Well, I would have been wrong with that assumption because a personal brand is just as important, if not more important, for college students. Think about it – the market is flooded with highly educated and skilled professionals looking for employment. How are you going to stand out from the crowd? How does a college student who is nearing graduation create a personal brand?

Below are five basic tips that I used to help build my brand.

1) Get Connected on LinkedIn: It’s essential that you have a profile on LinkedIn, the social networking site for professionals. As of last month, there were more than 43 million registered users. Setting up a profile is fast and easy, but be sure to remember this is your professional social-networking site. Include your education, work experience, leadership and teamwork experience, and other details you feel employers should know about you.

2) Keep Your Profiles Clean: Make sure your Facebook and Myspace profiles are cleaned up – that means you should take down any picture that you would not want a potential employer viewing. Many students don’t think twice about posting things on Facebook or Myspace, but remember that most employers do conduct searches on here.

3) Pipl.com: This is a search engine that conducts “Deep Web” searches of people. In fact, it’s so powerful, it’s almost scary. Not only does this site find and list all of your social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Twitter, etc), but it also finds all mentions of your name in any public record, including property records, SEC filings, and voting records. Make sure you conduct a search of yourself, and if you find something that you don’t like, make sure to take care of it immediately.

4) Create a Website: This is a great way for people to see exactly who you are. I also recommend purchasing your WWW domain name. For example, if your name is Roger Sandcastle, then purchase your domain, www.rogersandcastle.com. There are a number of ways to can do this. GoDaddy.com is a great site to purchase domain names. I personally recommend Google’s Blogger service because for only $10 I purchased my domain and also have the ability to create my own website using Google Sites. What should you include on your website?

· Your Bio – talk about who you are
· Resume – make sure to omit personal info (address, phone number, etc)
· Electronic Portfolio of school projects
· Links to social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc)
· Mentions of awards or honors
· Professional headshot of yourself

If you need ideas on what to include on your website or portfolio, just browse my site for examples.

5) Business Cards: Networking is very important, and having a personal business card creates a sense of professionalism anytime you meet with a recruiter or professional. Many schools offer networking and recruiting events for graduating seniors, and what better way to promote your brand by handing out a card when meeting new people? A few things you can include on your card:

· Name, Phone, E-Mail, Date of Graduation
· School & Degree
· Link to Website or LinkedIn
· Career Focus

There are many ways to get business cards for reasonable prices, including Vistaprint.com, Staples, or doing them yourself.

The job market is very competitive right now. How are you going to set yourself apart from others?

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