I just finished reading Gen Y career and personal branding expert Dan Schawbel’s new book, Promote Yourself, and I think his message of career management and career empowerment directed towards the Gen Y workforce (people born between 1982 and 1993) is spot on.
Dan teaches several lessons best learned early in one’s career and guides millennials through the landmines of today’s volatile employment landscape. He surveyed 1,000 employers to uncover the hard and soft skills they look for in millennial candidates as a way to help young job seekers gain a competitive edge in today’s market. Dan teaches millennials how to build their personal brand online and offline and leverage relationships to position their skills and passions for future career opportunities. He also writes about the benefits of securing internships early in your college career and the real versus perceived value of an MBA.
While the book’s focus is on this younger generation, there is also sage advice for us older dogs who could stand to learn a few new tricks. Dan shares several resources for free and low-cost educational options to keep job skills sharp, offers an easy-to-understand tutorial on how to use top networking sites LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter to promote your personal brand, and even suggests some great tips for negotiating a raise or promotion.
If you have a millennial son, daughter, niece, nephew, or friend, Promote Yourself is a great gift that can help them start their career out on the right foot. But before you give the book away, take a look at it yourself; you are sure to find some new ideas to refresh your own career strategy.
