Self Marketing Strategies and Technologies

Hello everyone! I am Troy Pierce. I am currently attending ITT Technical Institute in Knoxville Tennessee where I am to graduate with an Associate Degree in Computer Science in June of 2009. I am in the (ITCNS) Information Technology-Computer Networking Systems and Integration Program.

The reason I am creating this blog, is for the purpose of sharing ideas on some of the ways that we can:

1] Build our confidence as it pertains to our current skill levels,

2] Discuss "Networking" as it relates to the importants of the next topic

3] Marketing ourselves for the ever changing Job Market of today

With the event of increasing technologies, I believe that it is safe to say that today our way of living, communicating and generally making normal "day to day" business and personal decisions have changed dramatically opposed to only a few years ago. We live in the "Technological Age". Everything that has structure around us seems to be influenced through implementations of new or improved technologies.

You may be asking yourself: how do I keep up, how do my skills compare to the desired requirements as a standard set for this changing job market and what does it take to become a significant part of these changes and requirements?All of these questions are primary reasons that have provoked me into publishing this blog and I hope that through these postings, we can find the answers to these questions.

This leads me to the first topic that I want to discuss: "Building our Confidence"
I believe all of us remember an interview somewhere from our past. We walked into an office and on the other side sits a 'force who determines our financial future'. Just thinking about the necessity of getting this job has been stressful enough, not to mention what it took to land an interview! All of these emotions seem to come together at the sounding of this 'force' and his/her first question. This question may have even been as simple as what is your name and for whatever reason (maybe the stress) you briefly have become unconscious! This is where "confidence" comes in to play.

Not to say that there wont be that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach, but with this confidence that I will be referring to here, you will be able to focus more on the interview and less on your emotions. Besides, if the person on the 'other side' that 'force of determining your financial future' didn't need your services and skills, then why would he/she be interviewing for a position in the first place?

Now lets focus on this: how could we become more confident? As I have said at the beginning of this blog, I am soon to graduate and I know that being confident is important to the success of my future. One of the things that I have done to challenge myself into building confidence, was to create a video that explained what my current skill traits were and why that I feel that I am fit for the position of becoming a Computer Administrator. Now I must admit, this isn't an easy thing to do the first couple of times but with practice it does become easier. I have replayed the video and each time that I had done this, I remembered something else that I felt would be important to include in my interview and I was able to include it and also change my characteristics to fit the role that I was playing.

Like I said, "it wasn't easy the first few times but with practice it does get easier". You don't have to use video to do this. You can use a tape recorder or anything that you currently have where you can review yourself. If you have a friend or family member close to you let them help you. Either way, this is just one good method of building confidence.

Something else that I feel will help during an interview is to know some things about the company that you are applying for. Know what position that they are hiring for. What is their goal as a company? Their slogan is a good place to start. What does it say? You can use this information as an advantage. It will help you know what kind of an employee that the company is looking for and the research will help you to understand what kind of working environment that you can expect to work in. This is a great way to educate yourself so that you can be more confident with the person interviewing you, because after all they are representing the same company that you have done research on. It gives you common ground and puts you in a position to ask questions that are relative to the position that you have applied for.

Okay, as you can see this all has to do with being resourceful. The more you know about something the better you are at relating with it. So now, what about "networking". How does "networking" have anything to do with this? Networking in this sense of the word means: interconnecting with others. Getting out of your 'secluded box' or ones own comfort zone. Sounds scary, I know doesn't it? Truth of the matter is, the more people you know the greater your chances are of finding a job while building re pore with your community.

People who know you and are your friends, want to know that you are doing well and they care about you as a person. They are your extra resource when it comes to information. They are in contact with many other people that you yourself are unable to have contact with 'in a days time'. Maybe, they know someone who is hiring and believe that you would be a perfect fit! This is one of the reasons that networking is so important. It is a way of extending yourself beyond where you currently are now.

There are other tools that technology has brought about and we will discuss some of them here in this posting. All the things I have mentioned, bring us to our next discussion topic "Marketing Yourself". I believe the term Marketing ones self means simply this: improve your chances by putting your total attributes, your skills, your character, your whole person - out there for others to have the chance to know who you are and what you are capable of doing. Just like a new type of electronic equipment that you are unfamiliar with. What does it do, how does it work and how could it be used to make life easier for me or more enjoyable. You are answering these same questions to prospective employers when you market yourself. After all you wouldn't buy something if you didn't at least have a general understanding of how it worked would you?

In the first sentence of the last paragraph, I mentioned technology as being a tool. Let me elaborate on this some, because I believe this is an important subject that needs more emphasizes on it. Lets look at the Internet first. Most everyone today uses the Internet to "surf the web". Businesses' use it to promote there business. Now, my question to you here is why not use it to promote and market yourself? I wont leave you hanging with this question. I want to give you some ideas on how I think we could do this.

Almost everyone has heard of myspace, face book and these types of Internet connection sites by now. Most people use them just for entertainment. Others are looking for high school friends from the past and some are just wanting to meet other people.I believe this is one way that we can take advantage of technology and we can start networking and marketing ourselves! Most of these sites, if not all of them are free. So why not use them by placing yourself out there with the intent to drawl prospective employers to your site? You can create a myspace page for example and since you are more than likely using the computer for your job search, you can point your resume and applications to your site so that employers can get to know you better. These can be useful and can be beneficial to your job search.

Another method or approach that you can take is: create your own web page. Advertise a service that you perform for your community and become involved with it. Take part in activities that are volunteer events. Let others know that you are interested in helping them. You can find free web hosting for your page and then share it with others.

Another thing that you can do, is like I have done here. Create a blog like this one. Get other peoples' advise and share it with others while remembering to credit the person where the advise or idea originated. This will not only earn your respect with others but it follows the saying "share and share a like" and the same will return to you.

The main thing here to remember is to get active! Take advantage of these tools and become resourceful with them. When you put them into practice like anything else, it will become easier for you.

Please, if you have any other advise that you would like to add share it with us here. I am interested in knowing what you have to say and I look forward to hearing from you!