How Gen Z Is Using TikTok To Find Jobs

December 19, 2022

Indeed has created a new channel on the short video platform TikTok to connect Gen Z and millennial job searchers with any accessible employment opportunities on the site. The ad intends to reach the massive millennial and Gen Z audiences that use the social networking site. The “You Better Work, Boss” campaign supporting the launch is based on data that shows this generation is already redefining their relationship with work and expects firms to work hard to attract and retain employees. 

TikTok Is Changing Its Focus

According to TikTok’s digital learning program, the new campaign encourages young people to find their ideal job thanks to Indeed. 

Meanwhile, Indeed India and SEA marketing director Nishita Lalvani stated, “We want to assist the goals of Gen Z and Millennials, who will soon make up a big part of the workforce. They will have a 50-60 year career ahead of them, and we anticipate the need to assist this generation of employees in navigating the employment market while being loyal to their principles.”

“Gen Z employees prioritize a great work-life balance,” she adds. “They desire work settings that are compassionate and varied, provide an opportunity for development, and are consistent with their basic beliefs. Indeed’s new TikTok channel aims to ‘cross the gap between Gen Z and PMET companies by assisting everyone in finding common ground where businesses and people may prosper together’.”

New Gen Z’s LinkedIn

Is LinkedIn, like Facebook, becoming obsolete for younger generations? While that may be a stretch, some Generation Z job searchers are turning to TikTok instead of LinkedIn to find their dream job. Last year, the popular app experimented with its TikTok Resumes feature, which assisted companies like Chipotle in identifying talents. 

TikTok’s entry into professional networking began last summer with the introduction of the TikTok Resumes feature and other recruitment trends. The platform encouraged users to post video resumes and apply for jobs within the app, together with businesses such as Chipotle and Target. To be noticed and hunted by employers, TikTokers only had to create a 30-second video and use hashtags properly.

TikTok has unquestionably become an important resource for educating and engaging Gen Z professionals in career guidance and searches, whether through short, educational TikTok videos straight from businesses about their company or available opportunities, or suggestions from recruitment gurus. Because the app’s user base is mostly made of Generation Z, it seems to reason that many companies, recruiters, and influencers would want to contact them via the platforms where they are most active. 

Many recruiters at TikTok careers noticed a steady migration away from traditional employment sites like LinkedIn, just as many younger people went away from Facebook and onto new social networks like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. Gen Z and younger generations simply do not perceive the need for or place the same value on a one-of-a-kind networking site like LinkedIn. They can access many of the same possibilities through channels where they are already actively engaged for sociability and pleasure.

That’s fair enough – when you open TikTok on any given day, you’ll find content about literally anything and everything, and career advice is no exception. As more Gen Z’ers enter the workforce, they’re coming to TikTok for job-search advice and to upload their video resumes. 

Using TikTok for More Than Just Entertainment

Although the new Gen Z’s LinkedIn offers many opportunities for young job-seekers, there are certain drawbacks to consider if you want to create a video résumé or use TikTok as part of your professional portfolio. To begin with, videos can incorporate bias into the recruiting process in ways that standard resumes don’t. Furthermore, there is a greater risk of harassment or cyberbullying on a network like TikTok, where users can be anonymous, as opposed to LinkedIn, where users normally use their true full names.

TikTok producers have previously complained about abuse on the platform. Besides that, they also released new tools to combat cyberbullying last year. But, as anybody who has spent any time on the internet knows, trolls will troll in any case. So if you want to test the waters with a TikTok résumé, we strongly recommend making your entire profile as professional as possible. This doesn’t mean you have to wear a coat and tie and utilize overly formal backdrops, but all of your TikTok content should be appropriate.

When a company looks at your TikTok profile, they will have access to all of your résumé reels, not just the one they are interested in. Therefore, you must ensure that everything is consistent with your brand and positioning. On your job-hunting TikTok account, you need to have a professional profile photo and video to demonstrate to hiring managers you’re serious about the employment opportunities that you have. 

Make a short 30-60-second clip for your profile video. It should serve as your virtual elevator pitch, emphasizing your most notable accomplishments without focusing on a specific position. Consider it a resume profile, a basic resume introduction that you would include on resumes that you publish to job sites for hiring managers to review.

TikTok is ideal for broadcasting your résumé but it isn’t necessarily the best platform for recording your video. Although it offers a TikTok video editor, you can add professional slides and backdrops in third-party programs like iMovie or any iMovie for PC alternative with minimum effort on your end. To highlight your IT talents, you can also use some other video editors to add professional transitions, filters, and special effects to your TikTok résumé. After all, one of the key reasons you’re utilizing a TikTok résumé is to demonstrate that you’re a digital native.

Lights, Camera, Action…

Yes, you may think that TikTok Resumes is not the best option for all job searchers right now, and there are different debates related to work. However, for individuals in creative areas or looking for employment that needs TikTok talents, generating a TikTok résumé may be the greatest way to get your application to the top of the pile. And we do believe that TikTok will soon change its focus and will follow its “big brother” LinkedIn.