For self-marketing strategy and tactics to work in today’s job market, it is essential to first clarify personal short- and long-term career objectives. In addition, it is important to identify skills and knowledge needed to achieve the said objectives and create a marketable personal brand (Warzel, 2011). My ultimate occupational objective, is to make a career at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In order to achieve this goal I will first need to land an entry level job at the CDC and then work my way up the career ladder.
My short-term career objectives include creating a personal brand, networking, volunteering or doing an internship at CDC and enrolling in CDC’s 2-year fellowship program for Public Health Management (“Public Health Associate Program”, 2016). My major self-marketing objective is to build a “sellable” personal brand in order to differentiate myself among the competition on a job market and stand out as a more suitable candidate for the job (Warzel, 2011). For its purpose I will:
Review my social media presence to ensure a consistent professional image on- and off-line.
Register and develop a profile on a professional networking website such as LinkedIn. To build my professional network, every month I will make at least 10 new connections with people working in the industry.
Reach out to the school’s career center for assistance with writing a strong resume, cover letter and elevator speech, as well as practicing job interview questions and answers. I plan to do at least 2 mock interviews before the first real job interview.
According to a research study conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace, that encompassed a survey of employers hiring recent graduates, internships, relevant work experience during college and volunteer experience are the top attributes that employers want to see in their prospective hires (“The Role of Higher Education”, 2012”). Taking these finding of the study into consideration, while still at school, I will volunteer and apply for an internship with the CDC’s Student Worksite Experience Program to gain new skills and experience, study the industry and make new professional connections. Upon graduation, I will apply for the Public Health Advisor position at CDC, level GS-685-5 (“Most Common Jobs at the CDC”, 2016). Alternatively, if am not able to secure the job that I want, I will apply for a paid 2-year Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) to get additional training and qualifications necessary to develop my career.
I will apply in January and begin my training in October; meanwhile my objectives will be to continue to work for my current employer – Portsmouth Health Department – and volunteer for the CDC. While carrying out the host site assignments under the PHAP, my self-marketing objective will be to continue to make connections with key industry players and strengthening my personal brand. Upon a completion of the training I will apply for the Public Health Advisor position at CDC, level GS-685-5 and GS-685-7.
In 5-10 years after graduation I will continue to work for CDC. My long term objective is professional growth. Through diligent contribution to various public health programs, their design and implementation, research and data analysis, I will move up from a Public Health Advisor to Senior Project Officer or Team Lead, to Project Manager, and eventually to Program Manager or Program Consultant (“Public Health Prevention Service”, 2015).
My self-marketing will focus on professional networking with co-workers, former colleagues and key industry players, attendance of professional socials, round tables and conferences, as well as multimedia marketing of the personal brand. I will also continue to exploit LinkedIn – post updates, maintain correspondence, display achievements, show samples of my work, get referrals and recommendations - in order to develop an strengthen my professional network and promote myself further.
References
Most Common Jobs at the CDC. (2016). Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/employment/menu_topjobs.html#PHA
Public Health Associate Program. (2016). Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/phap/become_associate/application_process.html
Public Health Prevention Service. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/phap/phps/
The Role of Higher Education in Career Development: Employer Perceptions. (2012). Available at: http://chronicle.com/items/biz/pdf/Employers%20Survey.pdf
Warzel, M. (2011). Brand: You. Creating and Self-Marketing Yourself to Find a Job During Tough Times. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/brand-you-creating-and-self-marketing-yourself-to-find-a-job-during-tough-times-2011-3
