For Gen-Z job-seekers, TikTok is the new LinkedIn
Last spring, a marketing graduate posted a 45-second video résumé to TikTok. It outlined her skills, editing style, and the kind of team she wanted to join. Within a week, recruiters had messaged her directly, none of whom had seen her LinkedIn profile or résumé submission. They also didn’t ask her to write or send in a cover letter, which is still relevant in the current job market.
For many Gen-Z job seekers, this is familiar. TikTok isn’t just a place to scroll or be entertained. Increasingly, it’s where careers start.
Photo by Nik
A growing number of early-career applicants are treating the app as a serious tool, not just to research companies or vent about hiring processes, but to get hired. Posts under the tag #CareerTok now top two billion views, filled with résumé tips, portfolio breakdowns, interview prep clips, and first-hand stories about what different jobs are actually like.
The Numbers Behind the Shift
According to a 2024 survey by career service Zety, 46% of Gen Z job seekers have found a job or internship through TikTok. That figure is higher than LinkedIn or Indeed, and it reflects a deeper trend: Gen Z is not relying on job boards designed for previous generations.
The hashtag #CareerTok has now passed 2 billion views. On any given day, you’ll find videos offering interview tips, salary transparency, “day in the life” job vlogs, and warnings about companies with toxic reputations. The content is personal, fast, and far more direct than anything in a corporate webinar or HR blog.
TikTok isn’t a replacement for career platforms. It’s something else entirely: an open-source, creator-led job economy that puts personality and visibility ahead of credentials.
The Rise of the Video Résumé
Video résumés aren’t new, but on TikTok they’ve become more casual, more creative, and much more visible. These clips often ditch formal intros for energy and editing, candidates pitching themselves in their own style, often with direct calls to action: “Looking to join a fast-moving design team,” or “Just finished a project in retail data and here’s what I learned.”
It’s a format that suits TikTok’s speed and rewards those who can self-produce quickly. Done right, these videos serve two purposes at once: they showcase both communication skills and digital fluency.
Recruiters Are Watching , Even If They're Not Saying So
While few companies openly advertise that they’re hiring through TikTok, hiring managers are watching. Some scroll TikTok the way they once browsed LinkedIn. Others have created recruitment accounts or worked with influencers to post job openings and explain their application process.
“As a recruiter, TikTok gives me a better feel for a person’s style than a PDF ever could,” says a senior hiring lead at a consumer tech company, who asked to remain anonymous. “Especially for roles in marketing, content, and early-stage product, that first impression matters.”
Some firms now ask applicants to submit TikTok links along with traditional résumés. It’s no longer seen as unprofessional. In some roles, it’s expected.
Not Just for Creatives
While TikTok naturally suits industries like media and marketing, its reach is expanding. Nurses, engineers, analysts, and civil servants are also using the app to share what their work really looks like behind the scenes, and build networks along the way.
One standout is the rise of “career influencers”, working professionals who explain how they landed a certain job, what their salary looks like, or how they made a career switch. It’s part advice, part transparency project. These creators are often cited by followers as the reason they applied to a role they’d never considered.
The Risks Are Real
Not all of TikTok’s career advice is reliable. Because the algorithm rewards engagement, bold claims often perform better than fact-based content. That makes it hard for first-time job seekers to separate signal from noise.
There’s also the question of oversharing. Videos that go viral may stay online for years. Some creators have been doxxed, while others have faced backlash for calling out former employers by name.
Gen Z knows this, and many treat TikTok as a curated space. But the risks remain, especially when the line between personal and professional is always shifting.
What This Means for Employers
For companies hiring in 2025, TikTok is no longer just a branding tool. It’s a pipeline. Ignoring it means missing out on early-career talent who may never reach for LinkedIn.
More forward-thinking teams are adapting. Some are creating short videos introducing team members, explaining what a role involves, or answering frequently asked questions about the hiring process. Others are quietly reviewing applicants’ TikTok presence to understand how they communicate and present themselves publicly.
In both cases, it marks a shift from static résumés to live, human storytelling. That shift isn’t going away.
TikTok is not where careers end up. It’s where more of them now begin.
Gen Z isn’t trying to break into the workforce the old way. They’re building visibility early, sharing their work in real time, and shaping the hiring process from the outside in.
For employers and job seekers alike, the future of recruiting won’t start in an inbox. It will start with a swipe. For more work news and employment trends follow New Stardom.
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