The Dispatch
How important is building an online personal brand for graduates?
As more employers start looking at the social media of candidates, curating a personal brand during studies is becoming more important than ever.
By Chloë Lane
The rise of the CEO influencer has taken over the business world: think Grace Beverley’s TALA; Emma Chamberlain’s Chamberlain Coffee; Hailey Bieber’s Rhode. These are all brands started by influencers with a strong online personal brand.
Online personal branding is becoming increasingly important for companies – 82 percent of us are more likely to trust a company when its senior executives are active on social media, research from consulting firm BCG confirms.
These companies, then, are looking to hire graduates who already have a strong personal brand, in the hope of shaping these individuals into future leaders. According to LinkedIn, seven in 10 employers say that a strong personal brand is now more important than a strong resume.
“A strong personal brand builds trust and credibility,” states Lily Bi, President and CEO at AACSB International. “Many [graduates] lean on the value of their alma mater to convey their relevant education, preparation, and even pedigree. In a world where reputation is key, universities can support the development of student’s personal brand and help them to be proactive as they advance in their career.”
But is a strong personal brand enough to land you your dream job? Are employers placing too much value on an individual’s brand – particularly online – and too little on their technical skills and professional experience?
“What can be problematic to recruiters is if Generative AI tools are used without any critical thinking, whether it is to build a resume or craft a LinkedIn profile."
‘My technical skills were important, but my personal brand set me apart’
Just five weeks after graduating, Victoria Bamikole, a master’s graduate in Logistics, Data Analytics, and Supply Chain Management at the University of Bradford, secured her dream job as a Demand Planner with Ocado Group – a top UK employer.
“My technical skills and previous job experiences were key in securing my position,” she states. “However, I’m confident that the personal brand I developed with the support from my university set me apart.”
Bamikole makes a regular effort to keep her LinkedIn profile up to date, connecting with industry professionals and showcasing her expertise through posts and discussions. She views social media as an opportunity to gain wider visibility for her achievements. The University of Bradford’s workshops and networking events helped Bamikole refine how she communicates her skills and experience to potential employers, both online and in interviews.
Nottingham Business School graduate, Kwabena (Kobby) Boakye-Dankwa, who recently completed a summer internship at global law firm, Clyde & Co, also credits personal branding, saying it was “essential” to landing his role.
“I have built a strong presence on LinkedIn, with 1,716 followers and 500+ connections, where I regularly post my achievements for potential employers to view,” he reveals. “My profile highlights all aspects of my professional journey, including work experience, key achievements, education, volunteer work, honours and awards, and the languages I speak.”
On his platform, Boakye-Dankwa shares his achievements – such as becoming a student mentor within the Black leadership programme at the business school – and showcases the recommendations he’s received from industry professionals during his time studying his Business and Management degree.
It’s especially useful at the beginning of a career when you’re building your professional network, agrees Dany Leroux, a MSc Sustainability and Transformation student at France’s NEOMA Business School, who recently completed internships at L’Oréal and LVMH.
“A complete, connected profile that highlights skills beyond just experience shows that you're engaged in your field, active, and able to leverage your network,” he explains. “My LinkedIn profile has already been referenced during interviews and when I started my internships.”
Leroux has also found LinkedIn to be a great tool during his job search, allowing him to connect and engage more easily with others. At NEOMA Business School, professional development courses are mandatory, and Dany took part in a ‘Shape Your Career’ course which required him to create a LinkedIn profile, which then received feedback from a coach.
“The advice given helped me build this professional visibility, which I have been able to complete and develop over time through my experiences in associations or companies,” he says. “I hope to continue developing this tool and my network, which also allows me to stay updated with industry news and keep my network informed.”
‘I choose not to dedicate regular time to posting or growing my brand’
However, achieving success on LinkedIn can be time consuming. It typically takes about 8 to 16 months, according to digital marketing firm Devine Solutions – and this is likely even longer if you are a graduate who has not yet started to build social connections. Some individuals choose to dedicate less time to LinkedIn in order to focus on other aspects of their personal brand.
“I have a professional personal brand on LinkedIn, however I do not dedicate regular time to posting or growing this brand,” says Samantha Williams, who has just completed an MBA at the POLIMI Graduate School of Management in Italy.
She adds, “I have made the conscious choice to be selective about what I post, by diversifying my posts between my current company activities, professional events not tied to my job, and my thoughts on relevant research or news articles. I make sure that whatever I am posting is 100 percent what I believe and something that I am truly excited to "share" - not just a post for the sake of posting or a list of my accomplishments.”
Williams has taken part in POLIMI’s workshops on personal branding and LinkedIn optimisation which offered many insights and potential strategies. “However, I think it's important to tailor the advice from such workshops to your specific career goals and your authentic self,” she says.
But will posting less on LinkedIn mean you’ll be less likely to get the job over someone who does?
“A candidate who impresses employers in the recruitment process would still be offered the job, regardless of their online personal brand,” says Lucy Pittaway, Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. “However, having a strong online presence is going to increase the student’s chances of being noticed and make the final selection more likely.”
Particularly for students looking to secure their first graduate job, building an online personal brand is a smart, efficient way of communicating their story to potential employers and demonstrating how they are developing specific skills. When a recruiter is receiving hundreds of applications for one position, being able to stand out from the crowd is essential, she says.
“What’s important to remember for any student looking to develop their online brand is authenticity, consistency and a synergy with the industry they wish to enter,” she advises. “An online brand is an opportunity to demonstrate their passion and ability to communicate concisely to an audience, which is often hard to prove on a CV or application form.”
Rethinking personal branding
We may want to rethink our definition of personal branding – it’s a dynamic concept that can be interpreted in many different ways, explains Jeylin Amirbayova, a recent Hospitality Administration and Management graduate from EHL Hospitality Business School.
Personal branding can be a skill in itself. Amirbayova gives the example of working as a brand ambassador for prestigious organizations like Four Seasons and Regus International Workplace Group, which she says allowed her to engage directly with influential leaders in various industries and build her network.
“These experiences taught me the importance of aligning my personal branding with the core values of the companies I represent. It's about being authentic, credible, and consistent— qualities that employers look for when considering new hires,” she explains.
She reveals that, to her, personal branding is not just about the way you present yourself today—it’s about creating a lasting impression that aligns with who you want to become tomorrow.
“Looking back, the blend of soft skills, experiences, and industry exposure that we cultivate during our time at EHL give us a competitive edge and make us a more attractive candidate to employers.”
For Dries Feyaerts, ‘personal branding’ was a way to making a career transition from music to finance after studying a music theory degree. He worked in a start-up and completed a Master’s in General Management at Belgium’s Vlerick Business School. However, when applying for finance roles he felt he needed to explain his non-traditional path.
Here, Feyaerts’s version of personal branding was sharing his story, and making his application personal in order to stand out. From the cover letter, to applications, he told his personal story about how his background in music analysis and subsequent work experience was directly transferable to financial analysis.
This approach to his job search managed to land Feyaerts offers from three companies including Deloitte. He eventually chose TriFinance, where he worked as a consultant for a year, before moving to his current role, as a banker at KBC.
“I truly believe my personal story linking music to finance is a key reason I was success in my job search, and am still grateful to Vlerick for all the support they provided in developing and showcasing my professional profile,” he says.
The role of AI in personal branding
As building a strong online brand takes time – particularly when done in addition to a resume and a cover letter, graduates sometimes look for time saving measures. For many, this comes in the form of AI: a handy tool for sharpening a CV, drafting a LinkedIn post or summarising your work experience into a digestible paragraph for a cover letter.
Employers too are using AI in their recruitment processes. Investing in recruitment software and technology is currently the top priority for recruiters, according to the 2021-22 HR Systems Survey by Sapient Insight Group, as the demand for AI and machine learning-powered HR tech grows.
However, these same employers are using AI tech to filter applications for AI use.
“Since organizations use AI for selection purposes, it only seems logical (and fair) that candidates play on an even field and use similar tools,” says Dr Bertrand Audrin, Assistant Professor at Swiss-based EHL Hospitality Business School.
What can be problematic to recruiters is if Generative AI tools are used without any critical thinking, whether it is to build a resume or craft a LinkedIn profile. This can lead to artificial outputs that are far from the truth, he reveals.
Dr Audrin’s rule of thumb for using AI in application preparation is that students must be proud and confident in what they share with companies and their network, whether it is their LinkedIn profile or their application documents. Proud because it should reflect the best version of themselves, confident because it should be authentic and accurately reflect who they are.
“Used properly, [AI] tools allow for customisation, tailoring each document to specific roles and companies, thereby increasing the relevance of the application,” says Dr Alain Goudey, Associate Dean for Digital and Professor of Marketing at NEOMA Business School. “Optimisation is another critical advantage; AI ensures that resumes are keyword-rich and ATS-friendly, improving the chances of passing initial screening processes.”
Putting the ‘personal’ in ‘personal brand’
As more employers turn to online platforms to assess candidates, graduates who invest in their personal brand are better positioned for success in their chosen fields.
However, building a brand is, by nature, personal – not a one-size-fits-all approach. Graduates have shown that there are countless ways to define a ‘personal brand,’ and it doesn’t have to be reduced to simply posting on LinkedIn. It can be as creative and unique as the individual, reflecting their passions, skills, and values in a way that feels authentic and engaging.