Students looking to set themselves apart in the increasingly competitive job market can get tips on sharpening their skills during Personal Brand Week.The national program, created by auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, is meant to train students  on  how to make themselves unique and create a brand for themselves to stand out to employers.Each day this week a different topic is spotlighted on PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Web site and Facebook page.The topics include “Your Network,” “Your Online Brand” and “Your Elevator Pitch” — what Holly Paul, national recruiting leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers, called a “short, succinct way” for students to  “explain who they are, what they’re looking for, and what skills they bring to the table.”Paul said to create a personal brand, students have to think about themselves as a whole and be self-aware about what they have to offer employers. It goes much further than just having an impressive resumé.”A resume is one piece of paper, but the things we’re highlighting as part of Personal Brand Week are what help students differentiate themselves,” Paul said.Sara Crow, assistant director of communications for Career Services, said volunteer work and internships [both paid and unpaid] are valuable assets to students.”Excellent performance in the classroom is always important, but what makes you uniquely qualified will come from your personal experiences,” Crow said.Crow said students can start shaping their personal brand during their first semester at the University. The First Year Experience program offers students a jump-start on activities and organizations.”[FYE] is a team of people that is specifically on campus to help first year students acclimate to campus and help them decide what to get involved in,” Crow said.Simply being at a university provides copious opportunities for networking students shouldn’t waste, Paul said.Paul said personal connections made during college are extremely valuable and are possible at big schools like LSU.”LSU is a large school, but when you’re in a large school you break your world down into smaller groups of people,” she said.Paul said students can also differentiate themselves by being masters of potential interview questions, like where one expects to be in five years.”It’s critical that students really know how to nail that question,” Paul said. “Everyone doesn’t have to know exactly what they want to do in five years, but students need to understand their strengths and skill set and what they want to do in the future.”Students should also be mindful of when it is not advantageous to be unique, like in one’s appearance, Crow said.”You want the focus to be on you and what you’re saying, not on what you look like and what you’re wearing,” Crow said.Career Services is holding Work Experience Week, an event similar to Personal Brand Week on March 15-18.—–Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]