Many theses end up gathering dust after submission. For Michèle Schaub, however, her master’s thesis became a career booster. At the University of St.Gallen (HSG), she wrote her thesis on corporate influencing in employer branding. Today, she focuses extensively on personal branding, corporate influencing, and employer branding – putting her expertise into practice through workshops, coaching sessions, talks, and on LinkedIn.
In an interview with Philipp Wetzel from Studyond, she shares how a thesis topic can become the foundation for professional positioning, what makes employer branding successful, and what advice she has for students preparing to write their theses.
From Practice to Thesis – and Back Again
Since 2021, Michèle Schaub has been supporting employees in developing their personal brands and increasing their visibility on LinkedIn as an Employer Branding Specialist at Helvetia Switzerland. Her motto: "Practice what you preach." So she became more active on LinkedIn herself and discovered just how much potential the platform offers for personal visibility and employer branding.
At the time, the field was still largely unexplored academically. There was little research on success factors and what truly makes corporate influencing effective. This was exactly the gap she wanted to address in her master’s thesis. "It was important to me not just to develop a theory, but to create something I could actually use in practice." That's why she also developed a guide for creating successful LinkedIn posts.
A Conscious Choice, Not a Carefully Planned Career Path
Her career didn't unfold according to a predefined plan, but her thesis topic was a very deliberate choice. "It was important to me to spend several months working on a topic that genuinely interested me and wouldn't simply end up in a drawer after submission." She wanted to explore something she could apply directly in her job and continue developing her expertise in.
Looking back, she sums it up this way: "For me, my master’s thesis was less of a starting point and more of an accelerator – a kind of boost."
Professionally, she was able to apply her findings directly when building a corporate influencer community at Helvetia, conducting workshops, and providing long-term support to employees. On a personal level, the academic research gave her greater confidence: "Suddenly, I was able to better understand and explain many of the things I had observed in practice."
Employer Branding Is About Company Culture
Employer branding is a buzzword that seems to be everywhere. But for Michèle, successful employer positioning doesn't start with a campaign. It starts much earlier, with analysis and strategic thinking. How is the company currently perceived as an employer? What do employees actually experience?
Only then should positioning, communication, and campaigns follow. For Michèle, an employer brand is strong when employees can genuinely identify with it. Instead of simply telling stories about employees, companies should develop stories together with them and provide authentic insights into everyday working life.
Above all, she believes that internal reality and external perception must align. What a company promises must also be experienced internally.
"That's why employer branding is much more than an HR or marketing topic for me. It's about company culture."
Ultimately, it's about the employee experience – how employees actually experience their day-to-day work. "Even the most beautiful campaign achieves little if it isn't reflected in the company's internal culture."
People Trust People
Why are employees often particularly credible brand ambassadors? The answer is simple: "Because people trust people."
When an employee shares why they enjoy working for a company, it creates a sense of connection that traditional corporate communication can rarely achieve.
But there's one crucial point: "You can't simply make employees authentic."
Authenticity emerges when employees genuinely want to become visible, feel connected to their company, and are still free to express their own perspectives. Voluntary participation and the freedom to decide what and how to share are therefore essential. "That's when people can really sense the authenticity."
Taking Uncertainty Seriously
Many employees are motivated but don't know where to start. Others would like to become more visible but hesitate – for example, because they're unsure whether their topics offer enough value.
Michèle addresses these challenges through several approaches:
- Introductions and workshops that not only explain how LinkedIn works but also help employees build confidence.
- Storytelling techniques that help communicate professional topics in a personal, non-promotional way.
- Finding stories in everyday work by learning to consciously recognize topics and experiences worth sharing.
Building a Community That Truly Thrives
Michèle also contributes her expertise as a consultant at Ybrand. One mistake she frequently observes in corporate influencing is the assumption that a single workshop is enough.
"People organize a workshop and then think everything will run on its own."
In reality, the most important work only begins afterward – when corporate influencing needs to become part of everyday working life.
For Michèle, this requires more than a kick-off event: ongoing exchange, sparring, best practices, and regular inspiration. The goal is to build a community where people motivate one another and learn from each other.
It all starts with the right people. Participants need to genuinely want to become visible.
"For me, corporate influencing doesn't work as a one-off training session. It requires ongoing support to turn knowledge into actual behavior."
Academic Studies and Practical Experience Belong Together
Michèle was already working as a student employee in employer branding during her master’s degree. It's something she would recommend to students today – not just to strengthen their CVs, but to discover what they genuinely enjoy and where their strengths lie.
The strong connection to practice was also one of the reasons she chose HSG: real-world business cases, initial contacts with companies, and opportunities to grow her professional network.
"Theory always provides a solid foundation, but it's only when you're involved in a real project that you understand how decisions are actually made."
This includes collaborating with different stakeholders and experiencing firsthand that even a great idea can work very differently in practice than it does on paper.
Practical projects and part-time jobs help students clarify their interests and identify the kind of working environment they might enjoy. They also create connections with companies and provide concrete examples to discuss in future job interviews.
"For me, academic studies and practical experience aren't opposites. It's precisely their combination that helps you discover where you want to go, both professionally and personally."
What Universities Should Focus on More
There are two topics Michèle would like to see given greater attention at universities.
The first is employer branding itself, as it sits at the intersection of marketing, communication, company culture, and organizational development. With competition for talent increasing, its importance continues to grow.
The second is personal branding for students: How can I make my strengths visible? What do I want to be known for professionally? And how can I start building a connection to a particular field while I'm still studying?
In her view, universities should address these questions earlier – for example, through workshops or career services focused on strengths, professional positioning, and visibility.
Using Your Thesis as a Starting Point
For students sitting in the library during their final semester and looking to use their thesis strategically, Michèle recommends choosing a topic that combines three elements:
- Genuine interest – you'll spend months working on it, so it should be something that truly fascinates you.
- Practical relevance – the topic should address questions that matter to companies and professionals.
- Long-term potential – it should be something you can imagine continuing to explore and discuss after graduation.
Spending several months researching a topic allows students to develop expertise and form their own perspectives.
And that's exactly what they can build on after submitting their thesis: discussing their findings with professionals, sharing results within companies, or talking about their research on LinkedIn.
Her advice: "Don't see your thesis simply as the end of your studies, but perhaps as the first building block of your own professional positioning."
A Message to Universities
Lecturers and academic supervisors also play an important role.
Michèle was fortunate to have Prof. Torsten Tomczak as her supervisor, someone who was open to her topic and encouraged her to think beyond the academic degree from an early stage.
She hopes more students will have similar opportunities, particularly when exploring topics such as employer branding or personal branding, which benefit greatly from the connection between theory and practice.
Conclusion: Knowledge That Doesn't End Up in a Drawer
Michèle's journey shows that a master’s thesis can be much more than the final step of an academic degree.
By choosing a topic that genuinely interests them, has practical relevance, and offers opportunities beyond graduation, students may already be laying the foundation for their own professional positioning.