Your personal brand is divided into two parts, your Personal Brand Image and your Personal Brand Identity, where the Personal Brand Image is how your peers perceive you and your identity, personality, values, skills, and abilities. Your Personal Brand Identity is who you really are (identity, personality, values, skills, and abilities) and what you want to communicate to others.

There are a lot of ways in which you can align the two, but today we will focus on networking and events.

When you see someone at a restaurant, in a meeting room, or at a networking event, you will automatically add definitions to your image of that person. If she is having lunch with a head hunter that you recognize, it will probably empower certain areas of her brand image such as skill level and professionalism, while having dinner with her daughter will add to her image of being a good mother, emotional skills etc. The bottom line is, your brand image is affected by the company you keep.

Using Facebook and LinkedIn to meet with the right people

Let’s say you want to meet with a certain type of person, to pick their brain, to hang out or to make inquiries about if their office is a good place to be looking for work. The first thing I normally do is to find out if there is anyone in my network that fits the profile, or if there is anyone that knows someone with the profile I am looking for. So how do I do this?

First I go to my LinkedIn account, looking around for certain skills, positions and interests of the people that I know personally. If somene fits the profile, then I just contact them. I do the same on Facebook, but the search possibilities are much more limited. OftenI find that I do not know the right person directly but that my connections know someone, which is almost as good. Let your connection help you get connected.  Ask for an introduction.

Finding the events where you want to be seen

You have now met with the connections in your network and also with some of their connections, but you still wants more. Maybe you are looking at the local chamber of commerce and other traditional networks for the right events to practice your networking skills. If you do that, it is a great start, but I have found that looking at which events my connections go to is much more efficient as far as find the best ones. The good thing is that Facebook and LinkedIn lets you do that easily.

LinkedIn lets you list the events that your connections are visiting by going to the events section. Here you can see them ordered by date or popularity. You can also recommend events to your connections.

On Facebook, you cannot actually list the events of others, but you can keep track of the one you are invited to and who else is attending. Go to the events page where you will see upcoming events and also the upcoming birthdays of your connections.

How do you use the social media networks to network offline?  Share your tips and success stories in the comments section.

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Do you know what you are passionate about? Even if you do, maybe there are some things to add to the list, or maybe you need to find out what you are most passionate about. Last week, I wrote about why passion is important, and now it is time to talk about how you can reach your potential by identifying and working with your passion portfolio.

1. Identify passion areas
   There are a number of great posts on how to find your passions and I would like to share two that I find very useful: The Short but Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion by Leo Babauta and How to Find Your Passion for Anything by Scott Young. Find a place where you are at ease, light some candles, make sure you will not be interrupted and read the printout of the two posts. Take an hour or two to read and reflect, it’s important not to rush.
2. Ask “Why?”

“Why” is an extremely powerful word. When working with your personal development, always ask yourself the question “why?” at least three times. Let me give you an example: I am passionate about personal branding.
Why personal branding? I love to help people to reach their potential.
Why do I want people to reach their potential? Because I have seen so much waste of great talent and hard work, where the problem really is in the person’s self beliefs and inability to communicate their value clearly.
Why is this my responsibility? Because one of my most powerful core values is to “Be a support and help my fellow humans.”
Answering levels of “why” questions will hopefully give you a purpose for what you are doing.  If not, maybe you have not accurately identified your true passions.  In this case, I found the trigger value for my passion for Personal Branding. I am a strong believer in the power of choice, and I think that you can choose to be passionate about an area. But even if you can choose to be passionate about something, for that choice to be empowered, it has to be aligned with your core values.

3.  Build and work on your Passion Portfolio
Write down the passion areas you have identified and the purpose for why you are passionate about those specific areas. Put it where you will see it every day, and add to each passion what your next action is for that passion area. It could look something like this:
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Passion: Business networking
Purpose: I am a strong believer in helping others, and that my generosity will be reciprocated
Next action: Form a small business network with a clear structure for business value
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Do this for every passion area, or at least your top 10. Work with your action items every week. Personally, I like to add “Next Desired Outcome” before defining the next action point and writing it down as well. It is important to link actions to outcomes, both for future planning and retrospective evaluation.

What to do after identifying the areas which excite you the most?  Follow these steps to turn thoughts into actions, and eventually tangible results.

1. Connect you work description to your passions
   In your current job, take a look at the work description and identify what areas are aligned with your passion portfolio. If you do not have a job, look for alignment with job ads. Take a moment to brainstorm around projects, tasks and outcomes that you can initiate or suggest to the management within your passion areas. When you work with these areas, you will most likely do a great job and over time you can steer your work to be more and more within your passion areas.
2. Help your team
   Include your team in your projects, show that you are passionate about it and spread the increased energy to them as well. You will be more appreciated and you will build a brand where your team will know you for delivering excellence in the area of your passion. Teach them how to tap into their passion and they will look at you as a natural leader.
3. Promote the results
   When doing evaluations, talking about what you do, writing reports, your resume, etc., promote the job you have been doing in your passion areas. Over time you will see that your manager, co-worker, family and friends will change the way they perceive you. They will see a more passionate person with a clearer purpose and direction.
4. Find ways to develop your passions (and yourself)
   Review your passions, find new areas of passion and work with your purpose, desired outcomes and tasks. Do this every week or every two weeks to keep this way of thinking fresh in mind at all times. When reviewing, spend equal amounts of time focusing on the future as well as on the past. I usually take half an hour for each task after breakfast on Sundays since that is a time I can have for myself without interruptions.

How do you work with your passions?

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So you’ve graduated. You now have a piece of paper that you paid $200,000 for and you’re soaring on top of the world with your limitless hopes and dreams. You’re marketing yourself every way you know how. Yet, you can’t seem to find a job anywhere and you’re rapidly sinking into despair. Wow, this recession really bites, especially for us recent college graduates. I really hope it ends soon. However, the question is, what are you doing in the mean time? Hopefully, during this recession you’re marketing yourself. Though the job market is a rough one with unemployment of roughly 10%, which is extremely high no matter which way you look at it. If you’re part of this percentage, don’t fall prey to the crushing weight of a recession. Utilize this time to your benefit.

Internships are Virtually Recession-Proof (and a Great Way to Market Yourself)

The company gets an employee that doesn’t get a paycheck, take that recession! Besides, interns don’t just get the coffee anymore. As an intern you are just as much a part of the team as everyone else. Granted you might still get more of the little work that nobody else want to do but at least you’re working for the company. Now, a big part of this is that you make sure you get an internship in a field that you want to be in. We’re told all through school to make sure we have an internship or 20 under our belts. Well don’t just get an internship to have one. Make sure it’s beneficial to you and your future career. Another good thing to remember about internships is that you’re working for a company for free and if you’re willing to do this and you do it well, you never know, there may be a job waiting for you at the end of the 3-6 month tunnel.

Volunteers are Selfless (and Marketable)

Well the selfless thing isn’t always entirely true. Odds are you’re doing it to make yourself look better, but that’s not always a bad thing. It can be a great way to beef up the résumé while at the same time benefiting society, but there’s more to it than that. This is another great way to show you’re able to work hard even with no pay. Though it would be nice to be in something that could potentially benefit your future career, I personally feel that not as necessary here. It is a great way to spend your time being productive and keeps you from getting lazy.

Entrepreneurs Rule (and Guess What? Marketable)

Now’s your chance! You’re probably insanely in debt, have no job or if you do it’s only part-time and you’re college loans haven’t come due. Your mind is swarming with ideas. With the age of the Internet and technology being relatively cheap and affordable, what’s stopping you from taking all this free time you have and making something great out of it. Write a book, write a business plan about that Internet start-up you’ve been thinking about and there’s always that fun little freelance thing you hear so much about. You can do any of these and hopefully a million that I’ve not listed, just do them.

These are but a few of the options for marketing yourself during a recession. Remember, just because school is out and we’re in a recession doesn’t mean you get to quit learning or marketing yourself. It’s an eternal process. The more you do and learn outside of college, the more impressive your résumé becomes and the more beneficial you become as a working member of society. This of course will lead to the job of your dreams as long as you put forth the effort.

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You may think you know all about college job searches, but you still don’t have a job so perhaps this could actually help you. If you want to have something impressive and unique to show employers after graduation then you need to get a bit creative.  Yes, you!  Having a standard job as a cashier, server, etc. is fine, but not a way to stand out from your competitors after graduation.

1. Get off the computer! Many local, smaller businesses do not have websites where you can look at job postings online.  You’re going to have to call or (better still) go visit these places and explain how much you would like to learn about their industry.  If they don’t have a job, offer to intern.  You’ll have more opportunity for “hands-on” experience at a smaller business than a large one.  Being a secretary will probably not help you much unless that is your career goal.
2. Volunteer at smaller, local organizations! Take this opportunity to show that you are a self-starter who just hates not having work.  If you volunteer at an organization that is not as well known as say Habitat for Humanity then potential employers are going to be curious.  They will want you to tell them about the organization and your involvement.
3. Multi-Task! So you’ve taken the cashier’s job at Wal-Mart because you needed money and you’re not exactly qualified yet to do much else.  You’re not going to become qualified, however, if you don’t branch out from your temporary job.  Work part-time and create your own local internship.  Shadow local doctors, go to court and listen to the lawyers, or intern online as a programmer – this is not about school credit or money.  You need the experience and potential employers will be impressed with your dedication and initiative.  The people you follow (ask permission first, of course) may even be able to help you find a job later.
4. Be an entrepreneur! You start building your personal brand with your first job – why not make it something you love?  It’s not as impossible as it sounds.  Figure out what you like to do and make it into a business (you may just find your career).  Take pictures of people for $1 or write a short story and sell it for 25 cents a copy.  Even if you don’t make a lot of money doing this, it will give you an edge when employers have hundreds or thousands of resumes to sort through.
5. Voice your opinion! If you read the back of a book, and think that the summary was poorly written then re-write it and send it to the author (or publisher) explaining why you didn’t like it, why yours is better, as well as what you did like (no one will listen to you if they think you are attacking them – use tact).  If you believe that something you saw on television wasn’t explained in enough detail for you to understand it then write the production company and say so.   If you point out something that needs improvement and give a plan to fix it, it may just get you a job.

You must take your student job search seriously and be willing to be inventive.  Being unique and demonstrating (not just saying) that you are a hard-worker and able to think independently will be an enormous help to you after graduation.

Bethany Stringer is a graduate of Texas A&M University (class of ‘08) and has her B.A. in English Literature with minors in History and Psychology.  She is currently working as a decorative artisan’s apprentice, and plans to teach English in Russia in 2010 as a CELTA certified teacher.  She owned her own business working horses when she was 17, and still loves riding her horse Romeo.  Always appreciating a challenge, she loves sea kayaking and prefers Rachmaninov to Bach.

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