My Personal Story

It was not long ago that I was right where you are, in college thinking about what I will do when I graduate and how will I get hired. 

Growing up my father would tell me, “When you graduate from college just pick a company you want to work for and stay there throughout your career.”  After he served in the army and came back from World War II he did just that.  He walked into the telephone company located in Richmond, VA , got a job and moved up through the company until he retired 42 years later. 

Today, the average person will have 10.5 different jobs in their career and many of those will be with different companies according to the National Labor Board.  Needless to say, in my senior year of college I did not know where I wanted to work or what I really wanted to do, much less how I would make it happen.  For many of you, you may wonder many of the same things I did.  Some of you may have a clear understanding of what you want but you are just not sure on the “how” of making it all work.  It’s vital to have a roadmap showing you how to achieve the goals you set for yourself.  That is what drives me to help others.  I want to help you better understand how to achieve your goals by promoting yourself for success.      

I remember the frustration I felt when I would interview and was told, “Sorry, you don’t have enough experience.”   My thought was, “I have been in school, for me to get experience I need a job but to get a job I need experience.”  What a rollercoaster ride.  I had plenty of experience but I did not understand how to demonstrate this experience and make it come alive.  I worked part-time jobs while in school, participated in school activities, helped run programs, and many other things that all gave me experience.  My problem much like most college students is that I did not know how to communicate and demonstrate my experience and skills.  The weakest area for the majority of people, especially those just graduating from college is the ability to communicate and demonstrate their ability and experiences when interviewing.    

It did not take me long to begin putting my experiences, accomplishments and skills together in what I would later call my Success Portfolio.  This gave me the ability to promote, package, market and communicate my experience, accomplishments and skills like never before and made me stand out as the top candidate.  I was able to utilize everything I teach you in my book to experience promotion after promotion all while earning more and more money. 

Another great benefit of having a Success Portfolio is that it provideds concrete evidence of your hard work which is something the majority of people never provide.  In most interview situations people bring a resume but when asked to provide examples of things they have done or experienced they are able to talk about it but don’t have concrete documentation to back it up.  This leaves the person interviewing asking, “Is this really true, did this happen, can I trust this person?"  By following the steps I teach you in my book, people wont be wondering this about you. 

I wish you all the success as you finish college and begin your career.

Stephen