“The Summer Internship Program is a crucial part for building a student’s practical knowledge and sharpening his/her skills and talent. Today, the corporate world is highly competitive and constantly changing, which is why it’s important for management students to back their theoretical knowledge with practical training,” says Farooque Azam fromJKBS. He is raring to go with his own internship and believes that it will be an experience that will shape his future career. Read More....

Companies spend a lot of time and money crafting the image of the products and services that they offer. For example, think about a car. What comes to mind? Now think about a Mercedes. What comes to mind? The images are a lot more luxurious than the ones for ' a car' aren't they? The difference is the brand image that Mercedes Benz has carefully crafted over the years. They shaped your image of them by creating the promise of a certain standard, building cars that either lived up to that promise or surpassed it, and then telling you about it. Of all the brands you know one brand in particular should be of the utmost importance to you. Brand 'You'. Yes, in case you didn't know, you are a brand. Similar to any other brand, when people think of you they think of your traits, personality and characteristics. Particularly when it comes to work. An inherent promise about you was made when you were hired. Someone looked at the job they had available, then looked at you with your skills and assumed you could get the job done.After you were hired, you came into the company and started working and delivering results. And those results either lived up to your original promise, surpassed it, or fell short. How would you say your brand is doing right now? In a very simplified sense, your brand is the sum of your production (performance) multiplied by your exposure ( P x E) - the higher the number the more appealing your brand is. The number 0 would be status quo and negative numbers are hazardous to your career. Realize the implications 1. All the performance in the world doesn't matter if you have 0 exposure 2. If your performance is negative, the more exposure you have the worse off you are Also realize that if you are not being perceived the way you want, you can change your brand image. Think about Apple and the early Mac's, they made computing much more fun and interactive. Then the company lost it's way for a while before coming back with a vengeance. Now the brand is synonymous with innovation and world class product design. The great news is that you can change your image too. The steps are simple. 1) Start over-delivering in your promises - take your projects and insights to a level beyond what's expected of you 2) Minimize your mistakes and setbacks - double and triple check your work and assumptions 3) Get the proper exposure for your successes - work with your manager and your network to get recognized for a job well done. Over time this is what you will be known for. There's no such thing as a 'quick fix' when it comes to building a brand identity but consistency, time and patience can get you the results you're looking for. It can be a whole new brand You!