MGTS7621 Career ePortfolio Task Guide Semester
Title: Career ePortfolio
Type: Online compilation
Learning Objectives: 1,2,4,5
Weight: 50%
A. Assessment task
This assessment task requires you to develop your personal Career ePortfolio based on what you learned about yourself through Assessment Task 1 Professional Development Reflective Journal, your ongoing career planning and management and what you have learned in the Course.
Otherwise known as a Professional Portfolio (Harrington & Hall 2007), an ePortfolio is used to capture and organise information to showcase your skills, accomplishments, and samples of your professional work to prospective employers and potential clients. It is a way of documenting or recording who you are, what you have to offer and what you are seeking, or “marketing yourself” (Harrington & Hall 2007 p 74).
The process of planning and creating your e-Portfolio, will assist you to prepare for transitioning to the next stage of your career and help you to articulate your knowledge more effectively, skills, other qualities (KSOQ’s) to employers and clients. This task will also provide you with the experience of preparing a competitive job application for your chosen career field.
For this task, based on information in your Career Plan, you are required to create an ePortfolio, which includes the following items, which you will have worked on during class:
1. Job advertisement or position description – to assess how well your resume and cover letter match the selection criteria (non-assessable). An original job ad in English or which you can translate into English. If you are to translate into English, you must include the original version in the original language too.
2. Resume (2-3 pages)
3. Cover letter (1 page)
4. Elevator pitch (30 seconds presented in a Word document).
5. Personal video (no more than 2 minutes)
B. Source material
Guidelines for developing your ePortfolio are discussed in the seminars, shown on Blackboard, and outlined in the following sections. Please see the reading list and associated videos.
C. How to submit your Career ePortfolio
Step One - SIMILARITY Check - VIA TURNITIN:
• This step is compulsory. For this Step One, please compile your Resume, Cover Letter and Elevator Pitch into one, single Word document. Then, click on the link shown to submit your Word document to Turnitin.
Step Two - Submit the 5 elements, which comprise your Career ePortfolio VIA BLACKBOARD:
• Please name each of your 5 files with your student name and the element name (e.g., Keanu Reeves_Resume.doc).
• Then, you are required to upload your 5 individual files:
1. Submit the original (unchanged and unedited) job advertisement with all job details as a ‘screen shot’ or printed to a .pdf file. If this is a translation you must include the original too.
2. Resume (as a single Word Document)
3. Cover letter (as a single Word Document)
4. Elevator pitch (as a single Word Document)
5. Personal video (Submit via Kaltura - see video instructions provided
It is your responsibility to ensure your work is submitted correctly.
How to Create your ePortfolio
1. Job Advertisement or Position Description
You are required to select a job advertisement for a job you might apply for when you graduate, or a job you might apply for in the next stage of your career. The job must be attainable; meaning it is one you are qualified to apply for, and it aligns with your knowledge, skills abilities, and your career vision.
The job advertisement will be used to assess how well your cover letter and resume are targeted to the selection criteria. Therefore, it must contain selection criteria. Your cover letter and resume cannot be assessed if you do not submit an original job advertisement or position description in English, and if the selection criteria are not evident.
The job advertisement must be a genuine job. If you are planning to work in a non-English speaking country, please translate into English. Job advertisements that are NOT acceptable are:
− A job advertisement used for a job you have applied for in the past,
− A job advertisement that is retyped, edited, or converted from its’ original format,
− A job advertisement in another language and not translated into English,
− A hyperlink to a job advertisement.
Firstly, once you have identified your job advertisement with all the information about the job role e.g., position description, selection criteria, save them as a screen shot or print to a .pdf file, so that you can upload all details into your ePortfolio. Next, identify the key information about the job, including the key selection criteria. Use this information to create an application for the job, which includes a resume and a cover letter – see the following. Submit the original (unchanged and unedited) job advertisement as a ‘screen shot’ or printed to a .pdf file and the translation. Failure to do so will mean your work cannot be assessed.
2. Resume
The purpose of a resume is to summarise your career aspirations, education, experience, accomplishments, and interests relevant clearly and succinctly to the role for which you are applying (Harrington & Hall 2007).
Create your resume using the conventions for resumes discussed in the workshops and the following essential elements (adapted from Risavy 2017):
Sections
Include basic personal details (In Australia, do not include birth date, race, religion, marital status, number of dependents, physical/health status, or sexual orientation or a photographs),
Tell the employer what you are seeking using a brief job/career objective statement,
Education details – GPA (optional – higher GPA favoured, over lower GPA), high school not preferred,
Work experience – include the role, employer, full or part-time and dates (using month/year format), and your contributions to the role using achievement language,
Skills list – relevant list of skills, succinctly substantiated with evidence.
Achievements - scholarships, awards, and honours,
Professional memberships – e.g., Student Member of Australian Marketing Institute.
Hobbies, interests, and extracurricular activities – if job-related (political, religious, or socio-cultural affiliations are not useful), in bullet points,
References – professional references are more beneficial – always ask permission and brief the referee on the role.
Order
The order shown above is suitable for early career or graduate roles,
For roles requiring less experience, education first, then work experience,
Style, and Format.
2 -3 pages in length, in formal, or traditional format rather than using creative, fancy templates; fancy formatting, graphics and icons are not helpful,
Professional, business-style, in 3rd person, using concise wording; use short bullet points; bolding for emphasis; use action verbs; clarify all claims; use accomplishment language; use white ‘paper’/background,
Key information presented on the left of the page (see example discussed in class).
Error-free spelling, grammar, word choice, and punctuation,
Impression management – ensure accurate information; avoid exaggeration of personal traits and accomplishments.
Your resume will be assessed on how well you apply the above essential elements and the conventions for resumes. An exemplar resume will be examined in the workshop. Refer to the marking rubric for the grading criteria.
3. Cover Letter
Cover letters always accompany a resume. Their purpose is to introduce your resume, stating the reason you are sending your resume, highlighting why you are interested in the job, and briefly outlining your knowledge, skills, and experience in relation to the job requirements (Harrington & Hall 2007).
Create your cover letter based on the conventions for cover letters discussed in Seminar 8 and based on the following essential elements (adapted from Risavy 2017):
Presented as a business letter, which is professional in style. and tone,
Written in the first person (as opposed to the third person),
On one page, using about 4 paragraphs,
Error-free spelling, grammar, word choice, and punctuation,
Customised for the position,
Indicate the job for which you are applying,
Demonstrate knowledge regarding the potential employer, such as why you are interested in the job and company,
Demonstrate your ability to contribute to the job, such as an explanation of how your education and experience fit the job requirements,
All claims are substantiated - use the STAR method to substantiate your claims,
Close your letter by making a request for a personal interview,
Avoid vague statements – be specific and precise, and
Convey a realistic attitude and modest confidence towards your own job-related qualifications.
Your cover letter will be assessed on how well you apply the abovementioned essential elements and the conventions for cover letters discussed in Seminar 8. An exemplar cover letter will be examined in class. Refer to the Task 3 marking rubric for the grading criteria.
4. Elevator Pitch
An ‘elevator pitch’ is an essential career development tool for capitalising on chance encounters as a job seeker (Mitchell, Levin & Krumboltz 1999), for networking (Parker et al. 2004) and for talking with recruiters about the roles you are seeking. An elevator pitch is a 30-second introduction, which conveys a story about who you are, your career field, your skills and experience, the kind of job you are seeking, and something unique about you which inspires the listener to want to know more about you.
One way to approach developing your elevator pitch is to imagine you are preparing a 30-second response to the question “tell me about yourself?”. To respond, craft your elevator pitch using the structure shown below, which is discussed in Seminar 6. Draw upon the information you have collated about yourself and your future goals in your Career Plan. Use conversation language and words that businesspeople will understand (see Jellison 2010) to make your pitch succinct, distinctive, and compelling (de Janasz & Forret 2008).
a. Hello/Good Day/Good Morning/Good Afternoon. My name is ….
b. provide a summary label and a few short words to state your vocation or career field,
c. give general information about your current situation such as work experience, including current employer, and role, or a project you are working on at university,
d. a description of your key strengths or skills,
e. a comment about your future aspirations,
f. close and thank the listener ……
(Adapted from: Dewett, T., & Lynda.com. 2014. Giving Your Elevator Pitch. Carpenteria, CA: Lynda.com. See also: Citroën, L., & Lynda.com. 2015. Creating Your Personal Brand. Carpenteria, CA: Lynda.com – both videos available via UQ).
You may have the opportunity to present your elevator pitch in the workshops.
You may use your own format, if it meets the essential criteria discussed in class and listed below:
no more than 30 seconds
precisely conveys your career identity and your chosen career, what you can offer (experience, key strengths, and skills), and what job you are seeking.
is clear, succinct, distinctive, and compelling.
aligns with information conveyed about you in your resume and cover letter.
Some examples of sentence starters you might choose (note this is NOT the elevator pitch structure – see above for the elevator pitch structure):
I am a Master of xx graduate from The University of Queensland, where I majored in e.g., Marketing.
I am passionate about this area because ……
During my studies I learnt that……
I am curious to learn more about ….
I am seeking to ….
Your elevator pitch will be assessed on how well you apply the conventions for creating an elevator pitch discussed in class and the essential criteria mentioned above. Refer to the Task 3 marking rubric for the grading criteria.
5. Personal Video
As more and more employers opt to use video in recruitment and selection, the competent use of video in job search is essential (Frasca & Edwards 2017). Video is used by recruiters to allow applicants to provide short video-taped messages to elaborate their knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAO’s), such as motivation and career objectives. In video resumes, applicants can differentiate themselves from the pool of applicants by showcasing their personality, talents and interests related to a job (Apers & Derous 2017).
Create your personal video or commercial (de Janasz & Forret 2008) about yourself, based on your 30 second elevator pitch plus the requirements mentioned below.
Think about “impression management” (Greenhaus, Callanan & Godshalk 2018 pp 157 – 158) and how you will convey your ‘personal brand’ (Jellison 2010), which you explored in one of the seminars. For example, does your attire convey an impression of suitability for your occupation? Karl, Hall and Peluchette (2013) found that formal business or business casual attire increased self-perceptions of competence and customer perceptions of service quality.
Read Jellison (2010), chapter 13 - consider if your video aligns with your ‘personal brand’ and:
o Use conversation language and words that professionals will understand (Jellison 2010 Ch 13).
o Say what you do, what makes you unique and
o tell quick STAR stories to support your claims (Citroën & Lynda.com 2015).
o Show confidence, enthusiasm, and remember to smile.
The script. for your personal video develops your elevator pitch further (see the previous page). The format for your personal video should include one visual such as a career vision board developed for this job but similar to the vision board you created in Assessment 1. Remember it must meet the essential criteria below and on the rubric:
extends on your elevator pitch,
no more than 2 minutes,
a professional, business-like presentation showcasing your personal brand.
• attention paid to the setting and background.
• your self-presentation,
• your appropriate business-like attire,
precisely conveys.
• your knowledge of the organisation that you are applying for.
• your knowledge of the job role and how you meet the criteria.
• your career management to date
• what you have to offer (experience, key strengths, and skills),
• your future aspirations
is clear, succinct, and distinctive,
is a compelling story - inspires the recruiter’s interest in learning more about you,
aligns with information conveyed about you in your resume and cover letter.
shows a career vision board specifically for this job
remember to show your face the whole time even when showing the vision board
Your personal video will be assessed on how well you apply the conventions for creating a personal video discussed in class and the essential criteria mentioned above. Refer to the marking rubric for the grading criteria. Submit your video via Kaltura on Blackboard.