Soft Skills as Signals of Personal Branding: A Content Analysis of Graduate Job Advertisements in South Africa.

• In Event: Thirty years later: Education in a (still) Divided South Africa

Proposal

This study is motivated by the growing request from employers, stating that they seek agile minds of fresh talent that can bring innovative perspectives to complex problems. Such a request is even more challenging given the growing challenge of graduate unemployment in South Africa (now 11.8%) A qualitative content analysis of 92 early-career graduate job advertisements found on a graduate recruitment platform was conducted for three months (April – June 2025). Through the job adverts, it was observed how employers express the soft skills they require in the recruitment process for their graduate programmes. The focus was also on what this reveals about personal branding from the perspective of employers.

Job posts were analysed using deductive and inductive coding as informed by soft skills framework linked to personal branding (Kusdinar, et al., 2023). Different sectors were looked at, such as finance, engineering, IT, and public administration. Purposive sampling was used to target specific jobs that required soft skills such as communication, adaptability, teamwork, problem-solving, and networking. These are crucial for employability and are also key when graduates present themselves to employers.

The results showed that: (1) Communication skill is mentioned the most and is mostly mentioned as: crucial for teamwork and client engagement; (2) Terms such as “present yourself professionally,” “take initiative,” and “build networks,” were mentioned, suggesting expectations of personal branding. The term, “personal branding” was not metioned directly though. (3 There is a difference between how personal branding is explained in literature and career advice, and how employers express it in job adverts (often without saying it directly).

This study brings to attention the interconnection between soft skills and personal branding. It demonstrates that soft skills are necessary for personal branding as they help individuals to manage their self-presentation thus influencing they are perceived by employers. Graduates can build a strong personal brand if they sharpen their soft skills, as these assist in setting them apart in the recruitment process. This connection matters in instances where graduates compete in limited opportunities and high competition.

Grounded within the theoretical framework of impression management and personal branding (Thompson-Whiteside, et al., 2018), this research contributes to literature on graduate employability as it demonstrates how branding messages are expressed in job adverts. In post-apartheid South Africa, where inequality remains a structural barrier, taking advantage of soft skills that inform personal branding can in part contribute to a transformative strategy that can lead to graduate success. This research can contribute to conversations on labour market mismatch, curriculum reform, and inclusive approaches to career readiness.

Author

• Nthabeleng Rammile, Stellenbosch University