One of my visions is to have a “personal branding class” in every college and university in the world. It is my hope that my book will become the text book. I look at college students right now and feel sorry for many of them, who haven’t gained knowledge in branding. They are all at a severe disadvantage in a market where over 760,000 jobs have been lost and the job growth rate for 09′ graduates is only at 1.3%. Aside from the economy (I don’t want to play it to death), students have to understand that if they don’t uncover their unique attributes, they won’t stand out in a world of clutter, which means they won’t get a high paying job or one that aligns with their passions.
Today, I spoke with the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, to start to socialize many of the ideas in my new book.
Tonight’s presentation recap – 10 min / 1 hr
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmnfasLzRdc]
Subscribe to my podcast series
Slideshare presentation
[slideshare id=751628&doc=keynote-umass-dartmouth-2-copy-1226632624687809-8&w=425]
A call to arms
If you aren’t a marketing major, then be a marketing minor please. You really need to learn about marketing because it’s all around you. For a college student not to have a LinkedIn profile, not to Google their name ever or set privacy setting for their Facebook account is something to be concerned over. I’ve presented to many colleges and I see the same issues over and over again.
A new standard should be required in education, where students learn about personal branding freshman year, so they have enough time to build a brand, so they:
- 1) don’t have to apply to jobs when they graduate
- 2) can start a business based around their brand
- 3) have more experience.
Look to the internet as your savior
It appears that most college students don’t understand the reach of the internet. Also, it’s important to point out that telling students to go to networking events and to seek assistance from career counselors and teachers is not enough. You need to reach across boundaries, in a world where everyone is on the same plane, and you can almost touch hiring managers at companies you want to work for. Don’t send out a 10,000 resume blast because that is just like the 10,000 emails reporters get everyday and they are discounted as spam. The real way to succeed in college is to understand how the internet can be used to get a job or start a business, and then act.
Enter web 2.0/me 2.0. There is a massive opportunity for college students to secure jobs as early as freshman year! As you know from reading my blog, most college students can’t define web 2.0, blogging, Twitter, etc. If you want to be one of the college students that puts these tools into action, you will see extraordinary results. I want you to all be “Me 2.0,” so you can control your own online kingdom and command your career.
From promotion to protection
For about a year and a half, my messaging has been around promoting your personal brand. In the past few months, I’ve been more concerned over our reputations, so I’m now bucketing my messaging around “promotion” and “protection.” The reality is that you need to protect your name because someone either steals it from you (registers it) or people start talking about you and own your Google results. The promotion piece is more apparent and noticeable, yet equally important.
Final thoughts
Just by seeing where college students are right now is a clear indication that I’m heading in the right direction and that my book has the ability to completely reshape our education system, into one where students have the tools and confidence required to be successful. I’m here for all of you, as we conquer the world together.
