By Sarah L. Mwaitete
Did you know that 93% of employers check the social media profiles of potential employees during the interview process? Social Media – other than being a convenient, easy-going pastime that most of us fall victim to, can be a reckoning force for professional advancement. Not only can it build rapport with peers and influential people in both the local and international community, it also serves as a platform for sharing one's skills and interests as well as aiding in the development of an individual’s knowledge base.
All these – and more – are primarily achieved by the establishment of a personal brand. A personal brand is a consciously crafted profile of how you would want to be perceived by the public, curated by the incorporation of your values, interests, and goals.
Whether we know it or not, we all have a personal brand that is present offline and online through the imprints of our digital footprint. Portions of your brand that do not resonate with you and your goals should be discarded. Here, we will explore the 5 Ps of personal branding; an easy cheat sheet to get your personal brand in check:
Now, you may be wondering what to do about the nature of the content you share – especially with a potential employer snooping in the shadows. You could consider having two separate accounts: one for your professional output and the other for personal usage. Even then you need to be careful of what you share, comment and post as it can easily cause you to lose out on opportunities.
The simplest way to gauge the professionalism of your posts and words is by thinking about whether your grandma would approve of said content. If not, you may want to hold back the post. Maintaining professionalism with all your engagements will always uphold your reputation and marketability in the professional realm.
The Placement & Career Services department can assist you to develop a personal brand that accurately represents you and moves you closer to your goals. Visit our offices on the 1st Floor, Freida Brown Student Center for more information and support.
By Lavender Syanda, Digital Marketer and Career Peer Advisor
Building a personal brand using social media might not be something that most people think about or perhaps when they do think about it, they think it is only for influencers and celebrities which I am here to dispel as not the case.
The truth is that everyone who wishes to build a career should consider building a personal brand online and if you are telling yourself that there is no need for one then I am pleased to inform you that you already have a personal brand online. This personal brand is an aggregate of your behavior and activity online which you have little or no control over, so what then? So you might as well at least control the narrative. Hence personal branding using social media.
What is personal branding? Personal branding online is how you present yourself through what you post, your captions, and hashtags. It could be defined in a more formal way as any conscious effort employed in creating a voice, image, and or personality associated with you.
With that being said, you will note that it is a conscious effort. This means that you will have to put in thought about the image you want to project, think about the niche you would like to be an authority in, think about the values you wish to project or highlight, all these are important and will be explained in detail in another blog post on the benefits of personal branding so keep an eye out for that.
Which brings us to the question, how does one actually build their personal brand online? Or using social media?
This can be done in five simple steps, first, think about the long game. What is it you wish to be known for? You can think about this by asking yourself what your passions are, or what interests you, or perhaps what your career goals are and as such it will give you a starting point.
The second thing is to think about your audience. Who is your target audience? Knowing who your audience is will help you know the kind of content to post in order for you to create that personal brand, it will also inform your captions and hashtags.
The third thing is consistency. If the content is king, consistency is queen. All your major social media platforms should have the exact same profile picture, biography, a cover page where applicable and feel/aesthetic. If you are thinking this sounds like a lot of work then you are absolutely right, however, effort was part of the definition. All your social media platforms should make it obvious they are yours in which case the voice, tone, and values illuminated should match across the board so that when your followers from one platform decide to follow your other platforms they will not be put off by the branding on the other platforms.
Consistency also has to do with how often you post. When you are just entering an online niche, more is more so post as often as possible so about four to six times a week. Try and create a schedule that your followers can rely on, this will be useful in building a loyal following.
The fourth thing is networking. It will be very difficult for you to create your own community if you don’t engage with the community that already exists in the field you wish to be a part of as well as the communities that have been created by thought leaders and influencers of that same niche. You need to comment, like and engage with these communities as well as with the thought leaders you wish to emulate, try and learn from them as much as you can and apply those principles in building your own brand.
Finally, we have authenticity. It is completely taboo to create a personal brand online that does not match your personality offline and this could have a devastating effect on all the hard work you put into building a personal brand online. The point is to ensure that there is an almost seamless match between the two so that when you meet your online peers offline they are not disappointed and they don’t feel duped.
This list is by no means exhaustive, however, in terms of getting you started, it is like a super pack. Try these steps out and be patient. Give it time, keep at it, and do not give up. You can also visit our offices on the 1st Floor, Freida Brown Student Center for more information and support.
By Lavender Syanda, Digital Marketer and Career Peer Advisor
Thinking about the future and the direction your life will take might seem like a mountainous task and in a lot of ways, it is. This is because our work-life makes up the majority of human life making it a very big deal. However, it doesn’t have to be something that stresses you out. Here are five steps to choosing a career path:
The first and most important step to choosing a career path is getting to know yourself. What does that entail exactly? It entails knowing your strengths, weaknesses, likes, interests, personality type, and values. How does one get to know all these things about themselves? There are tons of free tests online. You can start with the 16 personality types Myers Briggs test and go from there.
Why is it so important to know yourself? We shall address that in the second point below.
Know your options
The reason why you should take the time to know yourself is that it helps you select and narrow down your options. Knowing what you are good at and what you suck at will help you choose a field that is suitable for you. Can you imagine being around people all day as an introvert? Being an introvert myself, I shall tell you that it will only end in you being tired and cranky.
Once you have taken all the tests online and have a pretty good idea about yourself, the next step is to write a list of all the career paths that interest you. You can do this by looking at the various courses offered at your school. Once you have listed them down, look into the various classes you need to take to obtain said degree then, using that information, you can narrow your options down.
Do proper research
The third step in choosing a career path is doing proper research. What do I mean? Say you want to be a finance manager or something and you have seen what it takes but you are bad at math, do you see the mismatch? Or perhaps you don’t like working long hours yet the career path you are interested in is fueled by minimal sleep, you are setting yourself up for failure. Think also about work-life balance. Is that something that matters to you or are you looking forward to being married to your work? The point is to know yourself and make a choice that will suit you.
Align yourself with your goals
The fourth step would be to know what it takes to make your dream career a reality. Whatever you would have concluded on, find out what steps you need to take to make it happen then align yourself to said goals. What do I mean? For example, you wish to be a great marketer, what steps do you need to make this happen? You will need to pick the right classes, take all the marketing concentration classes, learn about marketing trends, learn about companies with the best marketing strategies and understand how they achieve them, go to any marketing expos, and of course, get great scores in the classes you are taking. Why is this last point important? Because you are not the only one with this dream. You will have hundreds, if not thousands of rivals so for you to remain competitive, your scores should act as a reflection of your abilities to understand concepts at the very least.
Room for change
The final step is to give yourself room to change your mind. You are only human after all and life changes every day so give yourself room to change your mind. Nothing is cast in stone. In life, things could change either at the drop of a hat or overtime. You could be passionate about finance in your twenties and be passionate about theater in your thirties, life happens so don’t be too obdurate in your thinking.
As always, I hope this helps, and remember that you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. We encourage you to reach out to the Placement and Careers Office for assistance with figuring out your career path. Feel free to email us anytime at careeroffice@usiu.ac.ke
By Lavender Syanda, Digital Marketer and Career Peer Advisor
An elevator pitch is a 30-second memorable description of what you do and/or what you sell. The goal is to earn a second conversation, not to convince the person you’re talking to hire you or buy your solution.
So, what does one actually say? How does one start such a conversation anyway?
Even though it should be short and to the point how do you know which are the most important things to say? This post should answer all those questions for you.
Here is what to say during an elevator pitch
First, let’s briefly look at the structure of an elevator pitch. Keep in mind that you should have elevator pitches prepped and ready for different audiences, for instance, a potential customer, a potential colleague, or a business partner. The examples could go on and on however think about who you would like to give an elevator pitch to and have one prepared for them.
A good elevator pitch has five main parts. The fifth part is purely your effort.
Who are you?
This isn’t just about your name, this is about your value addition. Networking opportunities are all about the value proposition. The people you interact with might not remember your name because to be fair, at a networking event, one hears many names.
While it may be hard to remember a name at the end of the event, it is certainly easy to remember a sales associate or a digital marketer. [E.g. I’m Lila from Company ABC.]
What company do you work for?
This will be a showcasing of how well you know and understand your products and services. You can easily explain this in a simple sentence. [e.g. Our marketing company allows companies to increase their online reach].
What is your value proposition?
This can go two ways. What are you selling? Are you selling your value or the company you work for?
If you are selling your company’s value, then share what your company does that makes it better than the competition or your mission, or what your customers know about your company. [E.g. we enable customers to increase their online reach using our campaign feature which allows them to advertise on the four social media platforms at the same time at a fraction of the cost].
If you are selling your skills, then know what value you bring to a company and say that in place of what is unique to your company.
A captivating line to hook your audience
This will vary greatly depending on who your audience is, you could go with a relatable problem, industry statistics validating your company’s value, or with a testimony to cement that value proposition that you had just talked about.
Practice, practice, practice!
Even the best-written elevator pitch will be useless if you don’t practice it enough. This is not the time to be overly confident, remember that sometimes our brains betray us; we get nervous, flustered, and forget.
So prepare enough to ensure you can deliver it perfectly even if someone wakes you up in the middle of the night. When the day comes for you to finally deliver your pitch, just remember to be yourself. Regardless of the post of your audience, remember they are still human.
Right place, right time
It is inappropriate to make a pitch when you haven’t been given the audience. The modern customer hates a salesman so don’t be one. Instead, engage in normal conversation and only make the pitch when asked what you do or where you work and adjust the starting point accordingly.
You can create the opportunity yourself by asking the person you are speaking with what they do for work. Naturally, when they are finished, they will ask you the same question.
Elevator pitches are a nerve-wracking experience however with proper practice anyone can become a pro. Visit our offices on the 1st Floor, Freida Brown Student Center for more information and support.
By Justice Masima, Career Peer Advisor
Almost every job requires strong communication skills. It is important in getting and keeping a job. When looking for a job or internship, you will need to demonstrate your communication skills by how well you write the application letter and CV. Once you get a job or internship, you will need to write even more to communicate with your clients and colleagues.
Without strong writing skills, your applications may not create the right appeal to a potential employer.
Here are some tips to help you practice proper written communication.
1. Use short sentences
There is nothing wrong with short sentences. They are much clearer than longer sentences. Clarity should always be your goal when writing. Short sentences also give you more control over language. Lengthy sentences can accumulate and cloud the meaning of the sentence.
2. Avoid irrelevant words
Don’t use big irrelevant words as it creates a barrier between you and your readers. They will tune out trying to figure out what you meant. That is not a situation you would like to put in a prospective employer. Examples of commonly overused words that also take up time include indeed, in fact, therefore, and moreover. These words are called logical indicators. Using them does not make your writing better. Consider the following examples.
“Michael loves the color blue. In fact, all of his clothing is blue.”
Now consider these two without the indicator
“Michael loves the color blue. All of his clothing is blue.”
It’s obvious which two sentences are shorter, clearer and sound stronger
3. Read your writing aloud
There is a difference between reading aloud and reading in your head. Your ears can pick up things your eyes can’t. Before you send any writing to its readers, use your ear advantage by reading it aloud. When you read aloud you’ll be able to edit your writing as it begins to sound strange.
4. Spend enough time editing your writing
No one writes perfect first drafts. Good writing is a result of good editing. When you’re editing, the rhythm might change as word combinations that sounded fine might not anymore. Your career will benefit when you examine every word. So edit for rhythm, clarity, and brevity.
By Lavender Syanda, Digital Marketer and Career Peer Advisor
If you are looking to progress in your career, you may need to consider getting a mentor. Here are some benefits of having a career mentor.
So who is a career mentor exactly?
This is someone who has been working in the field you are interested in entering and growing in. A mentor can help you make the right career decisions and help you stay focused on your career goals.
Please note that it is not your mentor’s job to tell you what to do. They can only give you advice from the wisdom they have acquired then it is up to you to decide what to do.
With that said, why should you have one? Here is why:
1. Networking
This one should go without saying. One of the most important reasons to have a career mentor is to have someone to help you unlock some doors that would not ordinarily open for you. A career mentor can avail opportunities that you would otherwise have never been privy to. A mentor is also privy to jobs and other professional development opportunities you are unaware of but could be suited for you.
2. Industry Knowledge
Career mentors also help you acclimate to the industry culture. They can help you know the ins and outs of the industry. Most of which isn’t public information and that most newbies have to learn the hard way. Why suffer when you don’t have to?
3. Encouragement/motivation
There will come a time when your 9-5 grows stale and this happens for almost every professional. When you are looking at another career path and the grass looks greener, queue in your career mentor.
They will remind you of your career goals and offer advice to put you on the right track. Many people take a career leap into a net that simply isn’t there. Your mentor will protect you from career suicide, keeping you focused and motivated.
4. Sounding Board
Career mentors make great sounding boards, they act as a great non-biased voice that will help you know whether your idea is good or not. They also provide you with constructive criticism as they have been in the industry longer and can provide you with a fresh perspective and show you an easier way to go about things.
5. Challenge and growth
Your mentor will keep reminding you of your goals and challenge you to keep pushing yourself because no growth happens in the comfort zone. Having someone constantly pushing you will help you achieve your career goals sometimes faster than you had projected.
6. Trials and Tribulations
This is another inevitable hurdle awaiting almost all professionals; work politics. Having a mentor during certain work scenarios can help you stay sane and focused. Scenarios such as being overlooked for promotions, power plays, and other workplace shenanigans.
You will need someone to help you remain rational during such situations and remind you that merit trumps workplace politics. A mentor’s advice will help you stay the course, difficult as it may be at the time. This is very important because they will also tell you when it is time to walk away.
Truth be told some people do just fine without mentors, and they get through the workplace however, why take the hardest terrain? It simply isn’t necessary, if there is an easier, better way then you should take it.
PACS has multiple mentorship programs, they run every semester. If interested please write to us at careeroffice@usiu.ac.ke, we shall be more than happy to match you with the perfect mentor for you.