The Brand Gap | Book Club Series
Description:
As graduation approaches, one question quietly shapes what comes next: How can your communication work on your behalf—consistently and confidently?
This one-hour Book Club session explores The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier as a practical guide to employability, early career growth, and entrepreneurial thinking. Whether you’re preparing for job interviews, building a freelance practice, or exploring a side hustle, this session focuses on first impressions, clarity, and consistency—especially when communicating across different cultures, contexts, and expectations.
Brand, in this sense, isn’t about self-promotion. It’s about helping others quickly understand what you’re good at, how you work, and why they should want to work with you again.
This session is useful if you are:
Preparing to enter the job market or apply for co-ops and internships
Building a portfolio, LinkedIn profile, or personal website
Freelancing or considering a side hustle
Curious about personal brand without the hype
Through the lens of the 6C’s, we’ll reflect on:
Communication: How clarity and storytelling influence first impressions
Critical Thinking: The gap between intention and perception
Creativity: Expressing differentiation without exaggeration
Collaboration: Why trust makes others want to work with you
Commerce-mindedness: How skills become recognizable value
Character: The power of consistent, authentic presence over time
✏️ Interactive Exercise: Brand Mad-Lib
Goal: Build early-career brand clarity.
Activity flow:
Clarify the problems you enjoy solving and who you help
Identify strengths shaped by your experiences and perspective
Translate that clarity into a simple, confident introduction
Takeaway:
Participants leave with a draft personal brand statement they can refine for resumes, interviews, LinkedIn, and early professional conversations.