Standing out from the crowd

Since I am graduating this upcoming May, all I’ve been thinking about it is the end of college and the start of my professional career. How will I be able to stand out for the other 30 people in my major graduating at the same time as me with the same experience not to mention various grads across the country that may have more experience. How do we, as grads, stand out from our peers?

• Find hands-on learning opportunities – This may refer to anything from internships, independent studies with professors and freelance work. Not only does it boost your resume but it will also give you valuable experience that will help you with your future career. This gives you the unique edge over other applicants and could get you the job. Having these opportunities will also solidify your future goals or help you decide on your future career path.

• Take classes outside of your major – As Liberal Arts students we are required to take core classes to fulfill our degrees. This may seem like a huge pain but in reality this is making us well-rounded individuals. You may even find another subject you are passionate about and pick up a minor or another major. There are many exciting classes offered that usually can be taken by students of any major. Also consider taking classes that will help your “soft skills” such as communication, public speaking, finance and general business.

• Networking – This is one of the most important aspects of college. Network with your peers, network with alumni and network with faculty. Any contacts you make could potentially get you a recommendation or a job in the future. There are many events happening on campus that can help you get out there and network.

• Know how to talk about yourself – When being interviewed, you will be asked questions about yourself. It may be uncomfortable to talk about yourself but you will have to ask questions such a “Tell us about yourself” and “How would you fit into this company”. Knowing what you want to say about yourself will make the interview process smoother.

Of course there are many things you can do to make yourself to stand out from the crowd but gaining extra experience in your field and getting to know your peers are two of the top things you can do while still in college than will help you in the future.

 

Source: http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/10/30/10-things-college-kids-must-do-now-to-snag-a-job-post-graduation/

Personal Branding (Part 2)

In the first part of this series, I talked about creating your personal brand and using that brand to market yourself to potential employers. In this part, I will be talking about social media in particular and how it can help you even further when promoting yourself and looking for a job. Social media has become more and more important in this digital age in networking, finding job postings, and connecting with potential employers. You may think that people aren’t visiting your pages on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, but you are mistaken. Employers are using social media more as a tool to scope out what you’re like as a person and what you enjoy.

• Blog – Last time I discussed having a portfolio or a website to show off your skills and previous work experience but having a blog in the mix can also be beneficial. The blog should be under your own name so that it can be aligned with your brand. This can be a way to show employers you can write clearly, professionally, and that you have something to say to the world. You can blog about what your passions are, your hobbies or talk about articles related to your major and interests. Posting at least once a week and using tags will ensure that your blog is being seen and being read. Those who blog will have a higher asset that those without a blog because blogs rank higher in searches and lend expertise to your name.
• LinkedIn – Having a LinkedIn profile goes without saying. This profile combines your resume, cover letter, references and a moving database of your networks all in one convenient place. This is an excellent way to promote yourself and your brand. LinkedIn is also a great tool to use for following companies and finding jobs. You can apply directly to these jobs using your profile, convenient and easy.
• Facebook – Almost everyone has a Facebook profile but often people (especially college students) don’t realize how Facebook can affect their professional life. Keep your profile clean with a decent profile picture without nudity, obscene gestures or alcohol containers. Turn off the option that allows others to see tagged pictures of you if your friends have a habit of tagging you in unflattering pictures. Even if your profile is only view-able by friends, employers searching for you can still see your profile picture and cover photo. You can choose to restrict viewing on your profile or use your profile as another way to showcase your previous and current work experience and education.
• Twitter – Twitter is a great micro-blogging tool where you can post quick updates or share links that interest you. Many people choose to have two separate accounts, one for daily use and one for professional use. The daily use account can be set to private so that you restrict viewing on your profile and tweets. This is a great idea if you tend to be “expressive” in your tweets and would rather not have potential employers (and the rest of the world) see. Keep your professional twitter clean and use a profile picture that matches your LinkedIn profile to keep with your professional brand. You can also use the themes and colors available in Twitter to go along with your brand.
• Email Address – Many people underestimate the importance of having a professional email address. Using Gmail is recommended because its integration with Google+ and GTalk allows for easy communication and networking. Your email address is a great opportunity to promote your brand, professional emails usually follow the formula of ‘firstname.lastname@gmail.com’. Using your tween email address of hockeyduckylover_599@hotmail.com is definitely not recommended.
• Pinterest – This social media site has grown tremendously over the last year with more and more users every day. Since this site is public everyone can see your pins and likes however, this is a great way to show your brand. You can use Pinterest as an inspiration for you blog posts and as a way to showcase what you’re really interested in. Do you love Art & Photography? Pin it! Show the world that you’re a well-rounded individual with ambitions, goals and passion.

What do you do next? Apply for jobs! Get your brand out there. All of these tools can help you promote yourself and your skills and help you land that job you’re looking for.

Source: http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/personal-branding-101/

Personal Branding (Part 1)

In the past few years social media has become more important in the career world and so has personal branding. Personal branding is crucial for companies looking to hire you. You want something about yourself to stick out and be remembered. We are in the day and age when our opinions and activity online are very visible so why don’t we use that to get hired? There are several steps to begin the personal branding process as well as many resources that can help you be more visible online and more attractive to recruiters and companies.

The first step of course is to discover who you are. These seems like a huge task right off the bat. Many people make the mistake of branding themselves simply because they have to or for the sake of doing it. You need to take the time to decide who you are and what your brand should be. What are the most important aspects of your personality? What is your passion in life? This is the time to set goals for yourself and plan out what you want for the future. What drives you in life? You need to make your self impression equal how others perceive you. Your brand is going to represent who you are so make it a good one.

The next step is to create your personal brand. You will be creating a personal branding tool kit. These are the tools to help you build your brand, network and establish how you want others to perceive you.

• Business cards – This is a very important tool. As college students and soon to be graduates this will be on the most effective ways to network and gain those connections. This should contain your preferred contact information, including an online portfolio (if you have one). Keep it simple. This is just a way to keep your information handy. There’s not need to cram a lot of stuff onto such a small space.
• Resume/cover letter – Both of these are very important to have on hand. How else are you going to apply to jobs? Your resume and cover letter should reflect your personal style (but don’t get too crazy) and should involve your most pertinent information such as education, job history and skills. Employers want to see what you’ve done and what you can do. Remember to customize your cover letter to each job you are applying to.
• Portfolio/website – Having a portfolio is a great way to showcase what you’ve done. Showing projects you’ve worked on in the past as this is an effective way to convince potential employers that you can do the same in the future. Having your own domain name for your website is a good way to keep your personal brand in plain view.

Always remember to keep your personal branding the same between the different sections of your tool kit the same. Develop a logo or a theme and keep it the same on your business card, resume and website. This makes you look organized and more professional.

In the next part, I’ll be talking a little more about social media and how you can involve different social media sites in your personal branding.

Source: http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/personal-branding-101/