RAPPORT
Volume 3 Issue 1 (2018)
members should encourage students to
complete work projects, especially in
online courses, since virtual
collaboration is a current and growing
trend in the workplace (Meier, Smith &
Porter, 2016).
• Reports on high impact practices,
leadership or administrative
opportunities. For certain positions,
students are required to demonstrate
leadership and administrative
experience. As may be imagined, these
skills are hard to obtain through
coursework alone and are rarely
available to students right upon
graduation. However, students can
navigate around this issue by taking
advantage of high impact practices on
campus. High impact practices include
internships, learning communities,
community service, first-year seminars,
writing-intensive courses, research
projects, capstone courses, and other
co-curricular activities in clubs or
organizations (Kuh, 2008). Similarly,
many of these clubs and organizations
require assistance with administrative
duties that can give students a wealth of
experiences that they can use when
applying and getting a job.
• Badges. The use of badges to
document achievements and
accomplishments has been a growing
trend in higher education and other
industries. One of the main benefits of
badges is the ability to endorse
students through one graphic for a skill
they have mastered or a project they
have completed (Yaffe et al., 2016).
The visual appeal of badges makes
them ideal for a career eportfolio where
space might be reduced and text should
be carefully used and positioned. If
badges are not part of the college
experience, faculty members can
encourage students to obtain these
badges through other venues such as
organisations, conferences, clubs or by
participating in certain professional
development activities.
• Resumes and CVs. The resume (for
those looking for jobs in industry or
administrative positions in higher
education) and the curriculum vitae (for
those looking for teaching and research
jobs in higher education) should be part
of the career eportfolio. As a matter of
fact, links to the career eportfolio should
be included in the heading of the
resume/CV and in the cover letter,
inviting hiring managers to take a look
at projects completed by the applicant.
Reflections connected to potential job
interview questions
Since reflections are an essential element
in eportfolios and professional
development (Eynon & Gambino, 2016),
the career eportfolio can use these
existing reflections to coach and prepare
students for the job interview (Harring &
Luo, 2016). When students reflect on their
learning and the journey they completed
with specific projects and activities, they
become prepared to answer any potential
questions to employers. This
metacognitive process prepares well-
grounded professionals who are familiar
with all aspects of their work and the
direction their careers are taking. Existing
frameworks for eportfolio reflection can be
customized to guide students in the
process and practice for potential interview
questions (Klein, 2012). Some of the
reflective questions that faculty members
can ask their students to document in their
career eportfolios to prepare them for the
job interview are:
20