Since that time, I have used mind maps to plan new course designs, communication plans, share roles and responsibilities and even produce todo lists.  I am now sold on the power of mind maps to convey information and most importantly allow you to make connections with information.

Both the visual nature of the mind map and the big picture view have pulled me on board.  Of course this means that I am testing mind mapping in the WhyHire.me curriculum.  With the help of Tony Buzan, a mind mapping pioneer, I will be recommending that the Dig Deep worksheets be used truly as worksheets and that the content is then transferred to a mind map in order for students to see their big picture and start to see the connections, themes and keywords that will be the foundation of their personal brands.

I will be suggesting any of the following as possible mind mapping tools; MindMeister, imindmap, CMAP, Freemind or bubbl.us.  They can even use Word or Powerpoint. Each tool has it’s pros and cons. It’s up to the student to pick the tool that fits their needs then get there personal mind map done.

This personal mind map is the first Hybrid assignment for my students this term.  Class starts tomorrow!

Before developing their pitch they must do some self-reflection that we call Dig Deep.  The first module of the WhyHire.me personal branding curriculum is to ask many reflective questions of oneself. As individuals we don’t spend enough time thinking about ourselves. We think about projects, others, world issues and more.  But to develop your career you really need to keep asking yourself the big questions.

• What are my personal values and greatest strengths?
• What personalities traits make me unique and stand out?
• Where have I had successes and what do they show about my strengths, personality, and values?
• What do others say about working and dealing with me?  Have I really been listening to what others have to say about my performance, strengths and personality?

Our students answer these questions plus complete a variety of activities, worksheets, and online tools to help complete  the foundation of there positioning pitch.  This is the starting point of their online WhyHire.me profile.

At first it seems easy to write a paragraph but soon into the process I start hearing: ‘this is hard’, ‘I don’t feel comfortable writing about myself this way’ and ‘I really don’t know what makes me unique’.  These are initial thoughts that many people have when they start this process. However, it’s so important to put in the time to craft a message that is clear, unique and strong for not only your profile but your overall personal brand which will be used in meetings, interviews, emails, career fairs, resumes and more.  Employers want to know what grads have to offer, what makes them different and how they can solve the organization’s business problems.

I look forward to reading their pitches as they start to pop up in our social network and I hope a few of these students will get a chance to use their pitches at the upcoming Algonquin College Career Week (Feb 8-12).  Career Week features a job fair and a series of information session and networking opportunities for past and present students to connect with industry.

For these reasons, we elected to develop a program, not simply a web 2.0 portal. We drew on several experiences and formal education from each of our partners. Patti for her depth in coaching, teaching and product branding. Rob for his engineering, creativity and passion and finally, Andy for his vision, depth of online marketing skills and many lessons learned. The program calls on decades of experience in mentoring, branding and building Internet software.

The foundation of WhyHire.me includes:

• Career Coaching – we challenge our students to ask themselves key questions and gather essential data about themselves
• Branding – we call on 35 years of cumulative marketing experiences in large brands and small upstarts companies
• Social Media Tools – we call on our own social media experiences and lessons from today’s social media Brand Masters

The program curriculum rolls up to the four D’s of Online Personal Branding. They are as follows:

• Dig Deep – Key questions and exercises aimed at understanding ones personal characteristics that define ones positioning and overall theme of ones brand
• Declare Your Brand – Defining one’s positioning statement and overall strategy to close the gap on one’s brand image versus brand identity
• Display Yourself – Develop the underline story and linkages to put ones best professional foot forward on the web. After all, the Internet is your resume!
• Deploy Your Brand – Learn how to embrace industry issues using social media to demonstrate passion, show initiative and leadership.

Online personal branding for post-secondary students is all about revealing one’s potential. We hope you will follow us on Twitter to keep up to date. For those that like the plain old phone, hit our home page to reach us on the blower or by email.