College Students Market Yourself

Hello all,

This is a post that I recently wrote for MyCollegesandCareers.com.  Check out my Expert Profile!

As you begin your college experience, you will find yourself bombarded with many situations.  Each situation will force you to make decisions, some will be more important than others.  It is important that DO NOT over commit.  Many freshmen will burn out after the first semester because they have committed to working on too many projects.

When you are prioritizing potential projects, please make sure you are involved in something that can help you excel once you graduate.  Over the past two years, I have taught more than 120 college freshmen, and I have come to the conclusion that many of them do not know how to market themselves.  There is a lot that a student can do during their four years of college that will help them find a job once they graduate.

If you are a freshmen education major, you will probably have an opportunity to observe a teacher in the classroom.  Your institution may call this your pre-practicum experience.  Take this opportunity seriously, and seek out opportunities to set yourself apart from your peers.  Your may even want to start with a volunteer position, but as you establish a reputation for yourself, you may be offered paying positions.  When I was doing my student teaching, I was giving a part time job working with the middle school Lego robotics program.  This was a paying position, and it paid well, probably 3-3.5 times more than any other job that I had during my four years in college.  I almost forgot to mention that I was offered a full time teaching gig before I finished my student teaching.  The investment of my time paid off!

Don’t be afraid to volunteer, not all the work you do needs to be paid for.  Think of it as an investment.  If you invest your time into the school system, more often than not, the school system will invest in you.  Be careful not to over invest, the world is imperfect, and some systems may take advantage of your willingness to give.

I hope this bit of information was helpful.  Please let me know what topics are you interested in hearing more about.  Feel free to view my profile, and contact me with you questions.  As always you can find me on Facebook and Twitter!

Good luck,

EC