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Personal Branding at University of Warwick

By Wavelength Marketing20th July 2016November 15th, 2016News

It was a pleasure to be invited back to Warwick University to deliver two Personal Branding Masterclasses. Fun, interactive and engaging students from Warwick Manufacturing Group attended Masterclasses that focused on helping students define then use their values when seeking employment.

Dinesh Patnaik, MSc in Cyber Security candidate, attended the session and outlines:

“Darren’s session on ‘Personal Branding’ was very helpful. It was interesting to understand how every object and identity has a brand which is an intangible asset. Establishing a brand that differentiates an individual by just being a true reflection of oneself was a key learning for me. I highly appreciate Darren’s style of session delivery accompanied by individual tasks and group presentations which made the entire experience enjoyable and complete! I can realise the influence of the learnings everyday mostly while interacting with my personal and professional network.”

Alberto Mac Gregor, Msc in Business Excellence candidate, outlines:

“Attending the Personal Branding Masterclass given by Darren was a great and very useful experience. His creative and unique style was a formidable way to retain the knowledge he shared. Now, I feel no worries when applying for a job or having an interview: I feel well prepared to show how my personal brand fits with the job I’m applying for.”

Daniel Connell, MSc e-Business Management candidate, notes:

“What stood out about Dr Coleman’s personal branding class was his knowledge of relevant industry skills, and how, as MSc students, we can communicate our personal brand to companies as valuable potential assets.

“The Masterclass helped me in a recent interview with a large consultancy house to demonstrate how my own set of unique skills are valuable and beneficial to the company. It has helped me understand that one personal feature can deliver multiple benefits to an employer. I also learned how to position my personal brand, and how to distinguish myself from other people who appear to have a similar background.

“The delivery style and content was interactive and included not only learning from Dr Coleman, but also from peers. The session was well structured and flowed in a sensible way while continually facilitating group discussion in an open and meaningful fashion. The most valuable lesson I learned from the day was how to position my personal brand, using my personal skills in a way that is valuable to companies.”

Tsatsoulis Grigoris, MSc Innovation & Entrepreneurship candidate, outlines:

“The Personal Branding Masterclass helped me to deeply understand the real meaning of ‘Brands’. The techniques Darren used offered us the opportunity to discover parts of our personality and learn new ways of improve our ‘personal brand’. Part of the Masterclass was about how to practically overcome obstacles while being interviewed for jobs and achieving better results. Highly recommended not only for students but for professionals as well.”

Commenting on the session, Wavelength’s Darren Coleman outlines:

“A lot of students go about finding a job in completely the wrong way. They focus on their covering letter and CV but don’t understand how to use these personal branding tools to connect with prospective employers’ values in meaningful and emotionally relevant ways. They also tend to focus on features not benefits they can deliver to the prospective employer. Neither approach is very useful.

“Once students realise the importance of connecting at a values level, writing a cover letter and CV becomes more straightforward because you have principles in place to guide your efforts. Being clear on values also helps deliver a more consistent personal brand across social channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn and, depending on your target employer, Pinterest, Instagram and Vine. If you’re not clear on your values, your social channels will have an inconsistent and fragmented feel. This may sow a seed of suspicion in prospective employers’ minds, so they’ll back off. That’s never good news.”

Here are a few more shots from the two Masterclasses. Good times. Thanks for being such great groups.

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