Build Your Personal Brand (by working for Free)

from Stepcase Lifehack by Dan Schawbel

After reading that headline, you may think I'm insane or tell yourself that working for free is out of the question.  There have been millions of layoffs since the end of 2007 up until now and for college graduates, the competition might make you comatose.  The NACE reports that 41% of students haven't even started the job search and 27% of graduates are going to graduate school because of the bad economy.  Of course, going to graduate school is going to put you in more dept and you're betting on the economy coming back in two years.  If you're trying to get a job right now, you'll notice that many employers are cutting down salaries of current employees and offers to new hires.  Although, your education is a factor in you getting a job, what's more important is your workexperience.  Just like content is king on the internet, your experience is king when it comes to getting a job. Today, I'm going to explain why you might need to work for free for at least part of your time each week.

When interviewing, experience trumps income

Have you ever noticed how resumes don't have salaries next to each job you've had?  You'll ies ever find a resume that lists salaries or internshipcompensation.  Salaries are negotiated if there's a job offer that doesn't meet the applicants standards.  Corporate salaries are based on job title and you can salaries at various companies by doing to Glassdoor.com.  Since, salaries aren't listed on resumes, your experience becomes the most important element in getting a job, aside from how you present yourself online and in an interview.  I took two non-paid internships while in college to gain more experience, thus building my personal brand to become a stronger applicant.

When I applied for jobs, the experience I gained at those companies really made a difference and it was well worth the compensation sacrifice.  Since it's hard to get a job right now, start focusing on building your credentials, enhancing your resume and acquiring skills that can help you in future job searches.  It will pay off and you'll forget that you had to sacrifice compensation.

Work for free so you remain active

The worst thing you can do right now is sulk on your coach, with some potato chips, and a coke.  Well, there could be worse, but the point is that you need to stay active at all times.  Recruiters don't want to talk to people that have been out of the job market for a while, without remaining relevant to their industry or at least trying to acquire some experience. You never want to get into a situation, where you're in an interview and you're asked "so what have you been doing recently, I noticed that your last job ended six months ago," and then not have a good answer.

Find people in your network that can help you stay active, by working for them for free if they can't pay you.  Also, you can do community service or start your own company to at least make it seem like you haven't given up and that you are aggressive and actually care about your career.

Work for free while having a side job

If you work for free to gain experience, you'll still need a side job to make money.  Work for a company for free part-time to gain experience and also work for another company to get paid.  If you want to get money, and things are getting tough, then it's not a bad decision to do retail or work at a restaurant to pay the bills.

If you do that, and you invest time in building your personal brand online, gaining experience by working for free part-time and job searching constantly, you should be in a good position to get a job when it becomes available.  A lot of college students are making these hard decisions right now because they realize that they don't have a choice.  If you want to stay ontop during tough times, you'll have to make tough decisions, but you'll want to make them before everyone else does for yo.