The Hilton hotel chain is encouraging jobseekers to ditch conventional résumés when applying for a role – and to post a TikTok instead.
Hilton shared a video on its TikTok account @hiremehiltonau labelled “recruitment process at Hilton”, with the accompanying caption saying: “Looking for a job with #hilton? #tiktokresume #hospitalitylife #hiremehilton.”
Hilton posted a 34-second videourging potential employees to search for positions they are interested in, and to apply by making “a 1 minute video or less of showing how you would make this day for our Hilton guests”.
The video tells viewers to post publicly from their TikTok accounts, tag the Hilton, and add the hashtag #hiremehilton.
But there’s still hope for those not on the social media platform. The company’s website notes: “Your dream career might be just around the corner and don’t worry if creating videos isn’t your style – we’re equally happy to accept traditional written CVs.”
Mary Hogg, regional human resources director for Hilton Australasia, told the Australian Financial Review that the company had gone with the TikTok pilot to attract gen Z workers and that concern about ChatGPT was a factor behind the decision.
Hogg said: “When you need somebody who’s going to have really good interpersonal skills, to be able to handle guest relationships or any of that side of things, you’ve got no idea [if they can do that] from the paper side.”
Tom Earls, a partner at Fair Work Lawyers, an Adelaide-based lawyer specialising in employment, workplace and industrial relations, told Guardian Australia there was nothing to prevent an employer requesting TikToks as a part of a job application.
“On its face, mandating TikTok for an application is no different to requiring an applicant to fill in a specific form or provide any other specific information with their application,” he said.
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But Earls explained that an employer would need to make sure that any requirements did not have any unreasonable impacts on people, such as age discrimination.
He added: “Although the legal restrictions are relatively limited, requiring job applications to be made in a very public manner poses obvious ethical issues, as well as practical considerations that may also limit the available pool of applicants, especially in a tight labour market.”
In 2021 TikTok launched a similar program, asking applicants to submit videos showing off their skills with the hashtag #TikTokResumes, creating almost a “personal essay” of sorts with a “looped in-audio”, according to the BBC.
Guardian Australia has asked Hilton Australia for comment.
