I thought SA Beverly’s talk on Personal Branding came at a very opportune time, as I’ve been starting to reach out to people for internships and her advice came as a reminder for all the things I still need to do (like update my LinkedIn Profile). I’ve never given the idea of a “personal pitch” much thought, but after she talked about it, I can see why it’s extremely necessary when talking to potential employers at career events. Last year, I went to IFT 18, a conference/food expo for food scientists, and I didn’t think I did enough to market myself to all the companies whose booths I visited. This next summer when I attend again, I’ll definitely keep Beverly’s tips in mind and go a lot more prepared with print-outs of my resume, a list of my top ten companies I need to visit, and prepared questions and my personal pitch.

As someone who is not really active on social media, I’m glad that I don’t really have to worry about embarrassing or damaging stuff on my Facebook or other platforms. Still, I think it was a good reminder that anything put on social media is something that can follow you into your professional life.