Can Your Brand and SWAG Get You Employed?
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Posted By: William Jackson on March 31, 2016 by William Jackson, M.Edu. Instructor at Edward Waters College Educational Technology and Social Media The competition for earning internship opportunities and employment is a work of Branding, Marketing, Networking and strategically being placed. Creating a strong Brand that has SWAG and draws positive attention to abilities, talents and skills. Being recognized, respected, in demand by employment recruits cannot happen the senior year of college, it is a process that is built from the freshmen year to graduation day and beyond. Employment recruiters have changed the way they recruit and hire because many college students do not posses the necessary employment skills.To many HBCU students still don't understand, that they need serious tech skills and certifications. Employers are not looking for people who can just do a job, they are looking for people that excel and have marketable skills that are beyond academic excellence and technology wizardry. Today’s corporate and academic world a bachelor’s degree is just a step up from a high school diploma. The need is for advanced diplomas and multiple certifications. Skills in Social Media, Digital Media, Literacy Media and the list continues to grow when manipulating digital tools. Young corporate talent must Brand themselves with multi-talented skills that are marketable, scalable, and bring value to their “Human Capital.” To see the skill sets needed HBCU students need to view the employment resources and view the skills necessary before they can even get invited to an interview. To prove this point high school students must understand how to create more than a PowerPoint presentation, they must be able to make web sites with Blogger or Wordpress, they must understand coding and articulate during their presentations with bullet points, integrate animated graphics, have active sound bites and active web links that connect to resources they used to build their presentations. HBCU students must know these skills out of high school or use YouTube resources to teach themselves. HBCU students cannot afford to wait on classes to learn new skill sets, they must be proactive in teaching themselves necessary tools that allow them to be competitive in a global economy. They can't blame "the man," "the system," nor "their parents if lacking. HBCU students have access to the Internet which has global access to information, resources that can build a personal Brand and Market to global networking resources. As an HBCU graduate (South Carolina State University) and an instructor at Edward Waters College, the oldest HBCU in Florida HBCU students will compete against thousand of others for high tech, high salary positions. Resources like LinkedIn, HBCU Connect and even GCF Learn Free http://www.gcflearnfree.org/ can provide a heads-up on what to do to enhance skills. Speaking at conferences I try to get people to understand that their Smart phones, Smart tablets and even Smart watches, "can be their best digital friend or worse enemy," by the content they create and broadcast. HBCU students need to understand how valuable their content is.Caution and common sense are important, HBCU students risk loosing chances at internships, scholarships, fellowships, studying overseas and even being put out of school because of Sexting, Cyberbullying, and Cyberstalking. Proving You Have SWAG and Your Brand is Crunk HBCU students cannot just sit on their assets and “wait” on information, they must research, read, comprehend, digest information and regurgitate it in understandable ways that provide value and worth. HBCU students must be willing to learn and grow at a fast pace depending on their career aspirations and life long goals. Comprehension is a skill that leads to understanding and practice in applying methods to improve it. Proving you have what it takes means being involved in networking events, community activism, and volunteering. Your SWAG and Brand HBCU students need to be connected to resources like LinkedIn that allow them to share and expand their Brand and E-Reputations. The world is a smaller place because of technology, creativity and innovation. HBCU students need to exercise their gifts, talents and abilities to strengthen their SWAG. Use technology to tell your story not allow others to do it for you. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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William Jackson
Educational Technology and Social Media Instructor, Edward Waters College South Carolina State University class of 1985 Member Since September 2008 |
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