Matt Sweetwood

6 years ago · 2 min. reading time · ~100 ·

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My Daughter Just Graduated and Why I think She Needs a Powerful Personal Brand

My Daughter Just Graduated and Why I think She Needs a Powerful Personal Brand

I am proud to say that my youngest daughter is graduating from Pace University this week, summa cum laude (that’s a dad-brag with no apologies).

Let me enjoy the moment…

c3f78d74.png

...ok, the moment's up and my enjoyment time is over too.

Now it’s time for her to get a job and off the daddy-payroll - and in today’s world, neither of those tasks are easy to do. According to the Economic Policy Institute, for young college graduates, the unemployment rate is currently 5.6%, and the underemployment rate is 12.6% - wages are performing poorly and have experienced little to no growth since 2000. Statistics aside, we all know how hard it is for young people to be self-supporting today.

So what should she (we) do?

Job seeking has changed a lot over the past few years. Gone are the days of waiting for the Sunday newspaper to scour the job section for new opportunities. We have Monster, Ladders, Recruiter, ZipRecruiter, Linkedin, beBee and other dot coms which provide job listings and automatically deliver your resume electronically.

Let’s look at some more statistics, courtesy of the September 2015 study done by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM):

57% of companies hired from LinkedIn, 19% hired from Facebook and 65% of companies used some form of social media to hire. From the same study: Hiring managers thought it important for job seekers to have the following social media accounts: LinkedIn - 87%, Facebook 63%, Twitter 56%, and a Blog 55%. The statistics tell us that if you are not using social media to help you find a job you are putting yourself at a huge disadvantage.

(See my Entrepreneur article: “13 Social Media Power Tips for Getting the Job You Want”)

Hiring managers are doing that because they are trying to find out more about you than just what’s on your resume. They want to know you as a person and understand whether you are going to fit into their corporate culture. That's why my company, beBee, is the social network which helps you with “Successful Personal Branding.”

It’s a logical approach for selecting the best candidates. Candidate A has an impressive resume. Candidate B has a similarly impressive resume, but their strong personal brand shows that they have a blog with articles on topics relevant to the company’s business. They tweet about news and ideas from the industry. They do yoga, run half-marathons, and they volunteer for charity. Who do you think is getting the first interview and the job?

(See my article: “8 Reasons a Powerful Personal Brand Will Make You Successful”)

So, does your kid (or you) need to use social media to find a new job? Does having a powerful personal brand give them an edge in the job market?

Absolutely yes - and every day they wait to build that power personal brand, your kid is falling a day behind!

Have a BIG Week

-Matt

PS: If your son or daughter is in high school they absolutely need a powerful personal brand too!

(See my Entrepreneur article: “10 Social Media Tips for Students to Improve Their College Admission Chances”)



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Comments

Cyndi wilkins

5 years ago #20

Great advice from proud papa Matt Sweetwood on "Personal Branding."

David 🐝 Martín Alonso

6 years ago #19

I have a 7 year daughter and she won a drawing contest in her class, there are no words to express how much proud i feel. Congratulations to both of you Matt \ud83d\udc1d Sweetwood

George Touryliov

6 years ago #18

Congrats Matt - to you and to your kid! Good luck!

Mohammed Abdul Jawad

6 years ago #17

Congratulations to your daughter Matt \ud83d\udc1d Sweetwood. But, equally you deserve accolades for upbringing your daughter and being more like a mentor. That's double jubilation! :)

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #16

Matt \ud83d\udc1d Sweetwood Congratulations Matt - have never seen you look so proud in a photo!

Matt Sweetwood

6 years ago #15

#23
I had the privilege of having 5 lumps! Buzz On!

Matt Sweetwood

6 years ago #14

#20
David, thank you for your kind words!

Paul Walters

6 years ago #13

Matt \ud83d\udc1d Sweetwood Aint it cool when they bring a lump to your throat. Me I wept, much to both daughters horror. Congratulations to her even though she has just been fired from daddy payroll !!

Liesbeth Leysen, MSc.

6 years ago #12

many congratulations to daughter and yes also to the father!!!

David B. Grinberg

6 years ago #11

Kudos to your daughter, Matt. If she's anything like you then she has a bright and boundless career ahead of her. Also, congrats to all the new grads out there who represent a new generation of leadership in today's fast evolving high-tech Information Age.

David B. Grinberg

6 years ago #10

Kudos to your daughter, Matt. If she's anything like you then she has a bright and boundless career ahead of her. Also, congrats to all the new grads out there who represent a new generation of leadership in today's fast evening high-tech Information Age.
Woooooozzzzaaaaaaa !
Enjoy the moment ! Sometimes i belive you are way better than Mr Wonderful...lol, way more handsome! So how does it feel to bebee a great Dad ?

Milos Djukic

6 years ago #7

Congrats.

Jerry Fletcher

6 years ago #6

Congrats to the new diploma holder and the dad at her side! Now comes the hard part. Building a personal as well as a professional brand is critical in today's world. Help her understand the differences and how to use each platform with an eye on the future. It is okay to be odds with the general view but you have to be prepared to stick by your contrarian posts.

🐝 Fatima G. Williams

6 years ago #5

Congratulations super dad. I’m sure you both are on top of the world. Proud moment for both of you. I'm so glad that we are all there to tell the graduating kids what they need to know and do to land ourselves the jobs they want. Fantastic buzz @Matt 🐝 Sweetwoodmatt Keep rocking super dad.🐝🤗🤗🤗🐝

🐝 Fatima G. Williams

6 years ago #4

Congratulations super dad. I’m sure you both are on top of the world. Proud moment for both of you. I'm so glad that we are all the to tell the graduating kids what they need to know and do to land ourselves the jobs they want. Fantastic buzz Matt \ud83d\udc1d Sweetwoodmatt Keep rocking super dad.🐝🤗🤗🤗🐝

Helena Jansen van Vuuren

6 years ago #3

Congratulations to you and especially your daughter....well done her!
Congratulations Matt \ud83d\udc1d Sweetwood And very thoughtful reflection
Congratulation Super Dad !

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