One the precious few perks of getting older is having a better perspective on life and events as they unfold. But, spring college graduates are not likely to be as sage in their perspective as they consider their job prospects.

While signs of a rebound in some economic sectors are appearing, that hasn’t translated to real job growth so far. Economic pressures and massive changes in the fields of communications, marketing and technology mean that graduates will need to market themselves much more effectively to get the job they want. Here are my notes from a presentation I made to our students last fall. Thanks to Hanna Goetz, one our Ad+PR superstars, here’s the video we used to promote the session.

So, what does it take to get hired? Timing will always a big role. But, you still control more of the process than you might think. Start with a real assessment of your capabilities, talents and passions. What skills can you realistically provide a future employer? But, here’s the hard part. What do you really want to do? I’m convinced that passion makes the real difference in life achievement. Look for examples in any field. If you don’t care about what you do, nobody else will care either. Consult a professional if you need help in this area. I’m just an ad guy.

Now that you have done the hard stuff, how can you move from your mind to reality? Certainly, not as easy as you might like. But, here is a five-step plan to position you more effectively in today’s crowded job market by developing a unique point of difference known as a personal brand.

First, Define your goals. What are you trying to do? Do you want to develop a personal brand for fun or a professional brand for career success? Personal brands can be as fun or as outrageous as you want. Professional personal brands should be more “in tune” with the industry you are trying to reach. Identify a niche focus in one or two areas related to your career aspirations. Having a career focus means that, over time, you can develop a marketable speciality. A speciality also means that you have more control of your future. Change employers. Keep the speciality.

Second, Develop your image. How do you want to be perceived? The better you align your goals with your image, the better personal branding works. You’ll need to differentiate yourself in some way by having a unique brand identity, but let accepted norms of your industry guide your image. In other words, wearing a purple boa sure would make you stand out. But, probably not in the best way. But, then I guess that would depend on the job you want.

Third, Focus your efforts. Many brands focus on niche markets to make big impact. Focus your branding efforts for maximum effect. Develop a list of companies you would like to work for. Identify the key decision makers. Use google.com/alerts to set up alerts for your key career focus and target companies. Read company and executive blogs on these target companies.

Fourth, Get a Personal URL and WordPress Blog now. Create meaningful content to position yourself as a expert in your niche market. Direct all communications back to your homepage. Spend a bit more and get a hosting account with your name as a URL. Now, is a great time to grab your name in digital space. If you don’t, someone else will.

Five, Build Community. Engage industry contacts in Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or other social networks. Use your blog as a home base. Link your Blog to all postings and comments made inside social networks to build cred. This is the hardest part of building a personal brand. It can take some time to make this pay off. But, stay focused on your niche. Network at every opportunity. The need for personal contacts has only increased in a digital world.

Economic cycles are a reality. The best investment you can make now is in yourself. By developing a core career expertise and promoting yourself, you can weather any change in employment. Just move your “brand” to another firm or go independent.