Syracuse University has entered into an agreement with Brand-Yourself.com, an online reputation management platform that helps individuals tap the Web to maximize job opportunities. Under the initiative, all students graduating in December 2009, May 2010 and August 2010 will have access to a six-month free subscription to Brand-Yourself.com—giving them an edge in one of the most competitive job markets since the Great Depression.
“We’re committed to helping students achieve success even after they leave the classroom,” explains Bruce Kingma, SU associate provost for entrepreneurship. “This initiative ensures our students maximize their career opportunities after college.”
The deal reflects how the Web is fundamentally changing the hiring process, says Mike Cahill, director of Syracuse University Career Services. “The Internet is changing the way that employers are finding and evaluating job candidates. Students should not only be aware of what employers can find out about them on the Internet, they should be actively managing their online profiles,” says Cahill. “Through this partnership with Brand-Yourself, Syracuse University is making a commitment to prepare graduates for success in today’s digital environment.”
Students graduating from Syracuse University should visit http://bit.ly/c9PRYk to register for their free account. A special sign-up link will be published there on May 11.
Brand-Yourself, which has won a number of national awards—including being named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 5 College Entrepreneurs of 2009—empowers users to discover how they’re currently perceived online, build positive content that aligns with their career goals, optimize their professional profiles to show up above negative or irrelevant results in Google, promote their skills on social networks, and monitor their progress as they build their personal brand across the Web.
Each graduating student will now be able to create their own website that showcases their professional qualifications; improve the professionalism of their Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles; and grow their professional network based on their field and location. They will also be able to measure the relevance of Google search results for their name and bury unwanted search results with professional content to make sure they’re being accurately represented online.
“This deal was a perfect fit,” says Brand-Yourself CEO Pete Kistler. “Along with our online toolset, we’re providing workshops to help students build a visible and credible Web presence, and connect to the wealth of hidden job opportunities on sites like LinkedIn and Twitter.”
Kistler’s team is sought nationally for speaking appearances about online reputation management, and Kistler writes for the #1 job blog in the country.
Brand-Yourself was founded by four Syracuse University students:
For more information, contact Kistler at pkistler@brand-yourself.com.
