Preparing Students for the Job Search

I have the unique advantage of being both and educator and a software development professional. I like to think that this gives me insight into how to prepare students for the workforce. I like to reserve one lecture to help students understand how to “brand” themselves to potential employers. Although not part of the curriculum, it is a critical part of their transition from student into colleague. We cover the usual suspects: resume writing, what to expect in an interview, LinkedIn, and social media do’s and don’ts.  This semester, I am adding a new website to the discussion, Pathbright.

Pathbright is an excellent way to visually represent a “lifetime of learning and achievement”. The resume isn’t dead, but it can be rather dull and not always representative of a student’s accomplishments. This is an excellent way to create stunning visual insights into projects, clubs, presentations, and papers. A portfolio coupled with a resume can offer a potential employer a much richer view of a student’s past experience.

Take a few moments to look around their website. There are lots of sample portfolios to take a look at and get some really good ideas. I’ve also included a link to mine, just as an example...no shameless plugs :). I’d also love to hear your thoughts on helping prepare students for the job search.