Online Portfolios for Future Employers

Patrick Lyons has many of his own students complete an online portfolio project at St. John’s University.  Lyons  states that there are actually three types of online portfolios: learning, showcase, and structured.  With showcase portfolios, the structure comes to the portfolio after the project is started.  It is a more go with the flow method of putting things together.  The structured portfolios are the complete opposite from the showcase since they are characterized by extremely detailed designs well in advance of the project actually starting.  The learning style is a mix of both showcase and structured as the design and organization of the project develops with the documentation that is being added to the project.

While portfolios have been used by colleges for several years now as a tool to help students build a collection of evidence of their strengths both academically and professionally, Lyons takes it to the next level by having his students put this collection online.  He believes that by placing the contents of a traditional portfolio online, it gives the students an advantage over other students with portfolios.  The first reason being that it shown how tech savvy the student is, which is becoming an important trait in the eyes of employers.  The second reason is based on the simplicity of sharing the portfolio with potential employers.  All a student needs to do in order to put his/her portfolio into the hands of a prospective employer is give them a link via e-mail, or even as a line item on their resume.  

Lyons, P.. (2008). Student Portfolio Web Sites: Valuable Communication Aids to Future Employers. Review of Business, 28(3), 33-43.  Retrieved June 7, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1698822271). Retrieved from  http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.bryan.edu/pqdweb?index=18&did=1698822271&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1307467483&clientId=7744