Oftentimes what makes or breaks students’ success in getting a job is the ability to demonstrate to their prospective employers that they have obtained knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the required position in the course of their college experience. This can be very difficult to do in the medium of a standard resume, since students’ work experience will not necessarily reflect what they are now able to do.

To keep up with the growing demand of capturing and tracking this experience, Jeff Garis, Jill Lumsden, and the Career Center team at the Florida State University developed a web-based application called Career Portfolio. This career resource enables students to showcase the skills they have developed by allowing them to input information into five experience categories – coursework, memberships/activities, volunteer work, jobs and internships. This online portfolio serves both the students and the prospective employers. Students can see which skills they have developed so far and which skills they may want to concentrate on in the future. By keeping all of the information centralized, employers can gain access to additional electronic information that could not be included on a typical resume or curricula vita and use it to more effectively direct their decision making process.

Over 40,000 students have used the Career Portfolio system since its inception and it has become part of the academic and student service culture at FSU. In fiscal year 2005 Career Portfolio was licensed to three major colleges UC-San Diego, Montclair University, Georgia Technical Institute, and one private company based in Japan. The invention of the FSU Career Portfolio changed the national landscape regarding how college students prepare for their careers and apply for jobs. The FSU Career Portfolio is recognized nationally as a new leading innovative career service and is contributing to an international trend in the development of ePortfolios.

For more information please visit www.career.fsu.edu/portfolio