Home College 4 Ways College Students Can Build Their Personal Brand Online

4 Ways College Students Can Build Their Personal Brand Online

You have been in your comfort zone all through school and college. Even when you were drowning in assignments, you weren’t required to constantly prove your mettle to a bunch of strangers. The real struggle begins after you graduate from college. You know when you get out there in the real world and start searching for jobs.

Yes, it’s time for you to start preparing for that next big step in your life. In order to attain success later, it is essential to sow the seeds starting now.

How do you do that? Start with building your personal brand online.

While application forms, cover letters, and resumes are still relevant; today your digital footprint is equally important for recruiters to take into consideration. It reveals a lot about your personality and holds the power to influence hiring decisions.

Here are 4 ways you can use the digital space to market yourself in a positive light.

Clean Up Your Profiles

The last thing you want is something you posted 10 years to come back to haunt you. This can your chances of being hired by a prospective firm. Something that seemed ‘cool’ to you then might not hold true today. So, start with performing a clean up of your social media profiles.

You should also get rid of controversial statements and pictures as well as anything inappropriate that you might have been tagged in. If you had a personal blog back in the day, it’s a good idea to revisit it and do away with any content that might sabotage your chances.

Are you too picky about your personal social media accounts? If so, you can also look at opening new accounts that can be kept strictly professional while changing the privacy settings on your personal profiles. That way, you can maintain your personal and professional life separate.

Leverage LinkedIn

We cannot speak about personal branding without mentioning one of the most powerful personal branding tools – LinkedIn.

Having a LinkedIn profile should not be a tick-box exercise. Ensure your profile is regularly updated and reflects your experience. Right from having a professional headshot and compelling summary, to making meaningful connections and staying active on LinkedIn. You need to do it all to make your profile get noticed and stand out.

Worried about writing a powerful summary? You can try this service for success and have experts write one that highlights your strengths, abilities, and experiences to attract recruiters.

Share Relevant Content

Look at yourself as a brand – whatever you put out there is shaping your persona and reputation.

Now that you have cleaned up your accounts, to staying active on digital platforms and work on strengthening your personal branding. This helps to frame a content strategy in line with the values you identify with and your career goals.

Share relevant content on your social media profiles and connect with people in the business to gain visibility and showcase your personality. As a college student, you are just starting off. This is a great time to build valuable connections and project yourself as a hands-on, enthusiastic, and dependable asset for companies to have.

Ultimately, the content you post reflects your identity so make it count to get the right opportunities!

Maintain a Website

One of the first things recruiters do when carrying out a background check is searching the candidate on Google. While they can be directed to your social media profiles, the ideal scenario is having them visit your personal website that is all about you.

Having a website gives you the flexibility to market yourself the way you want to. It lets you showcase your past work, experiences, and interests in a manner that adds to your credibility and shows you in a positive light.

Maintaining this website, including keeping a blog, boosts your online presence, and is useful when starting a business.

This entrepreneurial venture can go from baking homemade cookies to making your soda-pop brand. Have you ever heard of unboxing flavorful, fizzy soda? That’s the power of custom product packaging and creating an experience for your customers at the same time. It’s pretty impressive to have “business owner” on your résumé while still in college too.

So, buy a domain name. And start with populating your personal website with details about yourself, a portfolio of your work, resume, volunteering activities, noteworthy projects, and contact details.

Yes, there is pressure of being likable and worthy of being noticed by recruiters but in the midst of all this. Be authentic, and genuine because putting up a farce never ends well. Be consistent in your efforts and let your online persona reflect your true self.

Featured Image Via Rawpixel On Pexels

3 COMMENTS

  1. This is a very excellent and informative piece that contains all pertinent information and has a significant impact on the new packaging boxes. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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