Author: Debbie Campbell, Senior Career Consultant, Right Management

Recently I had a very significant meeting with a new college graduate. The meeting was set up to fit into his schedule and I was looking forward to helping him with important next steps in leveraging his master’s in engineering.

When he walked in my office, he was professionally dressed, but was terribly shy and appeared to have little self-confidence. He was looking at the ground and seemed nervous. It was difficult to make and keep eye contact with him, and I tried to get a smile but it wasn’t easy! I asked him why he thought a company should hire him and he said, “Hmm, I don’t know, I guess because I’m a hard worker who needs a break.” It was clear within a few minutes why he wasn’t landing jobs despite his great credentials and where he needed help. Like so many graduates we see at Right Management, his degree was simply not enough for him to land a job in his field of study. Employers today want so much more!

Parents and students spend thousands of dollars obtaining a good education
Educators spend thousands of hours ensuring that students gain clear understanding of the topic
Employers spend thousands of dollars and hours ensuring that employees understand and are trained in the job they need to do
But, few of us spend enough time mentoring young workers on self-awareness and personal marketing

College students need coaching to gain clarity on their greatest value proposition and strongest skills so that they can effectively communicate how they align with the needs of companies. They must learn how to be noticed in a very crowded field. In my world of career coaching, we call it developing a personal brand.

In the past, companies utilized college recruiting as one of their primary hiring tools and schools helped students land jobs by bringing companies on campus to interview. But the world has changed. Many companies no longer have college recruiting departments and sourcing has shifted to technology and social media as primary recruiting tools that, by the way, require personal branding. Because of these shifts, universities realize they need to provide different resources to help graduates develop the skills needed to land jobs in today’s hiring market. That’s why university career services departments are partnering with career experts to work with students and graduates to develop their brand and integrate an effective marketing / communication plan.

So, you might be wondering what happened with my engineering student? The story ends well. By increasing his confidence, practicing his developed personal brand, and realizing that he needed to stand out in the crowd, he quickly landed a job in his field with a growing company. What’s more, he was able to negotiate a salary close to his initial goal. He is happy, has launched his career and is taking steps to increase his personal presence and confidence. The future is bright!

If you’re having trouble making a dent in the job market – or know someone who is – here are three things you can do today to begin developing your own personal brand:
Develop a clear focus of your unique promise of value. These can be personal attributes, hard skills, passions, and things you like to do best. Write them down so that you can include them in your marketing materials (resume, LinkedIn profile, introduction, interviewing, etc.).
Ask people around you who have seen you in action for their feedback. You should talk to professors, classmates, supervisors, parents, and people you have known for some time. Ask them what they think are your best qualities. How would they describe you to someone else?
Identify your target career and companies / industries. Learn about their greatest needs through research and then connect your unique promise of value to them. You have a far greater chance of landing a terrific job by helping companies see how you will fit in their organization.