Brand building doesn't have to involve big-name corporations and top-selling products. You are also a brand, and the message you communicate to the world will help determine your success. A workplace specialist from Manpower Group, which has offices around the world, shares her insight into why you should start developing your brand in high school, and the soft skills that will help you have an exceptional brand on the job. …Read More
Jaden Sanders, 14, and an incoming freshman at Cristo Rey High School in West Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has joined a group of his classmates this July for what can best be called business boot camp. Sanders and about 125 other freshmen at Cristo Rey will participate in a unique work-study program throughout the upcoming school year in which students from low-income families share full-time, entry-level positions at local corporations, working five days a month while also attending high school.
Sanders and his Cristo Rey classmates need to be ready for the real world of work. That’s why this month they have been learning skills to prepare them for corporate America — and for whatever position in which they land at one of the 23 companies that has signed on to hire high school freshmen as employees.
Manpower Group, a Milwaukee-based business that provides workforce solutions to companies around the world, is a Cristo Rey corporate work-study partner. Pamila Brown, a community investment specialist with Manpower Group, has been helping to train the Cristo Rey students for their professional jobs, addressing everything from integrity and motivation to communication skills and personal hygiene.
According to Brown, your ability to function well as a corporate employee begins with your personal brand, or more specifically, the characteristics that you become known for in the workplace. Your personal brand is a work in progress, not something you create overnight. “A lot of kids in high school say they don’t think their personal brand is important,” says Brown. “They think that by the time they go to work, they will flip a switch and have an amazing personal brand. The fact is laying the foundation today for your personal brand is very important. You need to begin to build those characteristics that you see as good for you, so that the day you go out to get that position, you already have a well-developed brand.”
You ultimately want the kind of brand at work that gets people talking and praising, notes Brown, who adds that an exceptional brand will give you a competitive advantage in the corporate arena. “In today’s very competitive world of work, the worst workers have already been let go. The exceptional and the average workers are left. Who will be downsized when the company needs to let people go? The average workers. Who will be considered for promotions? The exceptional workers.”
Brown recommends that high school students focus on three key areas to help develop their exceptional employee brands. They are:
Building your personal brand is an important practice whatever path you choose after high school. What qualities make up your personal brand? Team up with a partner and interview them about their brand. Check out the activity in this KWHS brand lesson plan to get creative with your personal brand image. Not yet a registered KWHS user? Take a minute to sign up!
Some of the employability skills that Pamila Brown discusses are often called “soft skills” in the workplace. What are some other soft skills that you should understand before you get a job? Research the linked articles below for guidance.
What does it mean to “define expectations?” Why is it so important to do this if you want to be able to build an outstanding personal brand?
I love the idea of this bootcamp. Being able to learn about real-world business experience is something some people can dream of. Add this to the fact that Jaden Sanders is working 5 days a week and you’ve got someone with a passion to learn and the ability to take in the financial world. Great read, highly recommended!
I really enjoyed this article. It is great that it is addressing the problems that young people in America have when trying to find work. If they learn when how to present themselves in the workplace they will perform so much better. The boot camp is great way to give students an idea to what to expect when the start working in the real world. Great Article!
I must say, this bootcamp is excellent. Giving young children the opportunity to learn about business in the real world is very helpful to the children. It allows children to start young in their future careers and it is a very beautiful thing. So, when they go into their business profession they will be very diverse in the area. The bootcamp seems to be a wonderful experience!
I believe that the bootcamp is a great and amazing idea. It gives children the opportunity to know information about the work life/ business world. It gives children a chance to start a future career in the area they would like to work in. This is a article that needs to be share with everyone and something that every parent should get their child/children involved in.
I must say, this bootcamp is excellent. Giving young children the opportunity to learn about business in the real world is very helpful to the children.
I love the fact this bootcamps is giving children an chance to start the right way on their careers.
This is great and I think you can learn a lot
I think that boot camp could be a amazing way to help the youth start their careers.
The bootcamp is a great way to improve the way of living for the younger generation.
the bootcamp can teach you a lot