similar to the cover letters I used to read when I worked in Human Resources. It gives you are chance to break from the dry boring resume and actually find out a little about a person you may want to interview.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone too. I'm going to the career fair tomorrow at UCF and I wish I had the e-portfolio completed already! I feel like, most definitely with an IDS degree, most employers are not going to understand that I know a lot and am a very flexible person. I feel like they don't take me seriously, and that the e-portfolio will help a lot with that problem.
ReplyDeleteQuestion Question Question Question
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know of someone who has used an e-Portfolio for career hunting and how did it work for them?
I have to be honest. I worked in Human Resorces for Nationwide Insurance and I found we just did not have the time to view all the extras that were sent in with the resume. If the resume was too long and detailed it also did not grab our attention. Companies seemed to be limited on the time they had to fill the position and they rushed Human Resources to just pick someone and get them trained. Things have probably changed quite a bit since then because of technology.
I plan to use my e-Portfolio to help obtain clients for my small travel business. I feel it may be nice for potential clients to hear more about travel plans and ideas.
I will also consider using the e-Portfolio to assist in furthering career plans after graduation in the Education field.
Hello Ellaenchanted. When you go to the career fair at UCF tomorrow, will you please ask potential employers how the feel about additional things such as e-Portfolio in addtion to a resume. Only if the opportunity arises.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shari L. Weber
As for what Amber was stating, competition is getting fierce. I do feel that e-Portfolio is a great tool for displaying a unique side of you making you competitive. I believe a technology advances all of us will have to keep setting ourselves apart to keep our edge.
ReplyDeleteAs for my e-Portfolio, I can invision great things such as pictures, web links, and quick read items that stand out. Therefore, when a potential employer views my work they get a great feeling by a quick glace. Something to market myself easily but intellectually.
My evidence of greatness can be in the words that I write and simply ways to connect with employer on a business level.
I agree, Shari. I'm very excited about having one specific resource where I can place all of my evidence and research which will be an easy place for employers to read over. I really like your idea of adding pictures because pictures usually captivate someone more so than words.
ReplyDeleteI am a very organized person, so the eportfolio is somthing that I will use to a great extent to gather all of my evidence and experiences to present in a accessible fashion to employers. I also really like that I can continue to add to it; there's no reason to stop adding to it.
Sorry for not replying sooner everyone. GREAT discussions...
ReplyDeletePersonally I have not used an e-Portfolio for job hunting. However, I HAVE created my own marketing materials. The biggest piece of advice I could give you is to bring more that just your resume and cover letter to an interview. I always give the person interviewing me a folder with those standard materials plus a page or two of materials like a flyer or brochure showcasing my abilities and talents. I have yet to have a bad response and I find it gives me an edge.
That is a good point brought up by Shari. I have heard that having too long of a resume could actually work against you. As for right now I have kept my resume to one page as to that being recommended to me by my sister. With so any applicants these days since the economy is so poopy, employers having time to review an entire online portfolio may be small. But, on the other side, it could be now more than ever that the e-portfolio will really take off. With technology advancing, companies are now expecting employees to have the ability to use the internet and new computer softwares. The are even sending current employees to classes to catch them up with the rest of society. In this case, the e-Portfolio could have that advantage of showing knowledge of the computer. Another advantage I thought of was with so many applicants, once companies have narrowed down their potential employees, they most likely will spend more time sifting through those last applicants to make sure they have found the best.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone does find out whether someone has used an e-Portfolio in an interview I too would love to know if they used it and if it worked to their advantage.
While I was reading your post, Jess, I was just about to say that technology is so advanced now just imagine how it will be when we graduate and companies most likely use the internet to look at potential applicants then an actual physical resume. I actually went online and researched a little to see if there was any comments from others who have used e-portfolio and there seemed to be an almost equal number who did and did not find it useful in searching for a potential career. Some said they just didn't use it that much but then there was some who said it was nice to have when applying because it made you feel more confident when doing so. I guess it depends on your personality and whether e-portfolio is the right tool for you to find a job. I myself would rather have it than not. It never hurts to have something like that to back you up when you head out to find a job.
ReplyDeleteCassandra, I have found myself thinking the same thing as you...I'm glad to have the e-portfolio resource even just as an organizational tool if I don't end up using it for a future career. I've gone back and forth with myself about if it's really something valuable, and I've come to the conclusion, that it never hurts to have it, even if it's something that I use just while I am in Cornerstone and Capstone.
ReplyDeleteYes,those points are true. It never hurts to be over prepared. Also, it is a good organizational tool to help you see where you are, your progress,and outline your future goals. That was an audience choice that was available, was to do it just for yourself. Also, it will kind of help us prepare for some online sort of activities that include creating a site. I am not sure if part of our job is to create a background for our pages, like some of the examples, but there is something to learn about creating web pages even if we don't.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be more things moving towards the web. I think that we should take every opportunity that we have to learn more about the web and how we can benefit from it and use it as a resource for our future.
ReplyDeleteAmber I think it’s admirable that you see the e-portfolio as being so great, but I must admit I have my doubts. I feel that it is way too much work to comprise an actual portfolio, which in all reality will not get us our desired job right when we graduate. It may help us stand out a little bit on paper or show the employer that we spent a lot of time trying to prove that we have skills, but ultimately what matters is the impression we make on the person. The employer may be drawn to our aesthetically pleasing paperwork, but if the employer doesn’t like you, then you have no job. I wouldn’t mind if the portfolio we were working on was just a guide, not an actual portfolio. There aren’t many students who have a whole lot to put in this portfolio other than thoughts, self-evaluations and the little job and life experiences we have made in high school and in college. Now an IDS student who has been out in the real world and is back in back furthering themselves with a degree may find this portfolio much more helpful because they have more to fill it with.
ReplyDeleteCristina Gutierrez
Cristina, I can see where you are coming from with the point that the e-portfolio is a lot of work for students who, mostly, don't have much experience to put into it. I think the e-portfolio is just good to have as a resume 2.0 sort of thing but I do wonder how I am going to fill out my e-portfolio since I don't have many examples or experiences yet. I just hope that it will benefit me in the future and I can come back to it and expand it even more.
ReplyDeleteCristina,
ReplyDeleteI can understand your doubts, but many job interviews happen over the phone or internet now a days. Yes, if they don't like you they don't like you. But in many interviews people choke or get nervous. Employers have something to go back to and see you have other credentials through the e-portfolio. If you have an e-portfolio it gives you an advantage then the person who is just sending a resume. I know of education, you have to have evidence of your work, and this way it is kept organized and can be very helpful.
Amber
ReplyDeleteI definitely see your point about interviews being online and over the phone these days, but I guess I just never looked at it like that. When I go to interviews or even have phone interviews I'm the type of person who doesn't choke. But I guess if the day ever came where I choked this portfolio maybe helpful.