#CareerTok, the future of recruitment?

On the back of the announcement from TikTok that users in the US can apply for job openings by uploading a video of their skills and experiences using the #TikTokResumes hashtag, I took the question to my connections as to whether video resumes are the way forward.

The votes came flying in, I could't believe 400 people voted on my poll! Interestingly, the resounding response was people aren’t embracing the idea of video resumes. Last I checked, 38% of respondents said video resumes were a bad idea. 35% of people thought video resumes might be a good idea (depending) and only 27% of people actually liked the idea of video resumes.

From an outsider’s perspective (as someone who doesn’t use TikTok) it feels as though the #CareerTok subculture is trying to become LinkedIn for a younger audience base. TikTok already has a growing career and job-related community that shares tips and advice under the hashtag #CareerTok, that hashtag alone has over 64m views!

As a recruiter and Director of a global agency, this video resume feature a big development in my industry, for a long time the job market has relied on job applications funnelled through a website or other application portal. In my experience candidate applications using multi-media like video are few and far between, perhaps because the technology hasn’t been ready or is it because job seekers prefer to steer away from video applications? Not to generalize, but for the generations who haven’t grown up making videos of themselves, I’m not surprised my poll show found there was a considerable aversion to videos. I took the question to my team and again they all agreed video resumes can be awkward and uncomfortable to navigate.

Not to mention, video resumes raise issues like personal data breaches, I saw an instructional video from TikTok that recommended applicants don’t include personal contact information like their email address in the publicly-shared video, you can see that going wrong very quickly! More importantly, I’d argue there are concerns of discrimination and unconscious biases. A video puts a face to the name, and we’ve seen the research that says a name on a resume can win or lose people a job interview, so I feel there is a very likely chance a video may have negative implications for people based on appearance, race, age and physical ability.

That being said, according to LinkedIn, almost 80% (79%) of hiring managers believe that video has become more important when it comes to interacting with or?vetting job candidates. Undoubtedly short videos, on LinkedIn, TikTok or even on more traditional platforms like YouTube, are a great place to showcase your skills. Think about it, if everyone has a resume, how do you stand out?

When it comes to #TikTokResumes, I like the fact that it is another market for Hiring Managers to tap into and widen their reach. However, hiring exclusively through video resumes and platforms like TikTok easily has the potential to create a barrier to job applications for professionals who don’t use the platform or prefer to not be on video, which I think is the sentiment of the voters in my poll.

I do think some jobs and positions are more tailored to the TikTok style applications, like roles in social media. For example, Hollister partnered with TikTok on a promo video by the singer Montana Tucker to encourage job applications for a social media position. Applicants were asked to post a video with the hashtag #HCoHireMe that “brings a t-shirt to life through comedy, graphics, [and] mind-numbingly good transitions.” Another job was an opening at All Recipes for on-camera talent to teach viewers how to make fluffy biscuits – rolls well suited to engage the social media masters.

If you are contemplating a video resume focus on telling a story. A video resume is a great way to showcase something from your background that’s sure to impress the hiring manager, especially if you tell it in the form of a story.?Be brief and limit your video resume to no longer than two minutes — anything longer than that is asking too much of the hiring manager. End the video with a call-to-action, for example, you might ask the hiring manager to visit your LinkedIn profile to see the rest of your employment history.

This latest news from TikTok is innovative, and I do like the approach to re-imagining recruiting and job discovery, movements in the space are long overdue. It’s not just TikTok, a new profile option from LinkedIn allows you to upload a cover story - a short video to add life to your profile. The traditional resume hasn’t changed much over the years, so video resumes are new and exciting and certain roles could be well served by TikTok’s latest experiment, however it looks like they’ve got?a long way to go until video resumes become the new normal.

I'd love to know what you think about video resumes?