Hey ThinkTalkers, my name is Molly and I am a senior English Major at CUA. As part of my internship for ThinkTalk, I will be blogging my epic search for a job in the D.C. area, giving you all my take on what has worked, what has failed miserably, and hopefully giving a splinter of insight to those of you who haven’t quite reached job hunting maturation yet in your young adult life.

In my first semester interning for ThinkTalk, I discovered the Personal Branding Blog, which was intimidating at first due to all the business jargon and entrepreneurial ambition, but the tips on how to improve your resume and interviewing skills kept me reading.

Now that I’ve entered my final semester, reading the Personal Branding Blog felt daunting, because now I actually need those tips, especially with inflated unemployment rates. Who would pick me when there are thousands of experienced professionals ready to pounce on the next job opening? This is where developing my own personal brand comes in, or so says Dan Schawbel. Easy enough right? First hurtle, there is no concrete definition of what personal branding is! According to the American Marketing Association, personal branding shares the same definition as branding, which “can be defined as a person, name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller, or group of sellers, and to differentiate them from those of competitors” (American Marketing Association 2007).

Simply put, I’ve got to figure out a way to cohesively package my name, my skill set or services in a way that appeals to employers and separates me from my job-hunting competitors. New media technology in the form of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are great places to start.

Admittedly, I’ve been against the blogging and Twitter movement because I had a hard time believing anyone needed to know exactly how I thought or felt at any given moment. LinkedIn just seemed too grown-up for me. Why can’t I just fly under the radar? No more, advises Dan Schawbel, not in this job market! In his blog post, 10 Reasons Why You Have to Manage Your Personal Brand, Dan paints an apocryphal picture of what your future could be like should you choose not to participate in these social mediums.

His argument for social networking site participation states that like it or not, you already have a personal brand and you need to mold it your own way before you are poorly perceived. In other words, clean up those Facebook pictures and wall posts. Increase your web visibility. If you have Facebook or Twitter you might as well go all the way and create a more professional presence on a LinkedIn account. Once you’ve updated yourself, don’t stop there. These avenues of communication are changing everyday so its best to continue your interactions with contacts on these sites so you don’t miss out on the next big thing. For example, Coming soon! “MyMilkyWay” where communities share pics and youtube videos with Lunar Colony settlers!

We as young professional have new opportunities to make contacts with people we never would have made had ten years ago. I say, take advantage of these social mediums so you’re never left out of the conversation about twitter or blog posts. Proudly suggest to contacts, “look me up on LinkedIn”. Stand up, virtually speaking, and be recognized. “Participate or be extinct” as Dan says, and join me as I create a Twitter and LinkedIn account. I’ll keep you posted.