How to Help Students Create a Personal Brand Statement
For students who are getting ready to head to college or enter the workforce, the thought of creating a resume, building their professional network, or finding a job can be a bit intimidating. To help them solidify where they want to go and how they feel they can add value to their industry, a personal brand statement can be extremely helpful.
A personal brand statement is a one to two-sentence summary that highlights how you can add value to your industry based on your skills, your experience, and your passions.
This can be extremely beneficial to high school students making the transition to college as it can help them:
- Find a job
- Expand their professional network
- Attract additional opportunities
- Find other people in their field of study
6 Steps to Crafting a Personal Brand Statement
Now that we know what a personal brand statement is, let’s go over the steps you can take to help your students craft theirs.
1. Have them make a list of their skills
The first step in crafting a personal brand statement is to make a list of skills. Have your students start by creating a list of what they think their unique skills are—soft and hard skills. These skills should be specific, so have them focus on ones that relate to the industry they’ll be studying in college, a job they hope to land, or a club or network they hope to join.
2. Have them define their audience
They’ll likely already have an audience they want to target in their mind, so have them pinpoint it so they can craft a statement that will speak to that industry. You want to avoid a general statement so you can stand out amongst others.
3. Have them research what others are saying
Have them research what other people in their industry are saying. Are they specific buzzwords they’re using? Is there a gap in knowledge that they know they can fill with their experience? Discovering this can help them better understand what to include in their statement.
4. Have them start building their sentences
It may take a few rounds, but have them start crafting their sentences once they’ve completed steps one through three. These sentences should be clear and concise, speak to their target audience, reveal how they can add value, and any unique skills they have that can help them stand out.
5. Help them revise and simplify their sentences
The more clear and consise, the better. Help them remove the fluff and trim down anything that isn’t necessary.
6. Have them add their statement to professional platforms
Once they’ve got their personal brand statement finalized, it’s time to start marketing themselves! They can add this to their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, email signatures, and any other platforms that are going to help them receive more opportunities.
To help students build a personal brand statement, check out this downloadable worksheet that can help them brainstorm ideas and craft the perfect personal brand statement that will help them in their future endeavors.
