Educational Brand = Personal Brand

Patricia McQuillan's blog Campus as “branding ground” for success on the CMA website discusses the inconsistency of branding efforts of many universities across the globe. It is easy to get really lazy when hordes of new students flood your doors every fall mainly because the belief instilled by moms and dads is that you'll go nowhere in life without a degree.

In more recent years I've witnessed a greater movement in people associating themselves to educational institutions as part of building their personal brand, and not only with those who have always wanted to be the 'best' in their class, or have the 'best' education, or go to the 'best' school.

So is the education you receive as important as the university name on the resume?

For most people this comes down to your brand. I undertook the journey of getting my MBA a few years ago and, when I was deciding where to go, I spent some long hours evaluating all those things that a university would give me that aligned themselves with how I defined myself. I never had the luxury of going to school full-time, as I am the wage-earner in a single income family, and wanted something I could apply right now -- not as I got the letters at the end.

Ultimately I am glad I made the choice I did. It wasn't, and still isn't, about the letters. For me it was about the education and I did much more for my personal brand by learning as much as I could and making the businesses I work with all the more successful. When interviewing new candidates for jobs I am increasingly surprised at the number of Master-level graduates that have no experience to back it up. This is the main flaw of many of today's 'branded' universities: you can't afford to work while in school due to the intense level of studies.

I have one small piece of advice for all those aspiring Bill Gates, Martha Stewarts and Steve Jobs out there: Unless you plan to get a PhD and teach, apply what you are learning today to a real business -- even if you do it for free. If your program won't allow it, or doesn't have a co-op option -- find another program!

If you can't find a business that'll work with you, contact me and I'll work with you to find one. This is crucial because an education gives you the foundation to suceed but a specific universities name on a resume will only get you a smile, a 'wow' and a 'thanks for coming in'. Later on if you want the some pretigious letters to follow your name you can always enter in Seth Godin's New Order Business School.