Why You Won’t Graduate from College With a ‘Decent’ Job

“Its hard out here”, “The job market is terrible”. These fallacies are becoming just as common as hearing your name on a daily basis.

Now don’t get me wrong, the unemployment rate is at just over 4% which seems small but is not a sexy number. The rate at which college kids who graduate with a well-paying job after graduation is even higher. So as a scholar in 2016, what can you do to make sure you don’t fall into the pit?

Brand yourself.

Too many college students take the internet for granted. We have this amazing tool that can open up a world of success in our careers from an early age, but we use it like a 52 year old going back to get his/her master’s degree. By that I mean, they only use it to do a research paper or borderline plagiarize for a paper that’s due this Thursday. What many don’t realize is that the internet is the first step to branding yourself as 100% employable.

Most people have a blog these days, but although many college students realize the benefits of blogging many still don’t do it. Let’s start with your internet presence that EVERY college student has — a social media presence.

A lot of people throw this opportunity away by posing with a beer can, or posting a picture of themselves camping with friends as opposed to building a personal brand around it. This includes Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

My passion is fashion, so I based my Instagram and Twitter presence around that one thing that I’m passionate about (along with starting my blog www.tailormade-style.com). As a result, I already have two job offers lined up after graduation in fashion (I’m a second semester sophomore)and I’m an intern blogger at a local fashion week simply because they found my Instagram page.

Oh, and that internship thing, it happened EIGHT days after starting my blog and re-branding myself on social media.

I say this not to brag but to set an example. Amazing things happen when you use this wonderful tool called the internet for your professional development. No matter what you’re passion is — whether its music or marine biology — start a blog and brand your social media around it. Tweet about it, post pictures from your trip to the aquarium, post videos of you producing music on Instagram, etc.

Use social media for your benefit, not just for the fun of it. Take 30–60 minutes out of your day to do this and watch what happens. You’re a hamster running on the never-ending wheel if you think that employers are hiring students based on their resume and a cover letter.

You can find me on Instagram @tailormade.style , on Twitter DJ Hargrave , and on my blog Tailor Made Style.