Abstract
Self-branding among graduate students is explored conceptually in this essay as an extension of the notion of personal branding. This concept is tangential to impression management, sense-making, and face negotiation. A central contention pursued in this essay is the call for administrators to reconsider how to respond to the perceived need of student self-branding. Moreover, graduate student self-branding is compared to a respective form of IMC that utilizes the Kellogg School’s notion of contact points. The present essay explores theoretical reasons for why the increased individualized practice of graduate student self-branding occurs. Importantly, the essay invites communication administration into the conversation from a graduate student perspective. The increased demand, desire, and expectation for graduate students to self-promote their personal brand like a business is discussed in this essay through the lens of Beck’s notions of individualization, risk society, and reflexivity.
Recommended Citation
Eberhardinger, M. J. (2017). Graduate student self-branding as integrated marketing communication: The call for reflexivity. Journal of the Association for Communication Administration, 36(2), 70-81.
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