The other day I started a conversation about your brand. This is of course a new buzz word that quite frankly is very much over used. But as a young aspiring executive, researcher or teacher it is much more important than you may think.
I was reading awhile back where someone was making the point that building a brand for yourself was a futile exercise and is not even possible. His point was that the product (you) speaks for itself and the brand comes from the quality of the product, not by someone telling you that it is good. This is true.
The difference between you and a product is that the employer is not buying a finished product but is instead is hiring an individual that has potential value. Much more like a collector buying a young wine that is from a good vineyard during a good crop year and betting that, given time, will develop into its’ potential.
This may be a difficult analogy, but let’s break it down.
- The good vineyard – This is the school you attend, the major classes you take and the grades you get in these classes. These are the basics that define what potential a young graduate possesses. And, other than the grades, supports what the young man (I spoke of earlier) says. His point would be that your IQ + your school + your class choices = your brand. I disagree with him, in that your IQ is not equal to your grades. I speak often about grades and will continue to do so throughout this blog but that is for a later time.
- The good crop year – With wine, this is the amount of rain, the amount of sun, temperature during the growing season and many more factors that I don’t understand. However, when it comes to future employees, factors such as personality, judgment, character, work ethic, respect, dedication, and focus are characteristics for the potential of a refined wine.
In this digital age you must be very aware that everything you say online will be found by your future employer or grad school. Believe me, they are searching. In fact, HR departments are attending seminars to learn how to do these searches.
What type if crop year are you presenting on your Twitter account, your Facebook profile? Are you showing your true personality? Are you demonstrating your good judgment and character?
Be yourself and have fun with your friends but; be aware, be very aware.
photo by Lyubov
