Article contents
Why Professional Branding: What difference will it make for me (as Gen Z)?
Abstract
This article discusses professional branding that is rooted in marketing aimed at helping professionals differentiate themselves from others through personal branding to project their uniqueness and related values. It streamlines the process behind creating a robust profile that enhances simple elements of a resume by providing distinctive information to corporations or target markets. Furthermore, the article highlights the two broad theoretical underpinnings of personal branding: marketing-based and self-presentation behaviors. Marketing-based definitions frame the individual as a product to be marketed, while self-presentation-based definitions emphasize the formation of a person's public persona through strategic relationship management. Additionally, the article portrays personal branding as a defined set of individual characteristics, attributes, values, and beliefs crafted into a narrative and imagery that establishes a competitive advantage by influencing the perceptions of a targeted audience. It concludes that professional branding is an effective personal tool for individual differentiation and advancement in a highly globalized employment environment, particularly for Gen Z individuals with Arab cultural backgrounds in STEAM professional fields.
Article information
Journal
Journal of Business and Management Studies
Volume (Issue)
6 (3)
Pages
119-124
Published
Copyright
Open access
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
Alkubaidi, M., & Alzhrani, N. (2020). “We are back”: Reverse culture shock among Saudi scholars after doctoral study abroad. SAGE Open, 10(4), 215824402097055.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020970555
Almutairi, Y. M. N. (2018). The re-entry experience of Saudi scholars in a University of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and how their administrations perceive the re-entry of Saudi scholars [PhD Dissertation]. University of Northern Colorado.
Alsulami, N. D. (2020). Characteristics of the re-entry experiences of returning Saudi international students after studying abroad. International Journal of Higher Education, 9(3), 309.
https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v9n3p309
Arar, T., & Öneren, M. (2018). Role of talent management in career development of Generation Z: A case study of a telecommunication firm. International Academic Journal of Social Sciences, 05(01), 28–44.
https://doi.org/10.9756/iajss/v5i1/1810004
Benítez-Márquez, M. D., Sánchez‐Teba, E. M., Bermúdez-González, G., & Núñez-Rydman, E. S. (2022). Generation Z within the workforce and in the workplace: A bibliometric analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 12.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.736820
Broadbent, E., Gougoulis, J., Lui, N., Pota, V., & Simons, J. (2017). Generation Z: Global citizenship survey. Varkey Foundation.
https://www.varkeyfoundation.org/media/4487/global-young-people-report-single-pages-new.pdf
Brutt‐Griffler, J., Nurunnabi, M., & Kim, S. (2020). International Saudi Arabia students’ level of preparedness. Journal of International Students, 10(4), 976–1004.
https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10i4.839
Dingus, R., Black, H. G., & Dahlquist, S. (2021). Let’s get personal: using SWOT and fab as the foundation to develop students’ personal brands. Marketing Education Review, 32(2), 155–162.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10528008.2021.2015244
Dobrowolski, Z., Drozdowski, G., & Panait, M. (2022). Understanding the impact of Generation Z on risk management—A preliminary view on values, competencies, and ethics of the Generation Z in public administration. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(7), 3868.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19073868
Gorbatov, S., Khapova, S. N., & Lysova, E. I. (2018). Personal branding: Interdisciplinary systematic review and research agenda. Frontiers in Psychology, 9.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02238
Gorbatov, S., Khapova, S. N., & Lysova, E. I. (2019). Get noticed to get ahead: The impact of personal branding on career success. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02662
Gorbatov, S., Khapova, S. N., Oostrom, J. K., & Lysova, E. I. (2020). Personal brand equity: Scale development and validation. Personnel Psychology, 74(3), 505–542.
https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12412
Gorbatov, S., Oostrom, J. K., & Khapova, S. N. (2023). Work does not speak for itself: Examining the incremental validity of personal branding in predicting knowledge workers’ employability. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 33(1), 40–53.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432x.2023.2276533
Hakim, M. M. D. (2023). Work-life balance, take home pay and workplace environment: Which one has the most influence toward employee performance on Gen Z? JSHP (Jurnal Sosial Humaniora Dan Pendidikan), 8(1), 86–102.
https://doi.org/10.32487/jshp.v8i1.1810
Jayatissa, K. A. D. U. (2023). Generation Z – A new lifeline: A systematic literature review. Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(2), 179–186.
https://doi.org/10.4038/sljssh.v3i2.110
Johnson, K. M. (2017). The importance of personal branding in social media: Educating students to create and manage their personal brand. International Journal of Education and Social Science, 4(1), 21–27.
Jonbekova, D., Serkova, Y., Mazbulova, Z., Jumakulov, Z., & Ruby, A. (2022). How international higher education graduates contribute to their home country: An example from government scholarship recipients in Kazakhstan. Higher Education Research & Development, 42(1), 126–140.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.2019200
Kirchmayer, Z., & Fratričová, J. (2018). What motivates Generation Z at work? Insights into motivation drivers of business students in Slovakia. Innovation Management and Education Excellence Through Vision 2020, 6019–6030.
Klekotko, M., Jastrzębiec-Witowska, A., Gorlach, K., & Nowak, P. (2018). Think locally and act globally: Understanding human development in the era of globalization. Eastern European Countryside, 24(1), 111–141.
https://doi.org/10.2478/eec-2018-0006
Lysova, E. I., Jansen, P., Khapova, S. N., Plomp, J., & Tims, M. (2018). Examining calling as a double-edged sword for employability. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 104, 261–272.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.11.006
Magano, J., Silva, C. S., Figueiredo, C., Vitória, A., Nogueira, T., & Dinis, M. A. P. (2020). Generation Z: Fitting project management soft skills competencies—A mixed-method approach. Education Sciences, 10(7), 187.
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10070187
Marin, G. D., & Nilă, C. (2021). Branding in social media. Using LinkedIn in personal brand communication: A study on communications/marketing and recruitment/human resources specialists’ perception. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 4(1), 100174.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100174
Mishra, G., & Pandey, A. C. (2024). An introspection of Gen Z’s organizational commitment and workplace behavior. International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management (IJSREM), 8(2), 1–16.
Ngoc, T. N., Dung, M. V., Rowley, C., & Bach, M. P. (2022). Generation Z job seekers’ expectations and their job pursuit intention: Evidence from transition and emerging economy. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 14, 184797902211125.
https://doi.org/10.1177/18479790221112548
Pichler, S., Kohli, C., & Granitz, N. (2021). DITTO for Gen Z: A framework for leveraging the uniqueness of the new generation. Business Horizons, 64(5), 599–610.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2021.02.021
Pinho, M., & Gomes, S. (2023). Generation Z as a critical question mark for sustainable tourism – An exploratory study in Portugal. Journal of Tourism Futures.
https://doi.org/10.1108/jtf-07-2022-0171
Pradeep, S., & Pradeep, M. A. (2023). Awareness of sustainability, climate emergency, and generation Z’s consumer behavior in UAE. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 11, 100137.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2023.100137
Racolța-Paina, N. D., & Irini, R. D. (2021). Generation Z in the workplace through the lenses of human resource professionals – A qualitative study. Quality - Access to Success, 22(183), 78–85.
Rahman, K. S. (2023). Millennial & Gen Z experience- A meta-analysis [MA Thesis]. The City University of New York.
Ribeiro, M. A., Seyfi, S., Elhoushy, S., Woosnam, K. M., & Patwardhan, V. (2023). Determinants of generation Z pro-environmental travel behavior: The moderating role of green consumption values. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1–21.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2023.2230389
Schlosser, F., McPhee, D., & Forsyth, J. (2017). Chance events and executive career rebranding: Implications for career coaches and nonprofit HRM. Human Resource Management, 56(4), 571–591.
https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21789
Toma, S., Grădinaru, C., Hudea, O., & Modreanu, A. (2023). Perceptions and attitudes of Generation Z students towards the responsible management of smart cities. Sustainability, 15(18), 13967.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813967
Trang, N. M., McKenna, B., Cai, W., & Morrison, A. M. (2023). I do not want to be perfect: Investigating Generation Z students’ personal brands on social media for job seeking. Information Technology & People.
https://doi.org/10.1108/itp-08-2022-0602
Vallas, S. P., & Christin, A. (2017). Work and identity in an era of precarious employment: How workers respond to “personal branding” discourse. Work and Occupations, 45(1), 3–37.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888417735662
Vojvodić, K. (2019). Generation z in brick-and-mortar stores: A review and research propositions. Poslovna Izvrsnost, 13(1), 105–120.
https://doi.org/10.22598/pi-be/2019.13.1.105
Ye, C. (2023). Generation Z’s willingness to accept international assignments after COVID-19 - A quantitative study among British, Chinese and Indian students. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences, 53(1), 229–241.
https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/53/20230841
Yunissov, Y., Imankul, A., Urunbassarova, E., Rakimzhanova, S., Velasco, J., Seisekenova, A., & Tursynbaeva, A. (2023). Perceptions of life success and moral qualities of a modern person of Generation Z: A study of Economics and Humanities students. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 12(4), 193.