Jessica Tathem has called out a new trend where brands get jobseekers to post their applications onto social media for everyone to see. (Source: Supplied/TikTok)
Employers have been urged to reconsider using a “humiliating” hiring trend that has caught on in recent years. Applying for a job has always been a private experience and no one usually knows if you’re sending out numerous applications a day.
But Jessica Tathem has seen dozens of brands in the last 12 months asking for applicants to post their submissions on social media for the whole world to see. The Sydney digital marketing strategist told Yahoo Finance that she believes it’s wrong on so many levels.
“When I started seeing that it’s your only option [to apply]… Like, the callout is to post yourself online and tag them. That was wild to me,” she said.
“It’s almost like it saves them having to go through resumes, cover letters and emails, because all they have to do is find the five most viral videos and interview those people.”
It might make technical sense at first glance. If this person can create a snappy video and go viral on TikTok for a job application, surely they would be able to get the same success for the brand?
But she said virality doesn’t always equal the best person for the job, as social media algorithms can be a murky and fickle metric to gauge someone’s skill.
“It can be stroke of luck that you go viral,” Tathem argued. “I’ve had videos of mine go viral, and it’s such a random video that I actually didn’t really put much strategy towards.”
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The idea of promoting oneself in a private cover letter, CV, or in a job interview is enough to make some people cringe. Now imagine doing that on your personal Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok account, where anyone, including your current boss, could see you’re applying for a new job.
Tathem believed that latter part is a big issue because an applicant is basically chucking up neon sign saying they want to jump ship. But it also digs into the idea of how far people are willing to go to get a role.
Many employers will ask applicants to do a test during the hiring process to show how good they would be in an everyday work scenario.
The Iced & Shaken digital marketing firm founder told Yahoo Finance that some applicants would be spending up to eight hours ideating, filming, and editing their videos to submit to the brand.
“They take so much time, and you’re giving all this intellectual property to the hiring business,” she said.
“For 99 per cent of people, there’s no reward, because there’s only ever one or two roles up for grabs.”
Sydney man Bailey White applied for a job to work at fashion brand All For Mimi (AFM) in this way and his video showed him, friends, and randoms holding a sign saying ‘BAILEY FOR AFM’.
The video has been viewed more than 256,000 times and scored more than 13,000 likes.
All For Mimi co-founder Sophia Begg commented on his video saying “THE DEDICATION”, referring to how Bailey was standing in the rain for some of his clips.
Yahoo Finance has reached out to White and All For Mimi for comment. It’s believed he ultimately landed the job.
Every brand who embarks on this hiring method will have their own reason for doing it. But Tathem explained why it can be “massively” beneficial to the company doing it.
She said getting people to upload a video to social media and tagging the brand in the caption can help boost the business in peoples’ algorithm.
“It gets the conversation about them in more people’s zeitgeist,” she said.
“You might not have heard of a company, but if I put an online video about them on my story, then suddenly you know about them.
“Obviously, all businesses want reach. We want to get the word out about brands. However, on the flip side of that, you’re just absolutely taking the mickey out of people and taking advantage of them.”
Not only does it help their online reach, but it’s also effectively free advertising.
“I think what has happened is that a few brands had real success with it,” she said. “So then other people have been like, ‘Well, that’s how we’re going to hire’.”
The digital marketing strategist wasn’t completely against the idea of public video applications, but she thinks they should be submitted privately.
Videos like this can be a great way of showing how creative someone would be, which is essential in a field like marketing and public relations, she added.
Tathem posted about this trend on social media and people wasted no time in shooting down the idea.
“It honestly feels like a humiliation ritual,” wrote one person.
“It’s gross,” added another.
A third wrote: “As an introvert girly who’s only really extrovert with people i’m comfortable with, putting myself that much out there is daunting and as soon as I see that that’s the application process I immediately get the mental block and shy away. Like I promise I’m a hard and determined worker but I just don’t want to apply for a job this way.”
Tathem told Yahoo Finance that she is not camera shy in the slightest, but even she wouldn’t want to go down this route to land a job.
“This demand for people to put so much of their personal life forth for a job that they may or may not get in the first round, I think that’s a lot to expect,” she said.
“Hirers and creators need to have a wake up call. If you want to build a strong team, you shouldn’t start that relationship to get more clout and get more reach.”
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