Mentoring and Your Personal Brand

For the past few years, I have been lucky to have been mentoring proteges at my Alma Mater, The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). These students are coming to us so we can share our experience and feedback on how to choose a major, select an internship, plan their careers, how to transition from college to career, develop leadership roles, and so many other lifelong skills that they will carry on with them later in their lives. The Smeal College of Business Mentoring Program helps alumni like me stay connected with the school and also help these young minds grow and prosper.

My mentor growing up was always my father, anytime I needed advice on career, he was the person I turned to. If I needed my resume to be checked for grammar, it was my brother. Soon I learned how to grow my network, just like I was taught at my years at Penn State. The network there was a lasting one, that I still carry with me no matter where I go. Every year, I also spend time to review essays written by incoming freshman and upperclassmen to award scholarships for local Penn State students.

This year with the pandemic that has not changed. My protégé and I got on a video call and discussed our background and what we hope to accomplish. I admired all the questions and how prepared she came with questions and eagerness to make sure she gets the best out of this. These days they are so many resources out there not just for people like her, but anyone.

People are always posting on LinkedIn willing to help one another. Your resume use to be the only way you could present yourself. Now your online presence is who you are. A simple search of your name, the person can find your social media accounts, your profiles, what you enjoy, your pictures, and everything possibly about you…depending on your privacy settings. You just have to be cautious of what you post here too.

Your online presence for an employer needs to show more than your resume. People like to call this, your Personal Brand. I highly recommend people who build a Personal Brand, that they should have a website that links to their LinkedIn profile. They are so many free websites that allow you to do this.

If you need any help with this, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Here is how you can build that brand on LinkedIn:

1. You should showcase how you can solve problems

2. Be more forward thinking about your next role/industry

3. Ensure the headline you use, has the keywords you want for the job

4. Make yourself standout!

5. Use the Featured Section, to highlight important posts

6. Quantify and Qualify what you have done

7. Pin your top 3 skills

8. Great recommendations from peers, co-workers