When you need to refresh your personal brand

A lot of times I think I am a prototype of what they call a millennial person. Sounds fancy, right? Yet it comes with a lot of things my parents and schools were in no position to prepare me for. The wish for living abroad, traveling, freedom, entrepreneurship, flexible work opportunities, jungle gym career path (yes, Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean in is a must-read) and the list goes on. Sounds exciting…
Not even a year ago I boarded a plane that took me to Houston, Texas from the heart of Europe, Hungary. I had lived abroad before but still saying goodbye to your loved ones is truly heartbreaking and the hard part doesn’t end there. You don’t just leave them behind, you leave “you” — your personal brand — behind.
When I started looking for jobs for the first time here my fears became reality. I had 3+ years of professional experience and multiple degrees in my pocket, however my knowledge and experience seemed hardly translatable. The names of the schools I went to said nothing to anyone here. Even though I had been working in a multinational environment all my life; since pronouncing my name was already a struggle for most people, I felt a lot of times that they don’t even want to dig further. I had no brand here. I had no network here. I realized I had to start from the scratch.
But how? What do I do now? I didn’t want to go back to school for an additional 4 years just to have another piece of paper in my hand that says something here. This time I wanted something that will tell the same about me everywhere! Here came my millennial list of demands: affordable, doesn’t require being a full-time student, provides hands-on experience in the field of digital marketing, professionally recognized source.
At this point I was already familiar with MOOC’s but I never had that breakthrough experience — so my wishes pretty much seemed like daydreaming…until during one of my daydreaming sessions I was scrolling down my Facebook feed and saw the Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree Ad. I was sitting on the floor in my pajamas and as I discovered the syllabus and saw the pricing I had that breakthrough feeling we rarely get in life: that I was about to make a decision I knew I wasn’t going to regret.
Only a couple of weeks into my Udacity experience I landed my dream job — and while it wasn’t only Udacity’s direct impact yet — I am still in love with the course. As an employee now whatever lesson I go through I am always able to apply it in my real life working experience.
So even if you are completely new to digital marketing, looking for a career shift or you just need something that will boost your current knowledge while gaining experience that is applicable worldwide– look no further!
Good Luck!