RAPPORT
Volume 3 Issue 1 (2018)
learning objectives (Gordon & Campbell,
2013). Analyzing the current status of
eportfolios and the role they play for career
purposes, it seems those predictions
almost a decade ago about the necessity
to have an eportfolio to get jobs today
were accurate (Okoro, Washington, &
Cardon, 2011).
Traditional application materials, such as
resumes and cover letters, are still a
necessity in the job application process,
but the eportfolio has definitely become an
effective asset and can make a difference
and give advantages to those applicants
who have one (Lievens, 2014; Light, Chen
& Ittelson, 2011). Even though there is
documented work of faculty members and
academic institutions linking assessment
eportfolios to career preparation and
readiness (Light et al., 2011; Rowley &
Dunbar-Hall, 2015; Samardzija & Balaban,
2014), there is still a need to promote and
encourage career eportfolios to help
students obtain jobs and develop
successful careers. I have been able to
identify this need by spending a significant
part of my career mentoring and coaching
undergraduate and graduate students in
the job application and interviewing
process, as well as training faculty in
eportfolios.
Although students’ understanding of
eportfolios has unarguably increased
through the years (Harring & Luo, 2016),
many students are not fully aware of what
an eportfolio is, the elements that make an
effective one and/or how to use one during
an interview (Birks, Hartin, Woods,
Emmanuel & Hitchins, 2016; Dougherty &
Coelho, 2017). On the other hand, many
students are only familiar with the
assessment eportfolio because they are
the most common in higher education
institutions (Okoro et al., 2011). Even
though this eportfolio is a great
educational experience in terms of
authentic assessment, it is not necessarily
effective during the job application process
and interview due to its length, format, and
possible focus on specific courses or
programs without fully endorsing the
student for all the knowledge, skills and
abilities they have. This gap can be
attributed to the need for more research
about the specific dynamics between
hiring managers and the use of career
eportfolios (Kilroy, 2017; Okoro et al.,
2011).
Even though the importance of eportfolios
for job placement has been acknowledged
in the eportfolio literature (Flanigan, 2012;
Holt et al., 2016; Light et al., 2011) and
several academic institutions have used
them for career purposes (Chatham-
Carpenter, Seawel & Raschig, 2010;
Tubaishat, 2015), the career eportfolio has
concerned some faculty who believe that
the eportfolio should only focus on
assessments and learning that happen in
courses or programs. However, in my
work with students, their ability to make
connections between curricula, co-
curricula and their prospective careers
makes learning meaningful to them. As
students master a wide variety of
knowledge, skills and abilities in and out of
the classroom, their ultimate goal is to
secure a professional position and a
career upon graduation.
The career eportfolio should not be fully
separated from the assessment one. As a
matter of fact, the assessment eportfolio
should be the foundation of the career-
oriented one (Flanigan, 2012), which
would help students to establish powerful
connections between knowledge, class
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