Comments on: focus on your brand, not your school’s

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:04:54 +0000

I am a student at Santa Clara University, a well known private school on the west coast. I hope to use my school’s brand to network and have that extra step ahead when it comes to jobs, but I would not solely rely upon it. On paper my education looks great, but when I get in there for an interview I have to be able to stand out and brand myself.

By: Darrin Grella

Darrin Grella — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:03:00 +0000

People hire people they like. I am in no way discounting the fact that a good school is an advantage however what gets a person a job is the way they interview. The interview may be one of the most under-rated experiences and that one single activity can be the difference between someone working the career of their dreams and working the job that they had to take because they were desperate.

Look at the lady that sued her college and career services (agree with you Ted) because she invested $70k in her education and is now unemployed. I presume it is not the educations fault she is still looking for a job.

Thanks for a good topic of discussion.

By: Sandra

Sandra — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:07:05 +0000

“Personal brand” has always been important, it’s just that the term has been recently coined. I think this article might be more effective if geared toward students who attend community colleges or opt to pursue online programs rather than a traditional 4-year campus school. They might be the ones that are intimidated by their peers who attended traditional college degree programs (Ivy or not). They might lack the confidence in their abilities to get the interview and ultimately the job offer.

By: Peter Kazanjy

Peter Kazanjy — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:19:59 +0000

At the end of the day, all of these “brands” are really just heuristics to help hirers and candidates make decisions under uncertainty.

They’re just tools that help folks guess at what the candidates performance will look like. But this focus on “brand” is somewhat of a workaround. At the end of the day, how can I find out if the candidate will perform, and if he has in the past?

That’s a big nut to crack right there, and ‘brand’, to the extent that it involves an understanding of your professional performance and competency, is one piece, but not nearly sufficient.

I’m glad that Cheezhead is focusing on this, as it’s an important topic. The disconnect between “brand expectations” and actual performance (e.g., “He went to Harvard Business School! How could I have known he wouldn’t get anything done!”) is something that destroys a lot of value in the market, and creates all sorts of distortions like internal politics, and worse. Look forward to reading more on this, Chris.

By: Ted

Ted — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:24:33 +0000

College recruiting will shift dramatically in the next few years. Right now every large organization does the same thing: pick 25 schools, info session, resume screen, interview, hire – result: a 3.6 GPA from a reputable school who is social. If you think this is the best way to source the next generation of innovators – you are absolutely crazy. it is however a great way to not get fired and maintain the status quo.

95% of college recruiting is pointless and a huge waste of resources. And, don’t even get me started on career centers (I think dinosaurs roam those hallways).

Chris, I agree with you 100% – your personal brand (or whatever you want to call it) will matter more and more. The future will be based around meaningful interactions between company and student (not info sessions, tweets, or fb messages). Ultimately, those students that can position themselves as “revenue generators” will win every job, every time.