SELL YOURSELF WITH THESE TIPS AS A GRADUATE

Hello blog bestie, how are you doing today? How is life treating you, especially your relationship with God?

2023 has been awesome so far, like the secretary in my church would say, welcome to the 19^th week of the year and we thank God for how far He has brought us.

For this month, I thought to write about career content and I started with that last week throughout may, we would be having guest writers because I want you to not just gain value from my experience but also from others.

Today, I and my guest speaker (Emediong) would share key nuggets on selling yourself as a newbie in a sector.

By the way, I am still growing and these are things I have learned over time which I am sharing with you, so let’s kick off.

The best way known to me to unashamedly sell yourself or to show people your value even as a recent graduate is;

1. Taking Advantage of Social Media:

I have heard when people say, social media is bad but I believe is how you use it. I read a testimony from someone on social media, that she started her brand online and that was where she became established, Social media is something you can use to your advantage, share the story of how you achieved a project in school or your latest work, talk about what you do, services you offer, what makes you stand out. Just share your story and journey and the best social media platform I would advise is WhatsApp, Instagram, and most especially LinkedIn. This takes us to our next point.

2. Optimize Your LinkedIn Page:

Don’t just create an account but be committed to it, your profile should be up to date. I may not have fully started reaping from being active on LinkedIn but I have heard testimonies of people, building their profiles, and putting out their portfolio on LinkedIn sets you out.

I always say this when I talk about LinkedIn, it is your CV that is on full display. Updating your profile on jobs or experiences you have had or courses you just took, engaging in other people’s posts, and connecting with like minds. LinkedIn is one of the best applications to sell yourself. Unto the next part.

3. Attend Conference:

Apart from having an online presence and sharing your journey, story, and what have you on social media, physically attending some conferences would do you great. You would get to meet amazing people in your sector and even get gigs. There’s a way you would be perceived when you attend those conferences and also get to take pictures, with thought leaders, this moves us to the next nugget.

4. Networking:

Apart from getting knowledge at a conference, networking is something to look forward to. It doesn’t mean immediately you want to connect with that fellow, you start talking about what you do and all of that. You could start with a simple introduction of who you are, get to know the other person, and after the event, continue to keep up with that person. For example, the person you want to speak with could be a potential client in the future, your introduction could be; “Hello, my name is Omoye, I am a graphic designer, I have seen what you do in society and learned a lot from your work”. First, make the person special and recognize what they do, and as your conversation continues, you can chip in your past achievement or plans in your career.  Would be explaining better in the next nugget.

5. Have an Elevator Pitch:

This is one secret that every recent graduate should know. Most of the time, when we meet new people, we have little or no time to make an instant connection. An elevator speech is a brief way of introducing oneself in such a way that you create an impression on the other party. Your elevator speech could include your name, professional/educational accomplishments, information about your skills, and career goals. If you want to sell yourself as quickly as possible, you should have and practice your elevator speech. When asked to introduce yourself, an elevator speech prevents you from being entirely disoriented. With an elevator speech, you feel more confident about yourself and find it easier to sell yourself.

Volunteer:

There’s something LinkedIn Queen (Ms. Haoma Worgwu) says if you can’t buy your way in, then serve your way in. You could need to meet a potential investor and you know he/she would be present at a conference and you don’t have enough resources to get in, you could serve your way in by being a volunteer. Access to sell yourself to that potential investor.

As a graduate are there other ways to sell yourself? I would like to hear from you. As I mentioned, this month would be about career talk, so if you have a topic you want me to write about, just send it to my email and I would see if I can give answers to it.

Please, don’t forget to share this with anyone you know that needs this. I love you but Christ loves you more

Till I write again…

Your Blog Bestie,

Omoye