Looking for a job is mostly mundane and monotonous. You mind-numbingly scroll through job postings on LinkedIn, Indeed and ZipRecruiter for hours. This experience may soon change and become fun.
TikTok is known for its fast-paced dance videos and quirky, funny clips. The social media company is planning a pilot program to build a job site on its platform to help people find jobs—particularly Generation-Z young adults that love the site. The new job search and recruiting feature is in beta testing with a group of companies, according to Axios.
The job search listings will be on a separate site and many of the roles would be targeted for Gen-Z job seekers. Instead of boring résumés, it’s anticipated that applicants will submit videos.
The site already has a robust career-oriented section with creators offering résumé and career advice in a refreshingly upbeat and enthusiastic way. The company said the hashtag #careeradvice “gained serious momentum in the first few months of 2021, growing to more than 80 million video views a day by mid-February.”
The TikTok recruitment feature will empower companies to highlight what it’s like to work there via short bursts of video clips. Speaking to the Washington Post in March about the growing trend of employers using TikTok for recruiting, Kate Barney, the head of human resources at TikTok Global Business Solutions, said, “Employers are starting to use the platform to recruit interns or workers. HBO had more than 300 applicants for a summer internship last year using the hashtag #HBOMassummerintern.”
Hasbro, the large toy company, previously posted a job advertisement for one of its divisions—a Nerf Chief TikTok Officer. Nerf, best known for its Blasters that shoot foam darts and squishy footballs and frisbees, offered a three-month gig, paying $10,000 per month.
Teresa Pearson, Nerf’s senior director of global brand strategy and marketing, said in a statement about the hiring decision, “While the Nerf global marketing team really is best-in-class at what they do in terms of creativity and connecting with our fans, we admit we could use some help as the brand steps into the world of TikTok. We’re ready to hand over the social reins to one talented creator to run the Nerf TikTok account.”
Here’s an excerpt from the somewhat-cringey job description:
“We need your help—because you, yes YOU, can become the next Nerf CTO (Chief TikTok Officer). The Nerf CTO is a big title with some bigger perks—Nerf blasters for uh… research purposes, real money, and bragging rights for three glorious months. If this sounds like a dream, that’s because it is.
We are looking for a creator who is a Nerf enthusiast, a TikTok extraordinaire, has good comedic timing, and knows how to use a ring light. Is your heart racing? Does it feel like we are speaking right to…you? If you are fluent in this language, this might be a perfect match. We think this job is so cool we were thinking of quitting ours to apply, but we’re still learning the Renegade dance so…”
The application process was unique. Instead of filling out long, tedious application forms, the job seeker was asked to “post the perfect Nerf-related TikTok video” to their own account and use the hashtag “NerfApplication.” A more traditional interview process would follow.
The market is huge. Gen-Z , also known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials. They were born in the mid-to-late 1990s—roughly 1997 to 2012—and account for over 20% of the U.S. population, consisting of 65 million people. It’s expected that Zoomers will comprise 30% of the workforce by 2030.
Gen-Z spends around six hours a day on social media platforms. Instagram is one of their top destinations, followed closely by TikTok, with over half of Gen-Z using the video-sharing network. As opposed to Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers, Zoomers seek jobs and careers that offer a sense of purpose and meaning. About 60% want a job that will impact the world.
This group of young adults have faced a lot of challenges. They were born in the aftermath of Sept. 11, saw their parents lose their savings during the financial crisis and have had to deal with the ugly political tensions and serious social issues. Recently, they’ve endured the pandemic, losing a year of their young lives. This cohort has been hit hard by job losses due to Covid-19. Unemployment amongst the group is about double that of the general population, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The new search tool is a smart move by TikTok. The company is serving a large underserved group, who are motivated, need the help and desire a better job-search experience.
Source: Forbes
