Exploring Design Strategies for Student Career Portfolios

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2025

Exploring Design Strategies for Student Career Portfolios

Shyam Pandey

Abstract

This study explores technical and professional communication (TPC) students’ design of multimodal career portfolios, focusing on their strategies amid technological advancements and shifting workplace dynamics. The study analyzed 155 artifacts from 31 students, including resumes, video resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and rhetorical and modal analyses, using MAXQDA for discourse analysis. The results highlight the importance of research synthesis, intertextuality, audience awareness, personal branding, and adaptability in portfolio development. TPC students effectively create portfolios that meet company expectations across boundaries. A multimodal approach in TPC curricula is recommended, along with further research on emerging technologies’ impact on portfolios.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2025-10-01
DOI: 10.1177/00472816241307610
Open Access: Closed
Topics: discourse analysis multimodality professional writing

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