Examines the theoretical, practical, and ethical dimensions of communication with a focus on public speaking in business and government settings.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Cirtique your e portfolio
Post a minimum 150 word post on your e portfolio. Critique its strengths and weaknesses by reflecting on class feedback. Who was your audience? What was your objective?
I think one of the strongest points of my e-portfolio was my layout. I know that I get bored when I read an article or a website that just keeps going and going, so I tried to break my portfolio up with separate pages that the user can access by clicking the tabs at the top of the blog. I think my portfolio also highlighted my strengths—my writing skills, my (basic) technology skills (using a blog in a creative way, Twitter), and other skills that I drew out from my work experience. My blog could be better if I added samples of my work from classes and links to photos of me working at my internship. I actually just finished a really big project that I did well on, so I’ll promptly be adding that to my portfolio. Hopefully this portfolio serves as a good representation of me, my skills, and my interests, which will persuade future employers that I am a positive addition to their organization.
I think a strong aspect of my blog was the way I presented my information. I think I chose a palate and text scheme that was pleasing and easy on the eye. I also think I gave a good representation of myself with the variety of posts I had. I wanted to show that I am a well-rounded student though my different academic and extra-curricular activities. I think that by adding a photo slide show of my dancing and a sample of my power point work added to my blog in a positive way. It gave the viewer an additional way to see my personality. I also think I showed that even though I am only a freshman in college, I have done a lot so far to show that I am an active member of my college community. I think something I could have improved on was adding my volunteer experience to my blog. I have worked with a lot of volunteering organizations over the years and I think it is a huge part of what defines me. My blog was geared toward gaining an internship. With a 15% unemployment rate, a potential employee, especially a college student, needs to find ways to make them stand out in the crowd. This blog is a great way of doing so!
The objective of my e-portfolio was to target admissions committees at schools of veterinary medicine. Even though I have already submitted my application materials and have received interview invitations, I am still waiting to hear from several schools. This e-portfolio might gain the attention of one of those schools. I thought I chose a professional template design, and the layout of the blog was easy to read. I kept my blog posts concise, but filled with relevant information, so the reader would quickly gain insight to my qualifications. In addition, I made an effort to point out transferable skills I acquired/reinforced during my participation in sports, music, and work experiences. I made some errors concerning my own security, in that I included the town I live in as well as my phone number (I removed that information after class).
Overall, I am very proud of my virtual portfolio. Since I am graduating in May and I’m beginning to apply for jobs, I decided I wanted my audience to be potential full-time employers. My objective was for my audience to get to know my personality and accomplishments, and discover that I’m an ideal candidate for a full-time sports PR position. I think that my main strength of my blog is the way I presented my experience and achievements, because I incorporated transferrable skills that I will bring to the workplace. As suggested by Professor McManimon, I will be removing my phone number from my resume, as well as linking my email address to my “Thank you” post at the end of my blog. All in all, I’m excited to add my blog URL to my resume! I think that this virtual portfolio will be a really great supplement to my resume and will allow me to stand out from other candidates looking for a full-time position.
I think a strong point on my portfolio starts with the great initial impression. I stayed away from an alliteration because I felt that there were too many blogs titled that way. Plus, the title of my blog works well with the purpose, which is to make me more of a "person" to the admissions council, rather than a name on a sheet of paper. I also think the photographs I chose to put on my blog, both by the About Me section and the costume pictures, showcase my professionalism, even in a casual setting such as costuming.
I think one improvement I could make to my blog would be to include classwork that is done just by me. My strongest works were co-authored, but I should also include things I did on my own to show that I am still a strong writer and researcher without others' assistance. I have also recently finished a brand new resume, so I should upload that as well.
My virtual portfolio was created to invite my perspective employers, specifically New Jersey Citizen Action, an organization in which I hoped to gain an internship with, to learn a little more about me on a personal level. Because I did not have much time, I was not able to elaborate on the topics I wished to discuss, but I was able to touch on them briefly. I planned to explain how my skills gained from being a sales associate would be beneficial to their organization because they do work with and for the public. I also planned to describe how I would be perfect for specific campaigns already in place. For example, the “Community Reinvestment” campaign consists of educating people about simple banking skills. With my prior tutoring experience and a presentation under my previous assignments, I would be ideal for work in this area.
To improve my blog, I had to fix minor spelling errors and transfer skills and work experiences from my letter of intent to their designated sections. Also, with my previous assignments, I had to illustrate the relationship between my assignments and my possible position. I planned to address the relationship in my speech. However, when an employer views my portfolio, I will not have the opportunity to explain myself, so I had to be sure to include that important aspect.
I am applying to graduate school my virtual portfolio was focused towards grad school admissions officers. The purpose was to convey that I was not the typical undergraduate student and that I was well rounded. I believe that this virtual portfolio will help me stand out as an individual from the other thousands of applicants the schools I apply to will see; hopefully, giving me an advantage of sorts. The extra features on my portfolio like the music player, video, powerpoint and fliers are the strongest part of my portfolio because they are convey what I am about and the things I have done. Without the fliers, I would have had a very wordy post and I wanted to keep the lengths of my posts to a reasonable size. I am still looking for another gadget to put above the music player, so the player will be closer to my interest and hobbies section where it is mentioned. After class I made sure to make the necessary changes to ‘sell’ myself more by explicitly stating the things that I have created and which programs I used to do them, which initially was a major weakness of my portfolio. I assumed that the viewer would assume that I did those things but by stating it, they now will definitely know.
My E-Portfolio’s audience was Film/Television Production Companies and my objective was to achieve a job at the company. My strengths in my E-portfolio were my layout because I didn’t have lengthy content. And the things that need to be expounded upon I lead to another page for them to view more information on the topic. Another aspect of strength was that I allowed them to see a personal side of me through my personal “top lists” of film, television, and those I admired. Third, I feel I have a strong Letter of Intent where I was concise, attention grabbing, and laid out all my skills and achievements strategically.
Also, I wrote a deliberate biography where as a filmmaker you tell stories, thus I tried to make sure my biography told a story about me and my life pertaining to the topic at hand which is filmmaking. Fifth, I like my quote because I felt it showed individuality which I think is acceptable to show in the filmmaking business. For my weaknesses from the feedback I received, I should have put my all videos I posted on my E-portfolio under sample of work rather than have some videos I made while under leadership for organizations be in the sample of leadership post. Since this feedback, I have moved my videos from the Leadership experience post to the sample of my work post. I believe this E-portfolio can help me stand out from other candidates by the tech-forward way I marketed myself to all Film/Television Production Companies.
My e-portfolio was constructed keeping simplicity in mind. I chose a minimalistic layout and color scheme with my professional audience in mind. The portfolio is geared towards those offering internships pertaining to the field of communications and/or professional writing. The objective of the portfolio is to showcase my abilities and transferable skills in depth, as opposed to a limited representation on paper. This is a strong aspect, allowing potential employers an opportunity to see my latest work, photography, personal fashion blog, and biographical information. The online representation of myself allows my name to stand out in the mix of dozens of other applicants, leaving a unique and memorable impression. Some weak areas, however, include my lack of internship experience itself to add to my resume, considering others had many listings to include on their blogs. Hopefully this e-portfolio will help to change that, allowing me to stand out in the crowd and land an internship!
I think my e-portfolio was successful for a number of reasons. I think the most important part of my e-portfolio was that it was pleasant to look at and well organized. I used a simple color scheme that didn't overwhelm the reader. I organized the information in order of importance with the most important information at the top of the page and the least important information at the bottom of the page. This way, the reader didn't have to search for the important information. Each blog post was clearly titled so the reader could find what they were looking for easily. I think the e-portfolio really showcased my talents and skills, and the reader was able to know more information about me than he/she would from just a resume. I think the e-portfolio is a great way to help me stand out from the other applicants when applying for jobs and hopefully I will be able to gain an internship from it.
With my portfolio I wanted to provide a great resource about me for potential employers and I believe I succeeded in giving them just that. It’s geared towards a business professional while still allowing my personality to shine through. I found a good balance between showing my professional accomplishments and telling my personal story. By having different sections and being able to link within these parts I provided a well rounded picture of myself. It allowed me to really highlight my strengths as a job candidate and provide a more in depth look then I could show on a resume or during an interview. I agreed with the class critique that the major weakness of the blog was the length of each post. In my goal to give a thorough look at myself, I devoted too much space on the blog to explanations. I should have realized as a businessperson looking at multiple candidates, this page needs to be quickly read to get an overview and then if they like that, they will take the time to read the rest. Instead, I should have only included the highlights and then linked to the full post using Google docs.
I presented to only to you and Mark. My intended audience for this blog is internship coordinators and the human resource departments of companies looking for interns. According to your feedback, my e-portfolio was easy to navigate and presented a lot of information to show my well-roundedness and qualifications for future internships. My layout and graphics were pertinent to the information I presented. I had tabs at the top of the blog that lead readers to different pages with information about my work experience and life experiences. This was a good layout because it allows viewers to pick and choose what information they want to read without them having to constantly scroll down one page. I also had good work samples on my blog, allowing viewers to see my writing skills and my knowledge on business related topics. Overall, my blog was good, but I needed to add the skills that a few of my activities taught me and how those skills will help me thrive in a future internship. I also needed to get rid of the names of my employers, because I never got their permission to publish them on the web.
I did not get to present my e-portfolio, however I do believe that means my grade is completely off of my blog. I found my blog to be colorful and warm to the reader. Everything was easy to read, informative, and showed transferable skills which I can present to those who are choosing internship candidates. My objective was to get a medical internship. I truly think if the internship was based solely on the blog. I believe that I would get the medical internship.
I think one of the strongest points of my e-portfolio was my layout. I know that I get bored when I read an article or a website that just keeps going and going, so I tried to break my portfolio up with separate pages that the user can access by clicking the tabs at the top of the blog. I think my portfolio also highlighted my strengths—my writing skills, my (basic) technology skills (using a blog in a creative way, Twitter), and other skills that I drew out from my work experience. My blog could be better if I added samples of my work from classes and links to photos of me working at my internship. I actually just finished a really big project that I did well on, so I’ll promptly be adding that to my portfolio. Hopefully this portfolio serves as a good representation of me, my skills, and my interests, which will persuade future employers that I am a positive addition to their organization.
ReplyDeleteI think a strong aspect of my blog was the way I presented my information. I think I chose a palate and text scheme that was pleasing and easy on the eye. I also think I gave a good representation of myself with the variety of posts I had. I wanted to show that I am a well-rounded student though my different academic and extra-curricular activities. I think that by adding a photo slide show of my dancing and a sample of my power point work added to my blog in a positive way. It gave the viewer an additional way to see my personality. I also think I showed that even though I am only a freshman in college, I have done a lot so far to show that I am an active member of my college community. I think something I could have improved on was adding my volunteer experience to my blog. I have worked with a lot of volunteering organizations over the years and I think it is a huge part of what defines me. My blog was geared toward gaining an internship. With a 15% unemployment rate, a potential employee, especially a college student, needs to find ways to make them stand out in the crowd. This blog is a great way of doing so!
ReplyDeleteThe objective of my e-portfolio was to target admissions committees at schools of veterinary medicine. Even though I have already submitted my application materials and have received interview invitations, I am still waiting to hear from several schools. This e-portfolio might gain the attention of one of those schools.
ReplyDeleteI thought I chose a professional template design, and the layout of the blog was easy to read. I kept my blog posts concise, but filled with relevant information, so the reader would quickly gain insight to my qualifications. In addition, I made an effort to point out transferable skills I acquired/reinforced during my participation in sports, music, and work experiences.
I made some errors concerning my own security, in that I included the town I live in as well as my phone number (I removed that information after class).
Overall, I am very proud of my virtual portfolio. Since I am graduating in May and I’m beginning to apply for jobs, I decided I wanted my audience to be potential full-time employers. My objective was for my audience to get to know my personality and accomplishments, and discover that I’m an ideal candidate for a full-time sports PR position. I think that my main strength of my blog is the way I presented my experience and achievements, because I incorporated transferrable skills that I will bring to the workplace. As suggested by Professor McManimon, I will be removing my phone number from my resume, as well as linking my email address to my “Thank you” post at the end of my blog. All in all, I’m excited to add my blog URL to my resume! I think that this virtual portfolio will be a really great supplement to my resume and will allow me to stand out from other candidates looking for a full-time position.
ReplyDeleteI think a strong point on my portfolio starts with the great initial impression. I stayed away from an alliteration because I felt that there were too many blogs titled that way. Plus, the title of my blog works well with the purpose, which is to make me more of a "person" to the admissions council, rather than a name on a sheet of paper. I also think the photographs I chose to put on my blog, both by the About Me section and the costume pictures, showcase my professionalism, even in a casual setting such as costuming.
ReplyDeleteI think one improvement I could make to my blog would be to include classwork that is done just by me. My strongest works were co-authored, but I should also include things I did on my own to show that I am still a strong writer and researcher without others' assistance. I have also recently finished a brand new resume, so I should upload that as well.
My virtual portfolio was created to invite my perspective employers, specifically New Jersey Citizen Action, an organization in which I hoped to gain an internship with, to learn a little more about me on a personal level. Because I did not have much time, I was not able to elaborate on the topics I wished to discuss, but I was able to touch on them briefly. I planned to explain how my skills gained from being a sales associate would be beneficial to their organization because they do work with and for the public. I also planned to describe how I would be perfect for specific campaigns already in place. For example, the “Community Reinvestment” campaign consists of educating people about simple banking skills. With my prior tutoring experience and a presentation under my previous assignments, I would be ideal for work in this area.
ReplyDeleteTo improve my blog, I had to fix minor spelling errors and transfer skills and work experiences from my letter of intent to their designated sections. Also, with my previous assignments, I had to illustrate the relationship between my assignments and my possible position. I planned to address the relationship in my speech. However, when an employer views my portfolio, I will not have the opportunity to explain myself, so I had to be sure to include that important aspect.
I am applying to graduate school my virtual portfolio was focused towards grad school admissions officers. The purpose was to convey that I was not the typical undergraduate student and that I was well rounded. I believe that this virtual portfolio will help me stand out as an individual from the other thousands of applicants the schools I apply to will see; hopefully, giving me an advantage of sorts. The extra features on my portfolio like the music player, video, powerpoint and fliers are the strongest part of my portfolio because they are convey what I am about and the things I have done. Without the fliers, I would have had a very wordy post and I wanted to keep the lengths of my posts to a reasonable size. I am still looking for another gadget to put above the music player, so the player will be closer to my interest and hobbies section where it is mentioned. After class I made sure to make the necessary changes to ‘sell’ myself more by explicitly stating the things that I have created and which programs I used to do them, which initially was a major weakness of my portfolio. I assumed that the viewer would assume that I did those things but by stating it, they now will definitely know.
ReplyDeleteMy E-Portfolio’s audience was Film/Television Production Companies and my objective was to achieve a job at the company. My strengths in my E-portfolio were my layout because I didn’t have lengthy content. And the things that need to be expounded upon I lead to another page for them to view more information on the topic. Another aspect of strength was that I allowed them to see a personal side of me through my personal “top lists” of film, television, and those I admired. Third, I feel I have a strong Letter of Intent where I was concise, attention grabbing, and laid out all my skills and achievements strategically.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wrote a deliberate biography where as a filmmaker you tell stories, thus I tried to make sure my biography told a story about me and my life pertaining to the topic at hand which is filmmaking. Fifth, I like my quote because I felt it showed individuality which I think is acceptable to show in the filmmaking business. For my weaknesses from the feedback I received, I should have put my all videos I posted on my E-portfolio under sample of work rather than have some videos I made while under leadership for organizations be in the sample of leadership post. Since this feedback, I have moved my videos from the Leadership experience post to the sample of my work post. I believe this E-portfolio can help me stand out from other candidates by the tech-forward way I marketed myself to all Film/Television Production Companies.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy e-portfolio was constructed keeping simplicity in mind. I chose a minimalistic layout and color scheme with my professional audience in mind. The portfolio is geared towards those offering internships pertaining to the field of communications and/or professional writing. The objective of the portfolio is to showcase my abilities and transferable skills in depth, as opposed to a limited representation on paper. This is a strong aspect, allowing potential employers an opportunity to see my latest work, photography, personal fashion blog, and biographical information. The online representation of myself allows my name to stand out in the mix of dozens of other applicants, leaving a unique and memorable impression. Some weak areas, however, include my lack of internship experience itself to add to my resume, considering others had many listings to include on their blogs. Hopefully this e-portfolio will help to change that, allowing me to stand out in the crowd and land an internship!
ReplyDeleteI think my e-portfolio was successful for a number of reasons. I think the most important part of my e-portfolio was that it was pleasant to look at and well organized. I used a simple color scheme that didn't overwhelm the reader. I organized the information in order of importance with the most important information at the top of the page and the least important information at the bottom of the page. This way, the reader didn't have to search for the important information. Each blog post was clearly titled so the reader could find what they were looking for easily. I think the e-portfolio really showcased my talents and skills, and the reader was able to know more information about me than he/she would from just a resume. I think the e-portfolio is a great way to help me stand out from the other applicants when applying for jobs and hopefully I will be able to gain an internship from it.
ReplyDeleteWith my portfolio I wanted to provide a great resource about me for potential employers and I believe I succeeded in giving them just that. It’s geared towards a business professional while still allowing my personality to shine through.
ReplyDeleteI found a good balance between showing my professional accomplishments and telling my personal story. By having different sections and being able to link within these parts I provided a well rounded picture of myself. It allowed me to really highlight my strengths as a job candidate and provide a more in depth look then I could show on a resume or during an interview.
I agreed with the class critique that the major weakness of the blog was the length of each post. In my goal to give a thorough look at myself, I devoted too much space on the blog to explanations. I should have realized as a businessperson looking at multiple candidates, this page needs to be quickly read to get an overview and then if they like that, they will take the time to read the rest. Instead, I should have only included the highlights and then linked to the full post using Google docs.
I presented to only to you and Mark. My intended audience for this blog is internship coordinators and the human resource departments of companies looking for interns. According to your feedback, my e-portfolio was easy to navigate and presented a lot of information to show my well-roundedness and qualifications for future internships. My layout and graphics were pertinent to the information I presented. I had tabs at the top of the blog that lead readers to different pages with information about my work experience and life experiences. This was a good layout because it allows viewers to pick and choose what information they want to read without them having to constantly scroll down one page. I also had good work samples on my blog, allowing viewers to see my writing skills and my knowledge on business related topics. Overall, my blog was good, but I needed to add the skills that a few of my activities taught me and how those skills will help me thrive in a future internship. I also needed to get rid of the names of my employers, because I never got their permission to publish them on the web.
ReplyDeleteI did not get to present my e-portfolio, however I do believe that means my grade is completely off of my blog. I found my blog to be colorful and warm to the reader. Everything was easy to read, informative, and showed transferable skills which I can present to those who are choosing internship candidates. My objective was to get a medical internship. I truly think if the internship was based solely on the blog. I believe that I would get the medical internship.
ReplyDelete