Defining Your Brand

The interview process is much like the marketing pitch of a salesman. He is trying to make his product stand out among the competitors. So like the salesman, you need to make sure your product, You, stands out among the other applicants. In order to do this you must be aware of what you have to offer the employer, this is called Defining Your Brand. Discover what it is about you that will set you apart from the other applicants.

One way to define yourself is the level of your passion for the job. I always say a person who loves their job will do 10 times better than a person who just does their job well. By showing employers that you have a passion for the job, they will feel your excitement and want to work with you so much more.

A second way to define your brand is when you answer the question: Why should we hire you? As a potential employee you do not want to give a grocery list of your qualifications. This is boring and not very original. Answering this question correctly gives you the opportunity to standout to the employer. You can focus on the following things: your passion for the work, how you can benefit the company, and how the company or position is the right fit for you.

Monster.com has a great article about Defining Your Brand. Check it out and discover more ways to stand out against the crowd.

FutureQuest Career Fair This Week!

Remember this Wednesday, February 20 is the FutureQuest Career Fair 2008. The event will be in the Gaillard Auditorium on Calhoun Street (easy walking distance) from Noon to 3:30 pm. If you do not feel like walking the Career Center will be providing a shuttle van for students. It will pick you up in front of the Stern Student Center.

We are expecting approximately 94 companies, graduate schools, and non-profit organizations. There will be a little bit of everything for everyone. Check out the list of participating organizations on our homepage: http://www.cofc.edu/~career/.

Also, on our homepage you can find more tips for preparing for the Career Fair including a video tutorial. Do not forget to dress in business attire and bring copies of your resume. Good luck and see you at FutureQuest!

Alumni Interview: Working for a Non-Profit

When entering the ‘real’ world you have several different avenues offered to you. First you could go into the private sector (big business, corporations, privately owned businesses), the public sector (government), or the non-profit sector. Many of the students at the College of Charleston are seeing the non-profit world as a place where they want to work in the future. Not only can you work in a variety of different venues but you have the potential to help someone along the way. To give you more information about what working in the non-profit sector is Marissa Hockenberry, an alumnus of the College of Charleston. If you have any further questions for Ms. Hockenberry please log into your CISTERNonline account and check out the Mentor Network. We have several participating mentors, including Ms. Hockenberry, who would love to advise you about the non-profit sector.

1. Tell me a little bit about your current position. Channel Development Specialist works with grocery chains, independents, cafes & distributors to ensure as many Fair Trade Certified products are on the shelves & available for consumers to purchase. Help with employee education and create presentations to enable the Fair Trade message to be easily spread to others and lived everyday. Coordination with various internal departments is key to successful implementation of promotional programs.

2. What was the appeal to working in a non-profit organization? I wanted to work for a company that is aligned with my ideals, where I would be able to showcase my talents, where my work would make a difference to the organization and the world at large.

3. Have you worked in a for-profit position and, if so, how does your current work differ from that? I worked in the for-profit sector for 10 years previously. The last 3 years were at an international for-profit company. I found I was not able to make changes or implement sustainable business practices because there were too many people in the organization with only the bottom line in mind. Although good intentions were there, so too were many roadblocks.

4. What advice would you give to a student who wanted to work in the non-profit sector? If that is what your heart is telling you to do, then you should. It can be daunting because the non-profit world is known to not pay well, but it’s worth it when you can leave the office with a smile on your face knowing that what you’ve done that day has helped someone/thing else. The non-profit world is challenging but rewards more.

5. Any other comments or advice? Research the company you are considering; if possible, do an internship with them to get the feel of the internal structure. Be open to change and challenge.

You can make a comment below about working in non-profit or you can log into CISTERNonline to talk more in depth with Ms. Hockenberry.

 

 

Personal Statements: Going Back to the Basics

Writing a personal statement for Graduate School, Medical School or Law School is an important step in the acceptance process. Your personal statement allows the review boards to understand who you are: your goals, your personality, and why you want enter a post-secondary program. But a trend among some students when they are writing their personal statements is they have forgotten how to write! So when writing the first draft of your personal statement you need to go back to the basics. Think middle school/high school basics of writing.

First, think about what you want to say in your personal statement. Do you want to focus on why you want to be a doctor, what contributions you will make to the world of anthropology, how your liberal arts degree translates to medical know-how, or many other possibilities. Pick a focus then stay on it.

Second, make an outline of your topic. For the purposes of the first draft of your personal statement keep it to a five paragraph essay outline. Then as you revise your draft you can add and delete paragraphs and sentences. The five paragraphs will help you stay on topic and not get too long. Your personal statement does not have to be a book but long enough to make a statement about who you are. Check the length the graduate school wants.

Third, while the personal statement focuses on you, you do not want to start every sentence with ‘I’. If you do this then the writing becomes monotonous and boring. Keep the readers interest by varying sentence structure, word usage, and sentence length. Limiting yourself to two “I” sentences per paragraph is a good rule to observe when writing.

Fourth, (and a very important basic) in all the writing stages of your personal statement review it for spelling and grammar. A simple mistake can make a review board cringe. Who wants a doctor that cannot spell physician or a doctorate candidate who keeps writing run on sentences? As future doctors, MBAs, and PhDs you are the best and brightest, make sure the review board thinks that as well.

These were just a few tips to help you get started on your personal statement. Remember to start writing it months in advance before you have to submit it. This will allow you to have several drafts behind you and to have several people review it as well. For more great tips check out this website: Ten Do’s and Don’ts for Your Statement of Purpose