Careers and Employability using

Pebble Pad

• Where have we come from

• Where have we been

• Where are we now

• Where are we going

Build it and they will come!

Field of Dreams - 2007

Chaos In Careers

Bright and Pryor 2005

Think about what you’re doing

Start Making Sense!

10

1. A webfolio helps you to identify, translate and market your skills and abilities to recruiters. and 2. A webfolio helps you record, reflect on and thus identify your strengths and skills gaps. Encouraging you to take on new activities for your portfolio.

E = (Q + WE + S) x CE = EmployabilityQ = QualificationsWE = Work ExperienceS = StrategiesC = Contacts

Redmond 2010

Expectation

Offer

Academic

Personal Work

Portfolio Evidence

--------------

Academic

Work Personal

ExplainingYour

Portfolio

Career Outcome

University Certificate

/ TranscriptApplication

Influences Experiences

1Entry & Pre-

Entry

3Progressio

n

2Learning

&Portfolio Building

Back to a Field of Dreams Moment!

Oct Feb1900

2000

2100

2200

2300

2400

2500

2600

2700 Sussex Plus User Data

19% increase in student users Oct 2011 to Feb 2012

Oct 2011

x 2160 Users

Feb 2012

X 2576 Users

• Feb 2012 – x 2576 total users of Sussex Plus• x 1603 student CV’s

External Viewpoints and Examples• BBC view of Electronic Applications

• Example Sussexplus Webfolios

• Linkedin Example

What is SussexPlus?

Cassie Graduated 2011 BA English LanguageSussex Plus has helped me shape my previous and current work experiences towards what I want to do in the future.

Creating my webfolio helped me spot the gaps in my skills and experience, which has allowed me to seek out and secure volunteering or training.

I hope to use my webfolio as a showcase of my skills

I managed to secure a job by sending my Sussex Plus portfolio!

It's a PA (personal Assistant) position with two children who have special needs, and the detailed linguistic information, BSL Videos and - oddly enough - the fact I can play the ukulele, were all deciding factors in offering me the position. These were all things I was able to show in my Sussex Plus Webfolio

I intend to use it to secure others in the future.

Reconstruct – (Outcomes)

•Student Union / Project V•Alumni Careers Network•Student Reps •Student Ambassadors•Learning to Lead•Specific Departments e.g. Media Film and Music / Neuro Science /•Placements

Example Projects around the University

•See ‘The Big Picture’

•The tech works - It’s our role to give structure

•Make sense!!!

•Be iterative

Bailing Li UG Year 3 BusinessManagement: Business (Finance)

In order to create a good webfolio, I asked for

feedback from a range of people from different fields. For example, my friend who was doing website design, my HR manager, some other friends doing a business degree and also staff at the Careers and Employability Centre. I have learnt a lot about website design by improving my webfolio. It also built up my confidence when I managed to make a good webfolio for myself. I have put my webfolio address on my CV and Linkedin profile to demonstrate my personality and skills. I believe, it will help me to stand out when applying jobs.

Miranda UG Year 1 Politics: Politics & Philosophy

Having completed my degree in Politics andPhilosophy I want to pursue my interest in

international politics and law by doing a law conversion degree and then specialising in international law afterwards. Creating a webfolio enabled me to realise my passions and skills as you have to put them down in writing. It also enabled me to think about design and my use of language when presenting information to people. Next year I will be looking for internships over the summer and my webfolio will make it much easier to communicate my CV with potential employers. Furthermore it is a much more modern way of advertising yourself and your talents.

Milan UG Year 2 Informatics: Computer ScienceBeyond Sussex, I want to continue

studying Computer Science at Masters level ideally at Oxford or Cambridge, then work in the banking/computing sector in the City. I learnt to promote myself effectively, show my strengths and personality to a potential employer. The webfolio definitely adds an edge to any candidate. I will definitely send a link to my webfolio as well as my LinkedIn profile to future employers for consideration. I believe it greatly improves my chances of securing a face-to-face interview.