Part 7

How to Land a Job

This is Part 7 and the final post of my ePortfolio series. Read my previous post on how to market yourself. I will now discuss what to include in your ePortfolio for employers to see, which in turn, could help you start the career of your dreams. If you have been following my other posts, this particular one may seem a bit redundant, but I am simply summarizing my best tips for your reference.

We all know that career searches can be extremely overwhelming. There are thousands of companies and millions of candidates sharing their resumes online in hopes of finding the perfect job. If you step into the shoes of an employer, you’ll soon realize that most of these resumes are just “average”. Employers are currently looking for a potential employee who really stands out from the crowd. A smart way to do this is to build your own ePortfolio, gathering all of the artifacts you wish to make a good impression. RCampus ePortfolios allow you to start creating a multi-page web site that can be shared with employees, aiding you in your job search. These sites help you to get your foot in the door, because in the Internet world, employees are seeking out those with some technical ability.

The following are some helpful pointers just for you:

Keep it Clean

Be professional. This could possibly be the deal-breaker as an employer decides between you and another candidate for a position. One mistake and you’re already forgotten. Never publish anything on your ePortfolio without double-checking for spelling, grammar, etc.

Your web address name should depict who you are and be memorable to employers. Don’t use any fancy, clever names. I used the initials of my first and middle names with my last name spelled out, as you can see here.

Also, keep your Web pages clean by using a plain color. Yes, it may seem tempting to decorate your site with the skins already provided, but it won’t help you in the long-run, unless you are an art major or applying for a position in creative industries where you want to show some creativity and personality. My ePortfolio is a simple white background.

Picture Perfect

Employers like visuals. They want to see what you look like before an interview. Avoid directing them to your FaceBook or MySpace page (they should be “private,” anyway). Although these social networking sites are often looked upon for candidate backgrounds, you should share your personal ePortfolio with employers, so they don’t have to find a reason to access your other pages. Remember not to upload any photos that you would feel ashamed about. Rather, post a portrait of yourself, preferably taken by a professional photographer. This will send the message to your audience that you are serious about finding a job. Your appearance should reveal that you are presentable to the public and take pride in what you aim to do for companies. My close-up picture of me in my graduation cap and gown is on my front page.

The Resume Way

Develop a powerful resume. This is your chance to briefly market yourself and showcase your skills. A resume should include your full name, your contact information (home address, cell phone and email address), experience (dates, companies, titles and duties), education (colleges, degrees, GPA and graduation date), skills, awards/achievements (honor societies, special lists, etc.), any volunteer work (dates, companies, titles and duties), any international travel destinations (including study abroad) and references (names, titles and phone numbers). Most of these are listed on my resume. However, don’t forget that your ePortfolio is open to the public, so omit your contact details and state that your references are available upon request. This will show employers that you take privacy very seriously. Also, remember to bold words where appropriate and use the right spacing while keeping the format consistent and easy to read.

What Can You Do for Me?

This is a question employers often seek an answer to. Be specific. If you have a certain company in mind, you can share a cover letter on your ePortfolio for them to view. These letters should be about three short paragraphs, explaining why you think you would be a good fit for the company and what you could bring to it. It should address a specific person, such as a hiring manager (do your research). Furthermore, you should end the letter, stating that you will call the company in a few days to set up a time to meet.

Get Recommended!

What do your professional references say about you? If you have had experience working or interning for a company, I would suggest asking your supervisor if they could write you a letter of recommendation for potential employers to view. This could be a great indicator of the type of candidate you are, because it is available as a true testimony of how you performed on the job. In my case, I asked the publisher of a magazine that I interned for to recommend me for work after I finished my 100-hour requirement. The signed letter in PDF format can be found by clicking on the link in the “Letters of Recommendation” section of my ePortfolio. My supervisor from another internship also wrote me a letter of recommendation, but I only included an excerpt of it in my ePortfolio. Don’t forget that some people don’t want their personal information on the Internet. My internships were unpaid and they weren’t for college credit, so I needed proof that I worked for these companies, since they won’t show up on my transcript.

ePortfolio: It’s In the Name

A portfolio is a collection of your work. Express your talents. In the business world today, most employers care about your length of experience and what you can actually do for them. Sadly, they don’t take into account as much if you have a college degree. Your ePortfolio is an excellent opportunity to showcase your work, especially if it involves written pieces, photographs, audio and video clips, etc. The great thing about RCampus ePortfolios is that you can store your work on your web site forever, never having to print it out to present to a potential employer during an interview. You can save a tree or two! Simply email your ePortfolio’s link to an employer, and they can access all of your sample work wherever, whenever.

For example, I uploaded several Microsoft Word documents of my sample work, which can be accessed by clicking on the different hyperlinks in the “Sample Work” section of my web site. These pieces were all written and published in print and online while I was a Journalism student and an intern for different companies.

Don’t worry if your work is on another web site, because you can provide a link to it through your ePortfolio. It’s all about making things easier for future employers. A good tip is to make sure you don’t include links to your work in the “Links” section of your ePortfolio. I actually changed the name of this default label to “Blogs” because employers often skip over this part of a web site. I wanted my work to stand out by being accessible through a section that describes exactly what I do: unedited blogging from the heart. I couldn’t copy and paste everything from my blogs directly into my ePortfolio, because they include lots of multimedia content that is specifically formatted, so I found a way to enable employers to go straight to the other web sites.

Get Out There!

Don’t stop here! If you own accounts on other professional web sites, go ahead and include links to those, as well. The more you provide, the more a potential employer will become impressed with you, your time and your commitment. I customized a separate label to read, “Other Career Profiles”. Of course, including these will depend on if they are accessible to the public over the Internet. Definitely get on LinkedIn if you haven’t already and include a hyperlink to your full public profile through your ePortfolio.

Who Are You?

“Tell me about yourself.” This can be commonly heard from employers in interviews when they want more information on you. The “About Me” page on your ePortfolio serves as a way to brag about yourself, in a way. It can be brief or go into detail. I have included several aspects about my life, including where I am from, my community college and university, graduation term, college degree and majors, honor societies and special lists, as well as my objective and aspirations for the future. I provide my experience as an employee and an intern, noting each company I worked for, my titles and my duties. I also mention the types of pieces I have written, such as freelance work and blogs, noting what they were about. Moreover, I go on to talk about my interests, skills and best traits.

Make Yourself Available

You can’t have a web site without a way for employers to contact you. That would be just like having a business card without any contact details. If you really want to land a job, use the “Contact Me” page on your ePortfolio. Instead of including your phone number(s), email address and home address, just keep the secure contact page that comes with RCampus ePortfolios. That way, you won’t find spam in your inbox, but rather, legitimate messages from real people with real email addresses. Visitors can enter their valid email in a special form, which will be verified before their message is sent.

Well that’s it! Thank you for taking the time to read it. I hope you learned a lot and I wish you success in your career search!

--Stephanie

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• Part 1 - ePortfolios in a Nutshell
• Part 2 - Design from Your Mind
• Part 3 - Endless Creativity
• Part 4 - Many ePortfolios are Waiting for You
• Part 5 - Showcase Your Talents
• Part 6 - Market Yourself to the World
• Part 7 - How to Land a Job