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Is TikTok The New Resume?
In the everchanging job recruiting world, companies are looking for creative ways to recruit, hire, and retain their employees. This week, Tiktok, of all social platforms, announced that they are launching a new ‘Resumes’ program in the United States.
TikTok is already flooded with careers content, from resume tips to interview prep videos that inspire job seekers in less than 60 seconds. The program takes the #careeradvice trend to the next level, allowing people to submit video resumes to companies like VaynerMedia, Sweetgreen, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and more.
Candidates use short-form videos to display the experiences and skills that employers seek using #TiktokResumes. At first thought, this seems more like a LinkedIn kind of thing than it does a Tiktok. There are definitely two sides to this.
On one side, it makes recruiters’ lives easier. Instead of reading through resumes to find the perfect candidate, they can now scroll through #TikTokResumes and review each candidate, this time with more creativity. At the end of the day, there is only so much a piece of paper full of bullet points can do to land you your next big opportunity.
With this new approach, however, no one really knows what makes a video resume a great video resume.
“A lot of these "TikTok resumes" are just people reading off their resumes but in video format," says Luis Ocampo, a student at Missouri University and the Head of People at a buzzy Gen Z startup, Ladder. “I think it's going to take a while (or some good examples) for people to realize that it's a way to be more creative in how they present themselves outside of professional words.”
Luis also went as far as to compare it to applying to film school. One prompt he remembers is describe who you are in 60 seconds without showing your face.
“I really liked that because people could creatively use video to express who they are, what they're passionate about, and what they're good at,” said Luis.
As technology changes, how will companies account for people with access to newer and better technologies versus those who may not have access to the newest gadgets? While making videos is not outright exclusive, businesses are making more and more efforts to support diversity and inclusion. Does this hurt or help this initiative? Only time will tell.
There are also judgment and algorithmic issues. TikTok’s algorithm is a mystery to all, including some of the platform's biggest creators. Say a candidate makes a great resume video but it doesn’t blow up. How will recruiters see it? Moreover, will companies subconsciously reward those candidates with the most ‘clout’? It’s hard to tell.
Now consider that some of TikTok's Gen Z trends, are well...a bit hard to understand to older folk. If employers are peeping through our profiles, would that make us hesitate before posting a video that might be a bit on the edge? While you always have to be careful what you post on social media, creators now will have to be extra careful if they want to use the #TikTokResume feature.
Opening up on any social media platform is difficult. While video resumes are definitely an interesting opportunity and allow for so much more expression than a list of bullet-points in Times New Roman, there's also the angle of: do we want employers looking through our TikToks and do we even feel comfortable putting a resume out there for the world to see? Let's not forget that many of the comments on TikTok videos are extremely negative.
Current job postings are mostly made up of warehouse and team member jobs. At the end of the day, is spending hours making a TikTok in order to apply for a cashier job at Chipotle really worth it?
Our Future Profile
Rajit Khanna
This section is part of a new series highlighting all of the crazy ambitious young leaders we have on this newsletter! Every week, a new member of our 3.5K+ audience will answer a few questions!
1) The Backstory: I'm Rajit Khanna from Nashua, NH. I am a CS major at Georgia Tech on a gap semester as a software engineer at BLISSWAY, a YC startup that partners with governments to reduce traffic congestion.
2) Life or Work Hack: Unplug. I like to work alone in complete silence.
3) #1 Content Rec: Besides the Our Future Pod, I would suggest Garry Tan's Youtube channel.
4) Advice: Focus deeply on what you're curious about and become the best in the world at it.
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