How Gen Z Is Using This Secret Weapon to Land Their Next Job

Gen Z job applicants are turning to social media to show that they are open to work.

A 2025 study from career site Zety found that 46% of Gen Z have secured jobs through TikTok. The survey of nearly 900 Gen Z employees found that 92% trust TikTok for career advice, and 95% say a company’s social media presence impacts their decision to apply. 

NYC marketing and events professional Caroline Schlobohm told the New York Post in a recent interview that TikTok is one way to gain traction in a crowded job market. The 28-year-old was laid off from two jobs within the span of six months and decided to document the struggle and share her experience on TikTok. 

“It was basically an experiment for me,” Schlobohm told the Post. She said she had seen other young professionals go viral and gain employment opportunities through social media. She was confident in her abilities to “hack” TikTok. 

“I’m in New York City, I’m attractive, I’m educated, I can hack this stupid app and use my talents to make this a thing,” she said.

She posted videos vlogging her NYC job search, and a private luxury event planner took notice and hired her. Schlobohm found work last year and began planning events, from a $3 million wedding in Tuscany to a charity ball in Monte Carlo.

Schlobohm eventually lost that job. Now she is hunting for work again and told the Post that she views her Instagram profile as her creative portfolio.

“People care about the visual and the end result,” she told the outlet, adding that social media will likely lead to her next role. “It’s going to be a factor one way or another.”

Job-seekers are trying to stand out in other ways

Young job-seekers are turning to increasingly unconventional tactics to break through a crowded hiring market, from slipping resumes into donut boxes to taking service jobs at industry events for direct access to decision-makers. One viral example involved a marketer who personally delivered 50 donut boxes to prospective employers, each containing a resume and the note, “Most resumes end up in trash. Mine — in your belly.”

Sam Rabinowitz, 25, took an even more public route last year after he submitted more than 1,000 online applications and failed to get a response. He spent $136, nearly one-fifth of the $700 left in his checking account, on a custom sign and positioned himself outside the New York Stock Exchange. 

“Tried LinkedIn. Tried Email. Now Trying Wall Street. Looking for a Finance/Trading Internship or Entry-Level Position. Dedicated. Hungry. Ready to Work,” Rabinowitz’s sign read. 

The experiment generated interviews and networking opportunities that conventional LinkedIn and email outreach had not. The gamble, he told Fortune, was “more than worth it.” At the time of writing, Rabinowitz’s LinkedIn profile shows that he is working as an operations associate at a nonprofit called the Tamid Group.

Gen Z job applicants are turning to social media to show that they are open to work.

A 2025 study from career site Zety found that 46% of Gen Z have secured jobs through TikTok. The survey of nearly 900 Gen Z employees found that 92% trust TikTok for career advice, and 95% say a company’s social media presence impacts their decision to apply. 

NYC marketing and events professional Caroline Schlobohm told the New York Post in a recent interview that TikTok is one way to gain traction in a crowded job market. The 28-year-old was laid off from two jobs within the span of six months and decided to document the struggle and share her experience on TikTok.