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Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
branding yourself
I've attended my fair share of professional and academic conferences and workshops, and I can tell you that the most common theme I've witnessed tends to be the art of branding yourself.
Every college senior seeking an entry-level PR position knows the drill: present yourself as a professional, polished yet unique package of knowledge, experience and wonder. Make business cards, unify and censor your social media channels, design a flawless and well-rounded resume (preferably in InDesign, because it MUST stand out!), spend countless hours perfecting your online portfolio, fill your schedule with challenging yet rewarding extracurriculars but don't forget a part-time job and full load of classes, mention your love of people/organization/coffee/collaboration/lists/iPhone apps/did I say coffee, and please for the love of God get a manicure before shaking any hands in an interview.
Recently, I had a wonderfully (brutally?) honest professor tell me that although I am smart and have huge potential (thank you, thank you), I'm lacking in "presence." Because I am secretly a sensitive flower who pretends to have a thick skin, these words cut me to the core and I over-analyzed them for days on end. "BUT I KNOW ABOUT PERSONAL BRANDING AND I HAVE PRESENCE, DAMMIT" - my general thoughts. However, when I really considered how my professor sees me for the two hours a week that we share class together, I realized that she would have no idea that I have much of a presence at all.
For starters, on most days I come to class like the typical 20-something college student who has given up on life Monday through Thursday from 11:15 - 5:00 PM...black American Apparel leggings, Nike sneakers or if I'm feeling ambitious maybe a pair of scuffed combat boots, a flannel or an over-sized sweater, rumpled hair that hasn't seen a brush since the day before. And because I am nothing if not graceful, I typically have a coffee stain somewhere in eyesight. I'm tired and drained from the 50 other things on my plate that day, so I only speak up the minimal amount to scrape by and get those crucial participation points. Basically, I realized that I abandon any sense of a personal brand when I'm not in a professional setting, and therefore it's not really a personal brand at all.
My New Year's Resolution (aside from finding a challenging and rewarding entry-level position or internship at a dream company, please hire me) is to truly take all of the knowledge and advice about the importance of a "personal brand" (still kind of cringing) to heart. I have the business cards, the censored yet still "me" social media, the beautiful and full to the brim resume, the online portfolio, the insane schedule, the love of people/organization/coffee/collaboration/lists/iPhone apps/and yes again coffee, and the occasional manicure when I have 35 bucks to spare. While I still appreciate my downtime on the evenings watching Netflix in three-sizes-too-large sweats, it's time that I start really living my personal brand rather than thinking about it. This means dressing like a fashionable and somewhat-polished professional, showing off what can be an outgoing and charming personality, working a room, and commanding respect from teachers and peers alike.
I can't make any promises about the coffee stains.
Every college senior seeking an entry-level PR position knows the drill: present yourself as a professional, polished yet unique package of knowledge, experience and wonder. Make business cards, unify and censor your social media channels, design a flawless and well-rounded resume (preferably in InDesign, because it MUST stand out!), spend countless hours perfecting your online portfolio, fill your schedule with challenging yet rewarding extracurriculars but don't forget a part-time job and full load of classes, mention your love of people/organization/coffee/collaboration/lists/iPhone apps/did I say coffee, and please for the love of God get a manicure before shaking any hands in an interview.
Recently, I had a wonderfully (brutally?) honest professor tell me that although I am smart and have huge potential (thank you, thank you), I'm lacking in "presence." Because I am secretly a sensitive flower who pretends to have a thick skin, these words cut me to the core and I over-analyzed them for days on end. "BUT I KNOW ABOUT PERSONAL BRANDING AND I HAVE PRESENCE, DAMMIT" - my general thoughts. However, when I really considered how my professor sees me for the two hours a week that we share class together, I realized that she would have no idea that I have much of a presence at all.
For starters, on most days I come to class like the typical 20-something college student who has given up on life Monday through Thursday from 11:15 - 5:00 PM...black American Apparel leggings, Nike sneakers or if I'm feeling ambitious maybe a pair of scuffed combat boots, a flannel or an over-sized sweater, rumpled hair that hasn't seen a brush since the day before. And because I am nothing if not graceful, I typically have a coffee stain somewhere in eyesight. I'm tired and drained from the 50 other things on my plate that day, so I only speak up the minimal amount to scrape by and get those crucial participation points. Basically, I realized that I abandon any sense of a personal brand when I'm not in a professional setting, and therefore it's not really a personal brand at all.
My New Year's Resolution (aside from finding a challenging and rewarding entry-level position or internship at a dream company, please hire me) is to truly take all of the knowledge and advice about the importance of a "personal brand" (still kind of cringing) to heart. I have the business cards, the censored yet still "me" social media, the beautiful and full to the brim resume, the online portfolio, the insane schedule, the love of people/organization/coffee/collaboration/lists/iPhone apps/and yes again coffee, and the occasional manicure when I have 35 bucks to spare. While I still appreciate my downtime on the evenings watching Netflix in three-sizes-too-large sweats, it's time that I start really living my personal brand rather than thinking about it. This means dressing like a fashionable and somewhat-polished professional, showing off what can be an outgoing and charming personality, working a room, and commanding respect from teachers and peers alike.
I can't make any promises about the coffee stains.
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