Big ole thanks to Kevin Purcer of Erwin-Penland for joining us for NetworkBash Ignite.
Close to 175 students, faculty, staff, and professionals filled Self Auditorium at the Strom Thurmond Institute to listen to Kevin’s presentation, which centered on building your personal brand. Many students later commented how about how impressed they were with Kevin’s ease in talking directly to them. It made a powerful statement to them about the true meaning of building a personal brand for today’s careers.

Kevin walked the audience through the ideas behind popular brands like Coca Cola and individual brands like Ochocinco, Steve Jobs, and Lady Gaga. These concepts were blended with ideas for building your personal brand online – and establishing an online reputation for employers researching their job applicants. Two interesting points about brands in Kevin’s presentation…brands know what they are not and they know their roots.

At the end of Kevin’s 45 minute chat, numerous questions came from students about his personal professional path, and seeking advice with respect to approaching today’s job market.

Below is Kevin’s presentation using Slideshare. If you cannot view the presentation using your mobile device, CLICK HERE to download the PDF.

Big thanks to all of our sponsors for this event, including Spiro Center for Entrepreneurship, Rutland Center for Ethics, Michelin Career Center, Clemson’s Advanced Writing Program, and the Clemson Alumni Association.

NetworkBash Ignite
Thursday, September 15 – Self Auditorium at Strom Thurmond Institute – 6 to 7:30 pm
Kevin Purcer, Director of Interactive Services of Erwin-Penland will be joining us to talk about the power of building your personal brand. Kevin is a 1999 graduate of Clemson University and was a member of Spiro Fellows Program at the Spiro Institute. His experience with large brands like Verizon, Michelin, BMW, Denny’s, Lockheed Martin, Confluence Watersports and ScanSource will provide a tremendous message for those trying to build their own personal brand.

NetworkBash Excite
Thursday, October 20 – Clemson Alumni Center – 6 to 7:30pm
This is the second year Clemson Alumni Association has partnered with NetworkBash to bring Alumni and students together to build strong relationships. Networking is one of the most challenging concepts to teach, but what better way to engage than a conversation with professionals? Last year’s event was a tremendous success, so we are excited to bring students and Alumni together for a networking event.

NetworkBash Engage
Wednesday, November 9th – Self Auditorium at Strom Thurmond Institute – 6 to 7:30 pm
Have a great business idea? Have a special talent for pitching yourself or your business idea? Join us for NetworkBash Engage for a Rocket Pitch Session at Self Auditorium at the Strom Thurmond Institute. 24 students will be chosen from all submitted applications to participate in a evening “Rocket Pitch” session, competing for $1500 in total prizes. Each person has two minutes to pitch in front of a panel of judges and a live audience of their peers. Each category wins $250 and the People Choice Award Winner walks away with a total of $1000. Bottom line, each student has a 1 in 24 chance to win $1000.

We are also excited to join forces with the Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurship, bring a strong influence of entrepreneurship into the conversation.  We are also excited to be working with Rutland Institute for Ethics this year.

Also…we will be posting registration links soon so we can make sure everyone has a spot.

Join us for our NetworkBash events this coming fall. More information to be coming soon!

The Clemson Alumni Center provided the perfect venue where Clemson Alumni were split into eight different groups. Each group from the eight alumni sat at eight different tables where close to 60 students rotated between these eight tables to network. Every fifteen minutes each group of students (7 to 8 in each group) rotated, meeting different alumni and talked about careers, jobs, and where they wanted to be in 10 years.

The night was capped off with a raffle where both alumni and students had a chance to win two footballs signed by the Clemson Football team, a baseball signed by the Clemson Baseball team, and finally the new iPod Shuffle. But it was more than gifts, good food, and a well planned event. After it was all over, students and alumni were still connecting and sharing contact information!

What an awesome opportunity. There are so many days that I wish I had taken advantage of these types of opportunities when I was at Clemson.

Here is the package of information from the event. This includes the agenda, discussions for each table, Clemson Alumni that attended, and sponsor information.

NetworkBash Engage Package

If you would like to download the PDF of this package, CLICK HERE.

Networking is one of the most challenging concepts to teach, but what better way to engage than a conversation with professionals? The Clemson Alumni Association will be helping NetworkBash bring alumni and students together to chat and learn how to build career relationships. NetworkBash Engage is an event that will be centered around the relationships that can be forged between alumni and students.

Clemson alumni and industry professionals will ENGAGE in round-table discussions with students about how to make the most out of their Clemson degree, what to expect in the job search, and how and when it is appropriate to contact fellow Clemson alumni for networking. This will be an evening event on Thursday, Nov. 4th, before NC State football weekend. So whether you are a student or an alumnus, please join us for a great weekend of fun and join the conversation!

Robbin spent lots of time answering questions ranging from:

1) How did you start your business?
2) What relationships in your life made you successful?
3) How do I brand and market myself on Twitter?
4) After an interview, would it be appropriate for me to friend the person on Facebook?
5) Why is it important for me to clean-up my Facebook page?

Here are more of those questions provided by students to ask in during the discussion, below:

There were so many more questions filling close to an hour and fifteen minute discussion. Afterwards, the party was moved out to the atrium of the Hendrix Student Center for ice-cream and the raffle. We gave away t-shirts, Clemson Men’s Soccer tickets, Chick-Fil-A coupons, copies of the Brains on Fire book, and even two Clemson/GT Football tickets!

We provided handouts for the all of the attendees, so if you would like to download the handouts, CLICK HERE for the PDF or look below.

Also…if you are interested in purchasing the Brains on Fire book, CLICK HERE for more information. Also, check out Lesson 11 from the Brains on Fire blog which is the final, community chapter of the book.

Also…big shout out to our sponsors for these events! First of all the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management! They are helping folks explore the world of IT and find IT jobs all across South Carolina! You should check out their website at www.GoCESM.org. Verizon Wireless for jumping in and helping us with NetworkBash Excite! They brought lots of fund giveways including t-shirts, pens, and other fun stuff. CH2M Hill is an Engineering Firm worldwide and they believe in the power of building career relationships! The Michelin Career Center for making this event possible by providing their rich knowledge of events and careers for tomorrow! Also, the Advanced Writing Program for allowing NetworkBash to be a part of the Business Writing Curriculum at Clemson University. This event was planned by students in two Business Writing Classes here at Clemson. And our friends at Clemson’s Alumni Center who will be hosting the final NetworkBash event this year called Engage!

Finally, if you would like to learn more about Clemson Ice-Cream and the history, CLICK HERE to download the PDF. Also, to read their latest newsletter, CLICK HERE to download the PDF of the newsletter.

Here is Robbin’s BIO:

WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ME:

I’m a mom who has tried hard to give my two children the gift of happy memories and laughter.

I believe in the power of storytelling.

I believe my work is my calling and not just my job.

I believe love is a circular transaction.

I believe the growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.

I believe curiosity is a powerful thing and leads to smart work.

I believe in keeping promises.

I find joy in simple things.

I think everyone works better when they are having fun.

I expect my business dealings to be profitable.

I am part of the Brains on Fire movement.

WHAT SOMEONE ELSE SAYS ABOUT ME:
As one of the founders of Brains on Fire and co-author of the book Brains on Fire; Igniting Powerful Sustainable Word of Mouth Movements, Robbin has created, revitalized, protected and grown identities such as Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, BMW, Love146,, Fiskars Brands, Perception Kayaks, Ryobi Tools, Colonial Williamsburg and Best Buy. She began her career as a graphic designer, so she is always involved in the creative aspect of our projects, but also has a keen mind for the strategic side of things.

Over the past few years, through her guidance, Brains on Fire has been recognized for their work on a national scale with a 2008 GOLD EFFIE, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s WOMMIE Awards (only 4 were given and other recipients included Yahoo! and Coca-Cola), the ad:tech Awards and Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest-growing companies in the nation. Brains on Fire has also been recognized 11 times by the ReBrand 100 Awards, placing in every category and their work has been featured in eight books, including Designing Brand Identity, Groundswell and The Anatomy of Buzz as well as being featured in the May 2009 edition of Fast Company. Robbin is also a 2010 Judge for the ReBrand 100 awards and on the faculty of Fast Company’s 30-second MBA. She contributes to the Brains on Fire blog (brainsonfire.com/blog), which is consistently ranked in Ad Age’s top 150 Power Blogs. In 2007, PQ Media named Brains on Fire one of the top 3 word of mouth companies in the industry. Robbin is also a co-author of Brains on Fires, Igniting Powerful Sustainable Word of Mouth Movements (Wiley Publishing) due out in Fall of 2010.

Under her leadership and vision, Robbin has recruited highly talented individuals from all over the country to elevate Brains on Fire – and Greenville – to national status as Brains on Fire continues to create solutions for companies all across the nation in many diverse industries.

Robbin gives her time to the Executive Board of Directors for the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau and Board Of Directors for the Peace Center for the Performing Arts.

5:30 – 6:00pm – Ice-Cream Social and Networking
Come join us for some fun discussion about Social Media, the job search, and a little bit of ice cream!

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30 Second Pitch/Commercial