I believe that I improved my professional presence after completing my eportfolio in multiple ways. The first way is that I gained the skills I need to really promote who I am in a professional way and in a way, I can present it to possible future employers. Another way is that it has helped me communicate in a professional way, professional communication is an important thing and I feel that a lot of people lack that skill, completing this eportfolio has helped me progress and grow in professional communication especially over the internet. Lastly, I fell as if it has helped me be creative in representing who I am but in a professional way, my eportfolio to me really paints a picture of who I am and is personalized to my style but, yet it is still professional and gives me a good professional presence to viewers.
What I liked most about my eportfolio is that I was able to be creative while creating it and really get to promote myself in a fun but professional way. I also like that it’s a tool that I can use for the rest of my working life. I can continue to update it and use it for future employers or even just a way to show case my work as a hairstylist in a different way that isn’t a social networking site. Lastly, I really like that it has helped me grow as a professional and has given me multiple ways to showcase myself as one. I can professionally write blog post, showcase different projects I’ve completed, and have my resume all in one place.
The most challenging aspects of the eportfolio to me was two thigs, keeping the information up to date, and keeping up with which course required what. Information on my eportfolio is constantly changing, and I want to keep it as up to date as possible, but sometimes I forget to update it until months after the fact when I have to curate for another course. Some of the assignments required by this course as well as my other communication courses has been a challenge because sometimes, they are similar, so I feel as if I have already completed them when I haven’t, or I mix up which one is for what course.
My advice for future students about the eportfolio is a few things. First, take it seriously, it’s a great tool to have to showcase who you are a professional, take advantage of it. Create it to show who you are as a professional and take the skills each part of it brings to you and use them in your life. Second, take your time when completing the different parts. They are important, and you can really take away some great communication skills from each part. Lastly, use it in the future, its something that can really set you apart from competition when apply for a job, it’s a professional tool to have that showcases you and isn’t a social media site.
Some components from this course that I found interesting were, facial and eye behavior, and space and territoriality modules. I found the facial and eye behavior module interesting because I always express my emotions on my face, so getting to learn about how it impacts intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships was interesting, it was also interesting learning about how to read others facial expressions and eye behaviors. Lastly, space and territoriality is interesting to me because I’m one of those people who dislike when people get to close to me and I get extremely uncomfortable when it happens. So, learning about territorial invasion and defense not only was interesting but provided me with skills and information for when my personal space is invaded.
I learn from the popular press analysis that popular press article are more casual and don’t really provide any scientific studies, while peer reviewed articles are more formal and tend to provide more scientific studies and research, but they both state the same/ similar information on topics. I also learned that good nonverbal communication is important in relationships, not just verbal communication. All forms of communication will lead to a healthy, stable relationship so value both verbal as well as nonverbal.
I think this course could benefit me in my hair stylist career for many reasons. First reason being I can take the skills to help me read not only my co-works, but every client that sits in my chair. Whether it’s their body language, facial expressions, and all other types of nonverbal communication I can use it to provide a better experience for them. The second reason is, it has helped me become more aware of how I use nonverbal communication in a professional setting. I am now aware of how I respond and act and can adjust as needed to come across more professional. Lastly, I can use these nonverbal communication skills and combine them with my other communication skills to make me an all-around better communicator when it comes to communicating with my clients. Communication is a huge part of my career, without it I cannot provide a great service or the service my clients are looking for without it.
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