Is LinkedIn following Facebook’s fate and becoming obsolete for younger generations? While that may seem a stretch, for some Gen Z job seekers, they’re looking to TikTok, rather than LinkedIn, to find jobs.
Last year the popular app famously experimented with Tiktok video resumes which helped brands such as Chipotle uncover talent. Users simply had to make a 30 second video and hashtag it to be seen by employers. While that experiment has ended, it may one day become a more permanent part of the site.
Stephanie Lovell, Head of Marketing at startup hiring app Hirect, has seen this not only with her team, but also with the companies Hirect works with to help recruit. We asked here to expand on Tiktok’s influence on the younger generation of seeker.
Q: How are Gen Z job seekers using TikTok in their job searches?
TikTok has undoubtedly become a key resource to educate and engage Gen Z professionals in career advice and searches, whether through short, informative videos directly from businesses about their organization or open roles, or tips from experts in the recruiting space. The app’s user base is predominantly Gen Z, so it makes sense companies, recruiters, and influencers would be trying to connect with them through platforms they’re most active on. Even at Hirect, we’ve had several recent hires who reported their first interactions with our brand were through content we posted on TikTok.
Q: Do you think LinkedIn is becoming obsolete for Gen Z looking for jobs at startups? What about in general?
It may not become obsolete, but I could see a slow drip away from traditional platforms like LinkedIn, just as many younger users have migrated from Facebook to other social channels like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. Gen Z and younger generations just don’t see the need or place the same value on a unique networking site like LinkedIn when they can access many of the same opportunities on channels they’re already actively participating in for socialization and entertainment.
Q: How have interview and hiring processes changed to become more transparent?
Transparency in the hiring process is still a work in progress. Salary and compensation, for instance, remain largely taboo topics. While some places like New York have introduced legislation in support of greater salary transparency – and at Hirect, we require all job postings to include a pay band – that’s unfortunately not the norm. That said, the shift during the pandemic era to a more virtual hiring process has allowed us to embrace a slightly more informal – yet not unprofessional – process as our personal and professional lives have blurred together.
Q: What other hiring trends have you seen across generations? Anything unique based on business sector?
Again, I think we’ll continue to see the hiring process live largely online now given its efficiency, convenience, and cost-effectiveness to both candidates and companies. There’s also exciting developments being made in the metaverse in relation to recruiting. Hirect recently hosted the first ever hiring event/career fair in the metaverse, and I anticipate we’ll see more and more of the hiring process take place in these digital environments.
Time will tell how this works out. But if Tiktok keeps growing it will be interesting to watch its job search functionality evolve.