Gen Z has embraced TikTok Resumes. What about everyone else?

By Bruce Shutan September 02, 2021, 10:01 a.m. EDT 3 Min Read

TikTok is fast becoming a way for Gen Z to find jobs, follow companies and get informed about the world of work. But what does the trend mean for other job candidates?

As Gen Z-ers have embraced TikTok hashtags such as #interviewquestions and #careertips — which have generated 71 million and 151 million posts, respectively — the social media platform has been praised as a forward-thinking addition to the talent-acquisition pipeline. A pilot program featuring video resumes, dubbed TikTok Resumes, has shown job seekers just how creative the application process can be, though there are pitfalls for candidates and employers alike to consider.

“Right now, it’s a candidate’s market,” says Stacie Haller, a career coach and consultant at Resumebuilder.com. “Employers can’t afford to not have a larger candidate pool.”

Leaning into TikTok recruiting may immediately box out a number of candidate pools, including older workers who might not be as familiar with social platforms, as well as candidates who work in more regimented industries and disciplines. Someone might be a whiz at producing spreadsheets and analyzing data, for example, but that might not translate to a dazzling self-promotional video.

“If I am a graphic designer, video editor or on-air talent, I think it could make some sense and might be a way to showcase their talent and creativity,” says Carolyn Kleiman, a career coach, consultant and educator. “For older people, certainly more introverted or with different physical abilities, this could be an issue for them just in making the video.”

Without some level of video-editing skills, a candidate’s barrier to entry for TikTok’s video resume platform “is quite high because people don’t feel comfortable being the producer, scriptwriter and editor all in one,” says Jerry Lee, chief operating officer of Wonsulting, which partnered with the social media platform on TikTok Resumes.

According to Lee’s business partner and Wonsulting’s CEO, Jonathan Javier, nine out of 10 people polled in workshops say they’re passive on social media. “A lot of people don’t want to kind of share their story,” he says. “They’re kind of scared of what other people will think, especially if you’re creating a video resume.”

While the idea of TikTok resumes was initially celebrated as a way to level the playing field among candidates, all of whom have the same access to the employer on the platform regardless of education and network, concerns about unconscious bias are now bubbling up.

“There’s definitely unconscious bias and discrimination the second you see and hear somebody speaking on a video at the time of the application,” Kleiman says. “I think that’s going to be a slippery slope for folks to navigate.”

Other biases also may creep into the mix. “They could be sitting in a room that has some sports memorabilia behind them, and the hiring manager hates that team, or they could look like their ex-girlfriend and immediately not like that person,” Haller says.

The option to upload a TikTok video resume might become an add-on or complement to the traditional application process, Kleiman surmises, but she doesn’t see it supplanting resumes sent as PDFs or Word documents just yet.

Despite the caveats, Lee believes it infuses more fairness into the recruiting process because it helps quickly answer two critical questions hiring managers typically ask. They include: Can I see myself working with you, and can I see you’re excited about the job?

Bruce Shutan

Contributing writer