If you have ever wished you could show someone what you are capable of before you even met them, an ePortfolio might be right for you. An ePortfolio is a digital collection of your best work that shows what you can do and demonstrates your skills. It brings together projects, writing samples, presentations, research, experiences, and reflections in one place, allowing employers, graduate schools, and scholarship committees to easily see your skills and growth.

Think of an ePortfolio as your highlights reel or a complement to your resume:

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What Is an ePortfolio?

An ePortfolio is your personal website that allows you to present evidence of your learning and skills through work samples and brief explanations or reflection. These may include:

• Academic projects or papers
• Presentations or posters
• Video or recordings of performances
• Design work, code, or media projects
• Internship, clinical, or field experiences
• Leadership, service, or research activities

Each item should include context, your role in the effort, the skills or competencies you used, and what you learned or accomplished.

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Benefits of Creating an ePortfolio

For Internship and Job Search

• Stand out to employers by showing examples of your work before they meet you
• Demonstrate career readiness competencies needed for the workplace
• Showcase your abilities that may not be obvious on a resume, even if you have limited formal work experience
• Organize your experiences and capabilities that can be referenced during interviews

For Graduate/Professional School Applications and Scholarships

• Demonstrate academic growth by highlighting research, writing, and learning over time
• Show reflection and purpose to give insights into how you think, learn, and develop
• Centralize materials to keep writing samples, presentations, and projects in one location that can be accessed anywhere

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Steps to Create an ePortfolio

1. Research

Ask yourself:

• Who is your audience? Are you targeting internships, full-time jobs, graduate programs, or scholarships?
• What is this audience looking for in an applicant?
• What is their style or expectation of applicants? Are they formal/traditional, creative/colorful, or modern/minimalist?

Use the website for the organization/academic program, LinkedIn, and job postings to help with your research. ChatGPT or other generative AI is a useful tool to extract skills and get a general sense of what your audience is looking for.

2. Self-Reflection & Branding

Borman-Shoap, E., Li, S. T., St Clair, N., Rosenbluth, G., Pitt, S., & Pitt, M. (2019). Knowing your personal brand: What academics can learn from Marketing 101. Academic Medicine, 94(9), p.1295.

Now that you know what your audience is looking for, you need to decide what you want them to know about you.

Ask yourself:

• How do I want to be viewed?
• What are my work-related values?
• What are my top 5 Strengths?
• What are my top skills?
• What work am I most proud of having done?
• What are 3-5 things I want the audience to remember after viewing my ePortfolio?

3. Curate Artifacts

Start by making a list of all of the skills, experiences, and/or attributes you want to demonstrate. Now think of 1-2 artifacts or evidence for each. These artifacts may include papers you have written, photographs from your study abroad or internship experiences, social media posts you created for a student group, recordings of podcasts you hosted, or any other visual elements you would like to showcase. Choose 4–8 strong examples that reflect your skills and interests.

For each element, ask yourself:

• Does this artifact demonstrate something that this audience would appreciate?
• Ds it professional/appropriate for this audience?
• Does it reflect my brand?

4. Design & Plan

• View other ePortfolios for ideas and best practices- see the Meet the Team page to see the ePortfolios of the CCPD team
• Select a website host and create an account
  • Popular free options include Weebly, Wix, and Google Sites
• Claim your URL
• Select a template to edit
• Choose your theme, colors, and fonts that fit your brand and audience
• Decide on page titles for organization and ease of use. At a minimum, include:
  • “About Me” Section: A brief professional introduction and interests (may be the homepage if you like)
  • Portfolio of Artifacts: Examples of your work with explanations
  • Resume/CV: A downloadable PDF or embedded version
  • Contact Information: Email and LinkedIn profile
• Design your page layouts- use a virtual space, paper, or design in the website builder
• Organize and edit artifacts
• Begin brief reflective writing for each artifact to show skills and growth:
  • Name the project
  • The context (course, internship, organization, etc.)
  • Your role and responsibilities
  • Skills or tools used
  • Results or outcomes
  • What you learned or would do differently
• Revise resume/CV, leaving off personal information such as address or phone number
• Find graphics or photos to add, verifying free-use or permissions of others in the images
• Include a professional headshot

5. Compile the ePortfolio

Now is the time to pull it all together and start creating the actual website. Do not be afraid of making mistakes or trying something new or different. These sites are easy to edit and the Center for Career & Professional Development team is happy to answer your questions or give you feedback.

6. Edit & Market

Review your ePortfolio and have others give you feedback. Here are some things to look for when reviewing:

• Does this look appropriate for the audience?
• Is it easy to navigate?
• Is the design appealing?
• Does it show personality?
• Are the images/graphics free-use and/or appropriate?
• Are there a variety of artifacts and mediums used?
• Are the needed skills and attributes represented?
• For each artifact, has there been a reflection showing growth and skill development?
  • Is it brief?
• Do all links work?
• Grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been checked?
• Is there a resume or CV included, and has it been updated?
• Has all personal information (phone number, address, etc) been removed?
• Did you link to your LinkedIn Profile?
• What is your key takeaway from viewing the site?

Once published, add the link to LinkedIn and your contact section of your resume/CV. You may also want to reference your ePortfolio in cover letters to direct the audience to specific experiences or projects of note.

Do not forget to update this site regularly as you create new projects or add additional elements to your resume.

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Tips for a Strong ePortfolio

• Lead with your most relevant work
• Focus on outcomes and impact
• Keep content concise and easy to skim
• Include links or visuals when possible
• Maintain a professional tone and appearance
• Ensure accessibility (clear text, readable layout, descriptive captions)