We kicked off a new social media post series dubbed “Intern Insights.” In doing so, we hope to shed light on the fact that being new to the industry doesn’t mean you can’t be brilliant.
As our president, Wendy Payton, says, “We believe that being young doesn’t mean you don’t have a voice.”
For our first post, we asked graduating intern Emily Reed for a piece of advice she would share with other new marketers just starting out. Here’s what she had to say:
“Just like in branding a company, it’s important to put some thought into your personal brand. By that I mean figuring out who you are and what you want in life. Where are you five years from now, for example. Having a personal vision and promise is your first step in being a successful marketer.
Many of us start by determining a target audience for ourselves during our job searches in college. We research positions and companies we’d like to work for, what sorts of skills the hiring managers are looking for, and the type of people already working at these places.
Marketing starts here—and it starts with you.
Just like any business needs to make an effort to differentiate, your personal brand also takes this into consideration. Reputation is another aspect of this sort of personal inventory. Who are you, really, and how is this being portrayed outwardly? This takes some “being real” with yourself. If you haven’t lately, take some time to think about who you are in the future. What are you doing? What have you accomplished? This vision of your future self lays down the framework for creating your life now. And just like so many successful companies, you should write down your personal vision somewhere so you can refer back to it whenever you need a reminder.
Other important insight will come from determining your values, passions, and goals—as well as performing a personal SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis? Yes. Anytime you’re hoping to grow in life or embark on a new (ad)venture, you can refer back to your vision, values, and goals, and then use them as a guiding factor in performing your very own SWOT analysis. Then, you will know where you excel, where you need to improve, the opportunities that face you, and so on.
Have you thought about this more deeply yet? After you go through these processes that have become so familiar to us, and apply them inwardly, I encourage you to do one of my favorite branding exercises on yourself—think of a few descriptive words or phrases you would use to describe the essence of who you are. Why did you choose them? Then, go live them!
About Emily
Emily Reed is a recent graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University Lutgert College of Business. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing. She rocked her internship and will be starting full-time as a Brand Associate with Rivet this month.
Through different Intern Insights, the whole team at Rivet Brands strives to be exceptional for the clients and communities it serves.