Training Students to Self-Market

Dr. Charles Michael Austin, Ed.D.Career Packaging & Marketing

Digital Media Educators ConferenceJune 9, 2016

Shift your perspective about

the process of finding and keeping workMy mission:

Training people to navigate this new landscape

The Foundation

Self-awareness - how you're wired

Relationships - how you're connected

(S.W.O.T. Analysis)

The New Rules

1. A vastly different working world

2. Corporate loyalty is dead – no long-term job stability (“The Precariat” - Noam

Chomsky)

3. We’re all freelancers (our own business)

4. Degrees are a commodity

The New Rules

5. Resumés and cover letters: still necessary – but insufficient

6. Constant self-promotion (“Life’s a pitch,

and then you die”)

7. Numerous careers

“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”

(Chekhov)

Critical Thinking & Action

STRATEGIC . . .

• Begin at the end

• Specific goal(s) MONETIZEABLE PASSION

• Steps you need to take to reach it MEASUREABLE

RESULTS

Critical Thinking & Action

TACTICAL . . .• Daily journaling• Timeline/Milestones • Resources

– how you acquired/used them• Personal Board of Directors• Roadblocks

Get out of your own way

Branding• What specific monetizeable, marketable

and transferable skills do you offer?• What makes you/your business

special? • Why should I buy what you’re selling?

(benefits to me?)

Brand = Relationship & Reputation

Your New Toolkit

1. Improved communication skills Verbal

Written Social media

2. Self-promotion (sales)

Communication & Packaging

How do you articulate your USP

(Unique Selling Proposition)and Narrative?

Communication & PackagingVERBAL• Sound bite • Mock interviews

WRITTEN • The resumé:

a marketing document

SOCIAL MEDIA

Networking

PORTABLE ELECTRONICGRANULAR DATABASE

• Populated by family/friends/colleagues

• Expanded via Affinity Groups

Granular Database• Name/phone numbers/addresses

PLUS• Places they’ve lived and worked (and job titles)• Names of significant others, children, and pets• Important dates (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.)• Hobbies and interests• Personality traits and quirks (“sweet spots”)

NETWORKING = SELLING

“Making friends in order to advance your career”

Networking

• Who’s your audience – and how do you find

them?• How well do people know you? • How often do you appear on their

radar?• Sales vs. Access• “Door Openers”• Deepen relationships• Find mentors

The Context

What Am I Selling?Who Do I Know?

How Can I Help Them?

Selling Your Brand

• The Golden Rule (of business): “Who has the gold makes the

rules” • The employer's needs • Contribution and Service • People like to work with

people they know and trust• Good enough is good enough;

who best fits with the team?

Experiential Learning

 “You practice and you get better. It’s very simple.” (Philip Glass)

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” (Aristotle)

Self-promotion becomes a habit

Time Management

• Priorities• Efficiencies • Measurable deliverables &

deadlines ACTIVITY vs.

ACCOMPLISHMENT

Money Management

• Needs vs. Wants • Does it make me $

or cost me $ ?• Revenue (+) Expenses (-)

The Multiple Income Streams Approach

Picture a wagon wheel . . .Hub: your core brand or skill set Spokes: various ways you can derive income

from your talents/skills

How many ways can you generate revenue?  

A business does not rely on a single client. This model is designed to create

a steady stream of income from multiple sources

You possess talents and skills you can share with the world - even if it

may take you years to discover them 

Keep working

Continue learning

Take care of yourself(your body is a temple,

not an amusement park) 

 

THANK YOU

chaz@chazaustin.com

Career Packaging & Marketing