Take your career to new heights, know your strengths, and be known for being amazing at something!

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Zack Sperow, our stylin’ Career Assistant

Branding is all about the promise you give to your customer. It tells people what they can expect from you. But in a personal branding point of view; your brand should be what people think of you when you leave the room.

So here is your assignment. First ask 15-30 people that are friends, family, and people who you may have just met within the past few weeks, what are 3-5 words that describe you (The GOOD AND THE BAD). By getting a diverse group of people you will have diverse results and see the changes in responses from someone who knows you more than 10 years to someone who knows you you less than 2 weeks.

Next compile all your responses, draw together conclusions, and find word families. When I did mine I was surprised to see that many people used words like outspoken, honest,  or opinionated. It made me wonder is that the lasting impression I want to have on people  when I leave the room is that I am opinionated; Is that something I want to change about myself? After some critical thought I decided that I am outspoken and I should own it. I am honest when others aren’t but my goal should always be for the common good. I mean  HONESTLY, I am probably always the person who will stop a stranger and say that their shirt is inside-out or that they have spinach in their teeth.

After I made some conclusions I developed my personal brand which is exuberant, ambitious, entrepreneur,  outspoken, and connected. I will use these words as my guiding force for my interaction with people and over my social media.

Take it to the next level by putting these branding words on your own business cards and using these words to sell yourself into a career.This a perfect opportunity to show people that you care about yourself and you are always looking for ways of self-improvement. I think most employers would agree that they rather hire the person that is always looking for ways to improve rather than the stay at home nobody.

 

Go BEAVS

 

posted by Zack Sperow, Career Assistant

Hello Beavers and Beyond,

Here is a little video for thought as we quickly progress into a new year. Tell us what you think about these ideas on social innovation and changing a major paradigm in U.S. culture.

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

 

 posted by Malia Arenth, Career Counselor

 

* This video was done for TED Talk and does not reflect the opinion or stance of any one person within or the Career Services department as a whole.

Welcome to Career Corner! Career Corner provides career and workplace related topics and information.

It takes more than starting a business to be an entrepreneur.  It requires drive and initiative to develop a product or service. Below are 8 strategies you should consider before pursuing a path of entrepreneurship.

Strategy 1: Being Self-Aware

Know yourself! Being aware of your strengths, abilities, personality characteristics and limitations allows you to leverage them in all situations.

Strategy 2: Believing in Yourself

Trust your abilities and talent. To be taken seriously as an entrepreneur, you must believe in yourself and have confidence. Convey an entrepreneurial mindset demonstrate your business acumen.

Strategy 3: Finding Your Niche

Be an active listener and pay attention to your market. Learn about what your target audience wants and develop solutions to address their problems.

Strategy 4: Turning Failure into Opportunity

Don’t fear failure. Evaluate the failure, learn from it and move forward. Use it as a guide to help you re-examine your purpose.

Strategy 5: Creating Connections Among other Entrepreneurs.

Develop a support system with other like minded people. Surround yourself with entrepreneurs who share your passion and interests.

Strategy 6: Being Committed to Your Passion

Enjoy what you do. Passion is what makes your actions and purpose more meaningful.  You are more committed to your goals when you have a purpose.

Strategy 7: Continuing to Reinvent Your Idea

Be a lifelong learner and find efficient ways to improve your product or service.

Strategy 8: Establishing Yourself as a Leader

Be a pioneer and use your creativity and innovation to make an imprint on society.

I hope that you found these tips helpful and can apply them to your own strategy for success.  Best of luck!

What advice would you give an aspiring entrepreneur?

Marian Moore, Career Development Coordinator/Career Counselor in Career Services at OSU is passionate about empowering others holistically to find meaningful and sustainable careers that promote lifestyle optimization. Interests: Career Coaching, Talent and Human Capital Management, Curriculum Design and Development, International Education, Personal Branding, Organizational Development, Entrepreneurship, Global Economic Development, Human Rights and Immigrant and Refugee advocacy.