The subtitle to Dan Schawbel’s Me 2.0 is Build A Powerful Brand To Achieve Career Success. I love it when an author puts his money where his mouth is. Schawbel has firsthand built himself a powerful brand. His Personal Branding blog is syndicated in leading publications. His own career is based around branding. But the most telling proof for me was well before I even read the book: about a year ago I was at a Meetup with a group of Gen Y Brazen Careerist bloggers, and Dan Schawbel was mentioned by several. He is on the mind of his target audience. That’s powerful branding.
After reading this book, I can see why. Forget the stereotypes of Gen Y not wanting to do the hard work and wanting too much too soon. Schawbel is Gen Y but definitely does the heavy lifting on this book. Me 2.0 is comprehensive, well-structured, and full of practical strategies and tips for how to brand yourself offline and online. Not just for Gen Y, I found myself bookmarking several pages, especially on the blogging tips (thank goodness for Gen Y’s facility with technology!).
It is clearly written for Gen Y, so a great resource for the teenagers and recent graduates in your circle. Experienced professionals may find the early chapters too basic (I myself loved reading about Schawbel’s career path). But the later chapters on communicating and maintaining your brand are a must-read for everyone.
Filed under: book review, career coaching, resource recommendation, blogging, brazen careerist, Dan Schawbel, gen y, Generation Y, Me 2.0, Millennials, online social networking, personal branding
