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Using
your Portfolio in the
Job Search
We have had hundreds of principals viewing portfolios! To make your portfolio useful in your job search integrate it into Cover Letters, WECAN, Interviewing, and follow up by doing the following:
- Be ready to use your portfolio to illustrate how you teach and to answer questions about your teaching.
- Choose sections focused on what you value most in your teaching.
- Suggest specific locations in your portfolio that illustrate things that are important in your teaching. EPCS can help!
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The Portfolio at UW Madison:
- Education
students, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, produce electronic
portfolios as an integral part of their program to attain teacher certification.
- The portfolio is first of all a tool for student learning and growth
through reflection.
- The portfolios may also be used to provide school district administrators
with tangible evidence of the skills and understanding each teacher
will bring into the classroom.
Portfolios
are a powerful, new tool for the
job search. Students who have been successful in
using their portfolios have proactively promoted them.
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Some
basic points about using the portfolio
for your job search.
The
portfolio:
- Is not a screening
tool. Don’t expect employers to view it unless they have decided that
you meet their qualifications.
- Will
help you interview. One
thing we hear consistently from students is that having completed the
portfolio helped them interview.
- Is
very different from a paper portfolio because employers can view before, during, and after an interview. It
is also rich information, providing indepth knowledge of your teaching
abilities. This means you have to think about it differently and use
it differently. Students
who have had success using the e-portfolio understand how to use it
and how to promote it.
- Is
just one tool of several that you have for your job search though a
powerful one. School employers
use different things for hiring. Some will use your e-portfolio some
will not.
(See tools for a listing of hiring practices).
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Promoting
Your Portfolio
1. Put in on your Resume: Your account will be accessible to employers
once activated. Notify employers they can access the portfolio by listing
the EPCS web page on your resume including
your EPCS file number and employer password. For example:
Electronic
Portfolio Available at http://careers.education.wisc.edu
In the For
Employers section in the far left panel,
select View Candidates
Enter Email Address, File Number (Your
EPCS File Number), Enter Password(Your
Employer Access Password)
2. Discuss
it in Cover Letters: In your letters, be sure
to promote your portfolio by identifying key
exhibits or examples of your work that you would like employers
to view. Give directions on where to find these items within your portfolio.
See an example cover letter under K-12
Job Search: Letters.
3. Get
the word out with Promotional Cards:
Include a sheet on instructions of how to access your portfolio to take
to job interviews or job fairs. You can even include these promotional
cards with your cover letter and resume! EPCS has prepared a promotional
card to be used to distribute information about your portfolio. The cards
were created in Microsoft Word. They are three to a page, and the document
is available here for you to print for your use. See: Promotional
Cards
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Using
EPCS's job search system to release your Portfolio
to Employers
An EPCS Job-Search
Account provides a direct secure, job search system allowing employer access to
your portfolio in accordance with confidentiality and permissions agreements.
In order to release your portfolio
to employers, you must have an active job search account with EPCS.
Steps
for releasing your portfolio
When
using your portfolio in your job search, two
main steps need to occur in
order to allow employers to view your portfolio. First, the
account has to be set to activated status, and
second, an employer
password must be assigned.
Return to Education Timeline
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Job Search
Account: portfolio activation panel |
Activating your account:
- Log
in to EPCS On-Line
- From Services Menu, select Job Search Menu > Select Activate Portfolio/ Set Employer Access
Password
- Select ACTIVATED next
to 'Select Portfolio Status'
- If
you want Madison Metropolitan School District to
have access to your portfolio, select YES
- If
your portfolio contains video clips, select .mov or .wmv for
the type of video file (If selected, the employer
will receive information about downloading software in order to view
the video/audio)
- Enter
an employer password in the Set Employer Access Password box (Choose a password other than the one you use
to access EPCS On-line)
- Verify
the password is correct
- Select Submit Updated Status and Password
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WECAN:
providing employers access to your Portfolio:
You
must have a Candidate account on WECAN (To create
a candidate account, go to careers.education.wisc.edu/wecan and create an account)
- From
the Activate Your On Line Portfolio and Credentials screen
(the example screen above), under For WECAN Users: Use this
URL for your Portfolio... highlight and copy the entire
https:// address
- Log
in to your WECAN account
- Go to Your Profile
- Select Edit Your Profile
- Scroll
down to the bottom of the page to the Wisconsin Standards-Based
ePortfolio box
- Paste
the entire URL in this box
- Select Submit
EPCS
consultants are available to offer assistance to employers in gaining
access to your portfolio. If you need assistance
or have any questions, please call EPCS at (608) 262-1755 or E-mail EPCS
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