The Value of Developing an Online Electronic Portfolio

Introduction

The increasing rate of globalization, combined with stiff competition among professionals, has made it necessary to adopt modern methods of securing employment. While traditional job-seeking focused on submitting written applications, current methods that employ electronic tools and the internet have facilitated easier selection, recruitment, and mentoring of employees. Significant evidence suggests that approximately 67% of global organizations today use electronic methods for employee recruitment and selection, as these methods offer organizational benefits such as convenience and cost-effectiveness.

Analysis conducted by Marier (2012) revealed that most global institutions also use social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to advertise vacancies and attract a pool of potential candidates from around the world. The applicability of this approach to all candidates, regardless of geographical location or ethnic background, makes it especially relevant to the current global environment. The following discussion focuses on the value of developing an electronic career portfolio.

Defining the Electronic Career Portfolio

An electronic career portfolio is a collection of individual evidence demonstrating accomplishments both academically and through activities outside school. The career portfolio consists of samples of one's work that exhibit the variety and quality of an individual's learning, skills, experiences, and accomplishments. Similarly, Daft (2013) defines an electronic career portfolio as a document that provides a detailed account of an individual's career development journey.

A student's electronic career portfolio should provide detailed information related to self-assessment and showcase exemplary products, projects, and reflections. Hung-Yue and Jiann-Min (2013) showed that electronic career portfolios allow students to document, explore, and store their life aspirations, interests, strengths, and accomplishments. This information is stored in a manageable format that is accessible to users both within and outside an organization. As such, using an electronic career portfolio not only saves organizations significant costs but also increases the marketability of candidates seeking various positions (Castrogiovanni & Kidwell, 2010).

Benefits for Students and Educators

According to Marier (2012), electronic career portfolios provide students with a systematic way of learning, as they can organize their experience, archive it, and display it to potential employers in need of their services. Portfolios also provide teachers with the opportunity to evaluate student work without needing to meet them in person. This is made possible through tools such as the internet, zip disks, and CD-ROMs, among other methods.

Moreover, evidence suggests that electronic portfolios allow individuals to review content, provide feedback, and communicate with people across the world in an asynchronous manner. They also give students the opportunity to reflect on their accomplishments, thereby providing insights into ways they can improve their performance and address identified weaknesses (Marier, 2012). Educators benefit as well, gaining a deeper appreciation for the challenges students face when developing and reflecting on their abilities.

Conclusion

The electronic career portfolio proves an effective tool for improving one's marketability in the current global environment. It provides individuals with the opportunity to reflect on their achievements, challenges, and objectives, and to pursue specific, practical, and achievable strategies for improvement. Similarly, electronic portfolios create value for organizations by enabling them to identify individuals with the highest potential to deliver expected performance outcomes. Therefore, it is recommended that individuals strive to update their electronic career portfolios on a regular basis in order to sustain and enhance their marketability.