Welcome

Thanks for stopping by! This is the blog version of Marketing Ur Experience.

If you would like to read in the order of the presentation, just use the links at the top of the page from left to right. Be sure to click on the links within those pages as well. Lots of good stuff.

Of course you are welcome to skip around, start at the bottom, leave right now, or read it however else you please.

Do not hesitate to share, tweet, post, or email. Information should be free! Spread the love.

Final Thoughts

I want to say that this blog is simply a starting point. As I read articles and spoke with professionals through the spring semester of 2013, I discovered that marketing a study abroad experience is a hot topic in education abroad at the moment. Because it is a current issue, there seems to be an overwhelming amount of information being thrown at students. Most of this information focuses on the ideas of skills gained, how to interview, and what you can put on a resume. Like I said in the beginning, there is information on college websites about these things, which is why some of these posts are just quick overviews. I hope, as a whole, this work presents a wider picture of Marketing Ur Experience, and that parts of it have sparked ideas for you as an individual. That being said, I have merely scratched the surface. If you wish to keep digging, I urge you to check out my sources. Also, I am sure your college, university, or study abroad provider can offer materials and/or workshops to help with this topic. Attend. Ask questions. Good luck.

Top Nine Ways to Create Your Personal Brand

1. Social Media Platforms - There are countless options. Choose three and use them regularly. I prefer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Blogger. All are free; all are powerful.
2. Privacy Settings - Use the options and controls in social media to determine who sees what. Some information or pictures are just for friends. Others are for the public. Still others are for professionals.
3. Focus - Just like limiting social media to three platforms, focus on one or two topics. These topics may be posts for your blog, articles you choose to share, or conversations you decide to join. This will help set you up as a thought leader in your field, and it is actually easier to write about one thing than multiple things (according to Deckers and Lacy; source 5). For example, it would be exhausting to discuss all aspects of study abroad -- pre-departure, cultural immersion, language, shock, travel, safety, etc. However, if you decide to focus on Marketing Ur Experience, the BAM! You can write a book, create a blog, give a presentation, and get a million dollars. (okay, not that last one, but the rest are true...)
4. Maintenance - You can set-up LinkedIn in a day. But it takes activity to make it truly work for you. Be sure to engage with someone or something (links; articles) a few times a week on your chosen social media sites.
5. Create Content - You have platforms with your background information. You are engaging other users. Now it is time to add to the conversation. Find something you are passionate about, write a few paragraphs, and post it. Another way to create content is to comment on other posts.
   
   Again, find what interests you.
6. Don't Be So Serious - "There is no one alive who is youer than you." -Dr. Seuss. Be yourself and have some fun. That is how your brand will shine.
7. Question Authority - The fast is that many articles and posts about your interests already exist. That doesn't mean they are right. Question the way things are. When everyone is going left, try going right. Know your competition and find our what you different. (Source 5)
8. Persist - Nothing happens overnight.
9. Network - Always. Everywhere. Make connections before you need to make connections. They will come in handy later, I promise. Shake hands, say "damn glad to meet ya" and most importantly remember names. 

The mighty Google

In order to build something, one must have a foundation. Since we are talking about how to build your professional career, it is important to know where you are starting; perhaps you already have a foundation, which could be fortunate or unfortunate. What is the best way to figure this out? Google yourself. It sounds strange, but just type in your first and last name and hit search. What are the top five results? More importantly do you find those top five results acceptable? Would you like a future employer to know those things about you? There will most certainly be links to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ if you have those accounts. If you are a student there will probably be some obscure article from your college paper as a result. Then there will be the standard 'profile engines' that claim to know everything about you such as: White Pages, or The Profile Engine, or Pipl Directory. Just ignore these. The important lesson is that employers may be able to see your social media activity. Think of your pictures on Facebook, and whether these are good or bad if seen by employers. You can edit settings in all your social media to limit access, and I hope you already do that. However, how could you provide a meaningful link that will appear not only in the search results but right at the top? LinkedIn is the answer.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is to your professional life what Facebook is to your social life. In my presentations I often say LinkedIn is a professional Facebook. People are usually more familiar with the latter, and it serves as a good way to explain the former. It starts like any other social media site, you may log-in or create an account. All you need is an email address and a password. After you create an account you can start to build your LinkedIn profile. This is basically like building your resume. In fact, if you have a resume you may wish to just use that information. It is important to keep information consistent. Personally, I try to keep my LinkedIn profile and resumes in sync. They are not exactly the same, however. Resumes should be tailored to a specific position, whereas LinkedIn can serve as a comprehensive outline of your background. The added bonus of LinkedIn is that it appears at the top of Google searches.

There are many books about the details of how social media works, and these books cover specifically Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you are new to technology, check out one of these books. I would recommend "Branding yourself" by Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy. It is straight forward and easy to read. Also "The Tao of Twitter" by Mark. W. Schaefer, which will change your social media life. If you are already familiar with some social media, just jump into LinkedIn. You will be able to figure it out. Here are some of the highlight to get you started:

• Connections - In LinkedIn you 'connect' with people instead of friending or following. The secret to connections is maintenance. It may be cool to have five thousand Facebook friends. However in the LinkedIn world you want quality not quantity. Choose connections that benefit you professionally and interact with them on a regular basis.
• Profile Sections - You can adjust which sections appear at the top of your profile. Choose the sections most relevant to your career field and place them at the top.
• Companies - LinkedIn has a company tab at the top. Here you may search for companies that interest you, or you may just search keywords like Study Abroad, for example. Then a list will populate of companies which have pages on LinkedIn. You can follow these companies for updates. Find a few you are interested in and follow them. Or maybe even some outside of your field. I follow John Deere and Caterpillar; side effect of living in Iowa, I suppose. If you work at a company, which has a page, you may list that page in you work experience and a nice logo will appear next to you job title. Company pages also list current employees of that company. Did someone say new connections?
• Groups - Groups are similar to Company pages however they may be started by anybody. It is a great way to find like-minded connections. Just search, join, and engage. 

Interview

By Brooke:

Studies show that today's employers are using behavioral and situational interview questions more than ever to gauge how an employee will function in their company. How candidates performed in the past has shown to be the best indicator of future performance which is why it is important for candidates to keep a couple of stock answers for these common situational questions tucked in their back pockets.

Studying abroad provides one with a variety of stories but knowing which stories are appropriate for an interview is key. Start to think about what situations or challenges you faced abroad and how you overcame them. You can then frame these stories using the S.T.A.R. approach we discussed earlier.

Once again, be certain to focus on those skills gained abroad and most importantly, what you learned as a result of the story you've told. Good examples involve getting lost, dealing with cultural differences, and overcoming barrier you did not expect.

Recruitment Event

By Brooke:

Recruitment Events and Careers Fairs are built entirely around selling yourself as a great fit for the company. We've all heard of perfecting your "elevator speech" or a 30-second to one minute speech about yourself and your accomplishments. For students, elevator speeches will typically include:

• Your name
• Your major (and second major or minors if applicable)
• Your year in school/graduation date
• Previous applicable work experience
• Leadership or volunteer experience on campus or in the community
• Strengths or skills you have that would fit well in the position for which you are applying. 

Employers have heard these speeches several times and have gone through the good, the bad, and the ugly. The key to perfecting these speeches is to sound genuine without being overly enthusiastic and showing confidence without bragging. Remember, these employers are not only looking for a candidate with strong technical skills, intelligence, and maturity, but also for someone who fits well into their company culture and who they would ultimately enjoy working with.

Using the skills you've gained abroad can set your elevator speech apart and can also be a great conversation starter as you proceed with the informal interview process at a Recruitment Event or Career Fair.