Accessing Your Account Settings

To access your account settings:

1. Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner of any page
2. Select Manage My Account from the dropdown menu
3. Choose User Settings to access your basic account information

Basic Account Information

In the User Settings section, you can modify your basic account details:

• Username: Your unique identifier on ProjectBoard (visible to others)
• Email Address: Your contact email (not publicly visible)
• First Name: Your first name as displayed on your profile
• Last Name: Your last name as displayed on your profile

Remember to click Save Changes after making any modifications to your account information.

Completing Your Profile

A complete profile increases your visibility and engagement within the ProjectBoard community. To access and edit your profile:

1. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner
2. Select Go to Profile
3. Click the Edit Profile button to update your information

Essential Profile Elements

For a complete profile, we recommend adding:

• Profile Picture: Upload a clear photo of yourself (see guidelines below)
• Work Availability: Indicate if you're open to job opportunities
• Passion Topics: Select STEM areas you're most interested in (up to 5)
• Getting to Know You: Answer three prompts to share more about yourself
• Location: Add your geographic location (city/state/province and country)
• Education Level: Select your current educational standing
• Work Experience: Add relevant past employment or volunteer roles

Profile Photo Guidelines

Your profile photo represents you across the ProjectBoard platform. For best results:

• Use a clear, front-facing photo of yourself
• Ensure good lighting and a neutral background
• Crop the image to focus on your face and shoulders
• Upload an image that is at least 400 x 400 pixels
• Keep file size under 5MB
• Use JPEG, PNG, or GIF formats

Avoid using logos, group photos, or abstract images for your profile picture, as these don't effectively represent you as an individual in the community.

Setting Profile Visibility

You can control who sees various aspects of your profile:

1. From your profile page, click Edit Profile
2. Navigate to the Privacy Settings tab
3. Adjust visibility settings for different profile elements:
   • Project Portfolio: Choose which projects are visible on your public profile
   • Work Experience: Set visibility to public or private
   • Education: Set visibility to public or private

Remember that your basic profile information (name, profile picture, and passion topics) remains visible to all ProjectBoard users.

Adding Skills and Interests

Skills and interests help connect you with relevant opportunities and like-minded community members:

1. From your profile page, click Edit Profile
2. Navigate to the Skills & Interests section
3. Add skills related to your STEM expertise (e.g., Python programming, 3D printing, circuit design)
4. Select passion topics that represent your areas of interest
5. Rank your top skills by dragging them into your preferred order

Pro tip: Be specific with your skills to stand out. For example, instead of just "programming," specify "Python for data analysis" or "Arduino programming for robotics."

Project Portfolio

Your project portfolio showcases your work to the community:

1. Upload projects through the Upload a Project option
2. From your profile, choose which projects to display by toggling the Show on Profile option
3. Arrange the order of displayed projects by dragging them into your preferred sequence

Only projects marked as Show on Profile will be visible to other users when they view your profile.

Work Availability Setting

The work availability setting informs employers if you're open to opportunities:

1. From your profile page, click Edit Profile
2. Locate the Work Availability toggle
3. Select from the list to indicate the type of job opportunities you're open to

This setting is particularly important if you're interested in the internships and positions posted on the Job Board.