Paper
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
563
Marketing Yourself Via an Electronic Curriculum Vitae (eCV)
Janice M. Jones, RN, PhD, CNS, Nursing, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA and Kay M. Sackett, RN, EdD, Nursing, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
| Learning Objective #1: 1) Describe the benefits of using a nursing ePortfolio to market yourself professionally. |
| Learning Objective #2: 2) Explore the relationship of the ePortfolio to the process of developing an electronic curriculum vitae (eCV).
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The nursing faculty shortage and the “graying of nursing faculty” have been well documented in the literature. Retirements and changes in nursing care delivery are two of the reasons for the projected vacancies. The problem is compounded by the lack of graduate students to replace the older generation of nursing faculty. Not only are fewer graduate nurses selecting academia or a teaching career but nurses are entering academic life later in their years. For graduate students who represent potential new faculty, the curriculum vitae (CV) serves as the focal point into the world of academia. Employed faculty use the CV for promotion and tenure or to market themselves for a new academic position. CVs are the academic’s version of a business resume. CVs have traditionally been used to provide information regarding educational preparation, employment history, work experience, awards and honors, professional memberships and activities, university service, college or professional school service, departmental service, community service, courses taught, research and supervision, grant support, publications and professional presentations. CVs are generally presented in a paper format. Paper CVs are cumbersome for prospective employers to review, difficult to mail ahead or carry to interviews, and labor-intensive to read. Nursing faculty have been slow to personally adopt the technology to market themselves either internally for promotion and tenure or externally to secure a new position. By shifting to electronic portfolios, or ePortfolios as they are called, faculty can communicate their accomplishments and competencies in a more timely and interesting fashion, have an opportunity to work with technology, and demonstrate their ability to use information technology as a tool. This presentation, describes the development of a faculty electronic or e-Portfolio that encompasses the CV. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of implementing an electronic curriculum vita (eCV) are discussed.