The Design and Use of a Career Portfolio to Promote Student
Career Development Jill Lumsden Katie Meyer Robert Reardon James P.
Sampson, Jr. Florida State University March 2006
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Presentation Outline Portfolio Goals and Potential Outcomes
Process for Successful Portfolio Use Employer Evaluations Student
Evaluation
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Goals of the FSU Career Portfolio Educate students about
workforce skills Connect students with opportunities to develop
skills Provide students with a mechanism for students to document
their skills Market students skills to employers or graduate
schools
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Goals in Finland Help students in Finland make their individual
study plan Evaluate progress in: Achieving competencies Setting new
goals Provide a means for discussing progress in leaning and
completing their program of studies Provide data for quality
assurance
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Goals in Finland Help faculty in Finland to identify their
competencies Provides one element for faculty evaluation for new
and existing faculty members
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Potential Outcomes Developing strategic career planning skills
Using career resources and services when needed Identifying and
completing experiences for gaining skills Identifying skills and
describing related experiences each semester Documenting the
evidence of skills obtained
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Process for Portfolio Use Identify Experiences for Developing
Skills Document Skills with Artifacts Identify Each Skill and
Describe the Related Experiences Complete Experiences Develop
Profile Develop Resume Obtain References Identify Employers and
Positions Repeat to develop additional skills Provide Employer or
Graduate School Access to the Portfolio Obtain Employment or
Graduate School Admission
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Options for Portfolio Use Self-help use Use with brief
staff-assisted support provided by faculty, academic advisors, and
career counselors Courses, academic advising, career planning
classes, outreach presentations, and career advising Use with
individual case-managed services available from career counselors
Career counseling
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Factors Contributing to Successful Portfolio Use Early use of
the Portfolio Early identification and use of learning experiences
for developing skills Regular updating of experiences, skills,
artifacts, and resume Seeking assistance when needed
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Portfolio Usage Student Users16,048 Female 8,827 Male 7,221
Active Portfolios* 9,430 Inactive Portfolios* 7,918 *includes
non-student users
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Portfolio Usage by Classification Freshmen 891 Sophomores2,225
Juniors2,855 Seniors7,114 Graduate2,312 Other 651
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Portfolio Usage Skills Cited Communication4,042 Leadership1,859
Teamwork1,657 Creativity1,641 Technical/Scientific1,546 Critical
Thinking1,121 Social Responsibility1,112 Research/Project
Development 979 Life Management 816
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Portfolio Usage Artifacts Average Number of Artifacts2.3 Top
Five Artifact Types 1.Word Documents 2.PowerPoint Presentations
3.Image 4.Microsoft Works 5.Rich Text Format
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Portfolio Usage Access Keys Created 2002* (May December) 418
2003*1,441 2004 (as of June 4, 2004) 910 *incomplete data
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Portfolio Evaluation Employer surveys Interest in portfolios
Usability and effectiveness Familiarity, access, and effectiveness
Importance of components Student survey Evaluation
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Employer Survey - Interest in Portfolios Date: September 15,
2000 Participants: Employers participating in Expo, Fall 2000
Method: Survey distributed at Expo Number of Employers Surveyed:
264 Respondents: 87 Percentage: 33%
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Interest in Portfolios Would you be interested in an online
portfolio system?
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Would you use an on-line portfolio to screen candidates? Would
you use an on-line portfolio to supplement a candidates interview?
Interest in Portfolios
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Would you prefer a paper portfolio rather than an on-line
portfolio? Would access to candidates self-reported employability
skills be useful in screening potential applicants? Interest in
Portfolios
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Implications Employers endorsed an on-line portfolio system - a
tool providing evidence of a candidates skills would be useful in
screening and evaluating candidates.
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Employer Survey Usability & Effectiveness Date: December
2001 Participants: Actively Recruiting Employers Method: Electronic
Survey Number of Employers Surveyed: 93 Respondents: 21 Percentage:
23%
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Usability & Effectiveness 100% of employers agreed or
strongly agreed the portfolio was easy to use
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Usability & Effectiveness 95% strongly agreed or agreed the
design was user friendly
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Usability & Effectiveness 100% strongly agreed or agreed
that the Career Portfolio was well organized
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Usability & Effectiveness 98% strongly agreed or agreed the
portfolio validated candidates skills
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Usability & Effectiveness 95% strongly agreed or agreed
that the Career Portfolio was beneficial in assessing
candidates
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Implications Employers endorsed the Career Portfolio as easy to
use and effective in assessing and validating candidates
skills.
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Familiarity, Access, & Effectiveness Date: Fall 2002 -
Spring 2004 Participants: On-Campus Recruiters Participants at
Career Expos Method: Employer Evaluations Respondents
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Survey Return Rates OCR 2002- 2003 OCR 2003- 2004 Expo Fall
2003 Expo Spring 2003 Eng. Expo Fall 2003 Number Surveyed
39531712210458 Number Responded 149107463118 Response Rate
37%34%38%30%31% Overall: 34%
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Familiarity, Access, & Effectiveness 42% were familiar
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Familiarity, Access, & Effectiveness 27% were given
access
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Familiarity, Access, & Effectiveness Those 27% rated the
Portfolio as Beneficial
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Implications Familiarity of the online portfolio is increasing
among employers, yet only 1 out of 11 have been provided access by
a student. Employers with access rated the effectiveness of the
online portfolio as above average.
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Employer Survey - Importance of Components Date: January 2004
Participants: Judges of Career Portfolio Contest Method: Employer
Survey & Focus Group Respondents: 7 Judges/5 Participants
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At what step in the recruitment process would you find this
tool most useful? Importance of Components
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Please rank the following items in terms of their usefulness in
evaluating candidates. (1=Most Useful, 6=Least Useful) Importance
of Components
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Implications Employers identified the second interview as the
most likely stage they would use the online portfolio; the
application process was second. The resume was considered the most
important component; followed by skills and artifacts.
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Online Evaluation Evaluation of Career Portfolio System
Participants: Students Required to Complete Career Portfolio
Method: Electronic Survey Number of Responses: 96
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Student Evaluation
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 70% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Find experiences at FSU that will lead to the development
of transferable skills. Not ApplicableStrongly Disagree
AgreeStrongly Agree 0 10 20 30 40 50 14 6 9 43 24
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 63% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Find experiences in the community that will lead to the
development of skills. Not ApplicableStrongly Disagree
AgreeStrongly Agree 0 10 20 30 40 19 5 12 38 22
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 83% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Understand how my academic and professional skills relate
to my career goals. Not ApplicableStrongly Disagree AgreeStrongly
Agree 0 10 20 30 40 50 3 6 7 4138
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 80% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Show evidence of interpersonal skills needed to work with
or for others. Not ApplicableStrongly Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree
0 10 20 30 40 50 77 5 46 30
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 85% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Show evidence of skills developed in my academic program.
Not ApplicableStrongly Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree 0 10 20 30 40
50 455 44 38
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 85% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Show evidence of skills developed through volunteer
experiences, part-time employment, internships, and/or a co-op. Not
ApplicableStrongly Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree 0 10 20 30 40 50 55
4 43 39
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 81% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Show evidence of skills that can apply to a variety of
occupations. Not ApplicableStrongly Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree 0
10 20 30 40 50 9 6 3 47 29
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 83% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Show evidence of skills necessary to obtain and maintain
employment. Not ApplicableStrongly Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree 0
10 20 30 40 50 8 5 3 47 33
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 85% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Communicate my skills to potential employers. Not
ApplicableStrongly Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree 0 10 20 30 40 50
563 41
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The Career Portfolio Program Allowed Me To: 80% Strongly Agreed
or Agreed Prepare me for job searching and interviewing. Not
ApplicableStrongly Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree 0 10 20 30 40 50 9
4 7 43 32
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Implications Students endorsed the Career Portfolio as Easy to
use and effective in evaluating and documenting their skills
Important in identifying opportunities for developing skills before
graduation Important in relating their skills to their career goals
Important in communicating their skills to potential employers
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Questions & Discussion For more information, please visit:
http://www.career.fsu.edu/portfolio/info.html Thank You