The world of work has changed an awful lot, just in the last ten years, especially for college graduates. It looks as if the days when a college grad could walk out of college and hop into a graduate career are well and truly over. There’s a hollowing out of the middle going on, with fewer and fewer management positions available. There are more people at the top and more people at the bottom.
This is why it’s suddenly become a heck of a lot more important for graduates to build their own personal brands. The world of work isn’t so much about slotting into a particular role – it’s about creating one. But part of doing that successfully is having your own personal brand. It’s what differentiates you and gets people interested in what it is that you’re doing. If you’re considering an entrepreneurial career, check out this personal brand building advice.
Promote Your Passion
People generally want to work with others who are intelligent, passionate and well-traveled. Clients and employers, therefore, are looking for people who got so interested in something that they decided to take action. If there’s something you love, don’t just stand on the sidelines, figure out a way to deliver a solution.
Rise Above the Crowd
Lori Jones works at a communications company. Her advice for building a personal brand is that grads differentiate themselves from their peers as early on as they can. They should focus on their uniqueness, she says, as well as their core competencies. They should also focus on their capacity to improve the bottom line of their clients. She says that having a brand isn’t about having an ego – it’s about having the confidence to set oneself apart from other people in the field.
Protect Your Identity
Abby Downing works at a promotions company. She points out that one of the biggest challenges facing grads today is managing their brand. One of the first things they need to do is to make sure that their social media accounts are set to private and that their profiles are set to something a little more appropriate than their spring break party.
Xavier Morales, a trademark lawyer, also suggests that individuals protect their trademarks early on, especially those who are starting their own businesses. Entrepreneurs should file to protect their slogans, logos, and business names as soon as they can to avoid being copied by their competitors.
Be Wary, Even Ephemeral Content Doesn’t Disappear Entirely
Rebekah Iliff works at a PR company which is used to dealing with PR disasters. She’s noticed that many students feel safe sharing stuff they wouldn’t want the rest of the world to see on ephemeral chat platforms, like Snapchat. But she warns that content doesn’t always disappear. The person at the other end can easily capture anything that you transmit and post it anywhere they like on the internet, including their social networks. If what they post is searchable, then it’s easy for your clients and customers to find you and get a negative impression.