Syracuse University is apparently very forward-looking. In January the school decided to extend benefits to employees’ same-sex partners. In March Syracuse appointed a pagan chaplain. Well now the university is reaching out into online marketing. According to an article on Mashable by Lauren Indvik:
Syracuse University has purchased six-month subscriptions to Brand-Yourself.com’s online reputation management platform for all 4,100 of its graduating seniors. The platform will help students monitor and shape their online presence during the job search process.
Brand-Yourself’s professional relationship with Syracuse began last year. The startup, whose four employees all studied at Syracuse, observed that some students were failing to get hired for jobs and internships because of their online presence was poorly managed. Initially, Syracuse hired the team to hold workshops for career coaches and students on online reputation management while they developed their SaaS.
At Syracuse, students will be able to use Brand-Yourself.com, a platform that “empowers you to proactively manage your online reputation for career success.” Online branding has become big business recently, as may have become both concerned by and interested in the potential of the Internet to shape how people perceive individuals and businesses.
It’s a little unclear how this service is presented, however. Can one actually build an “online presence” so well that lucrative job offers flow quickly to Syracuse graduates? Or is this just about making sure HR managers can’t see pictures of you doing keg stands at Teke freshman year? [Image via]
