Millennials Start Creating your Personal Brand!
Everyone is talking about the millennial generation. You may be asking yourself, “what’s the noise all about?” If we look at the statistics, the millennial generation will surpass the baby boomers by a long shot with 75.3 million individuals, while the baby boomer generation was at 74.9.
So the question becomes, “Why do you need to brand yourself when looking for that next career?” When there is an enormous number of individuals all competing for the same opportunity, it is extremely important to have your own unique brand so you can stand out in an over-crowded marketplace.
This spring, an estimated 2.8 million university graduates entered the U.S workforce with bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees, at the same time America’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest it has been in the past 7 years, giving these millennials a greater opportunity to land employment. However, without a unique brand, it makes it is difficult to separate oneself from the pool of candidates.
I will outline two unique ways people must go about creating a unique brand so that they can stand out in a crowded marketplace and be recognized by the hiring managers.
#1- Every field experiences different challenges. The person who takes the time to research and identify these challenges, and find solutions to them, is the one who sets himself apart from everyone else. This is the person the company is willing to hire because they bring something of value to the table. When you approach a company with suggestions and plans for making the company better vs what the company can give to you, you show the hiring manager that you’re creative and innovative; the one who is willing to go the extra mile.
Once you have found a solution to the problem, you create your own unique brand around it.
For example, I look at Steve Jobs. He was the problem solver for Apple. He created a unique brand to their product in many ways. He took two unrelated industries and merged them together. That initiative is how innovation happens. (He married Hip Hop and Geek Squad together to create everything “I”- IPod, ITouch, IPhone IPad, etc….
So what solution can you come up with in your industry in order to be innovative, creative, and unique so people will recognize who you are and what you stand for?
#2 Once you create a solution to a problem, you then want to create what is called a Unique Value Proposition, also known as a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Your UVP is a clear statement that describes the benefit of your offer, the solution to your customer’s needs and the uniqueness which makes you stand out from the crowd.
Your message needs to be crafted uniquely by you, just like your thumb-print is unique just to you. It’s your personal DNA (No two people are alike).
No two messages, branding, and identity of your unique craft should be alike either.
You’re messaging needs to answer these questions:
Who are you? What challenges can you identify? How will you solve these challenges? Who are you looking to target? How do you help others?
Example: I help individuals looking for employment, in transition or looking to build their existing company to be seen, to be heard, and to get hired by their next ideal company or client so they can understanding the use of digital technology in order to stand out in today’s over crowded marketplace!
This answers are right in the beginning – who I serve, what I do, what you will gain, and how!
It’s very simple. You want the hiring managers to know how well you perform for the company!
I hope that you will take these two simple tips and apply them to your career search so that you can stand apart in an overcrowded marketplace and become recognized by the hiring manager.
