Without a neat CV or showing off her qualifications, Phuong Nhi posted a 50-word job search on social media and attracted 10,000 views.
The 27-year-old woman in Hanoi said she started using Threads - Meta's social network launched in 2023 - a few months ago. Recently, Nhi saw that there was a trend of finding jobs here, so she gave it a try.
She is working for an airline but her personality likes to follow trends so she still wants to find a working environment with a more prominent and youthful industry.
Phuong Nhi, 27 years old, works for an airline and still wants to find new job opportunities. Photo: Character provided
Realizing that Threads is becoming a "job warehouse", on April 12, Hoang Nam, 25 years old, in Ho Chi Minh City also decided to "sell himself". In a 70-word post, Nam provided three basic information: applying for the position of UX/UI Designer (user interface and experience design), a link to the application, as well as contact information.
"My friend bragged about finding a good job here so I wanted to try it out too," Nam said.
Many employers are also catching on to this trend. "I heard Threads is an effective recruiting place, hope we can find each other soon," Be Hoang Mai, the owner of a fashion shop chain in Hanoi, wrote in a post on April 13.
The businesswoman said she was preparing to open a new store on Ba Trieu Street so she needed to recruit sales staff. Several of Mai's friends found staff here much faster and more effectively than other methods. "On other social networks, you have to run ads to find candidates, but here, after a few hours of posting, I had 5 applications sent in," Mai said.
But recruiters also said that it was mostly Gen Z applying here.
According to a report by McKinsey & Company, half of Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) will enter the workforce, making up a quarter of the global workforce by 2023. As a digital generation, they grew up with technology and the Internet, electronic devices, and the explosion of social media. They are more attuned to the world, instantly connected to cultures, issues, and news than previous generations.
"They are also revolutionizing recruitment," said Bui Doan Chung, founder of the Vietnam Human Resources Community.
According to him, in Vietnam, Gen Z currently accounts for about 1/3 of the workforce. They are more dynamic and proactive in approaching employers and often use a "unique" application style or refuse requirements regarding the form and content of their application.
First, see them proactively looking for job opportunities. Instead of looking for jobs from traditional channels and internal networks, they are approaching multiple channels across multiple social networks.
"Using social networks can help candidates search for jobs more quickly, proactively, and get closer to employers. It can also partly verify the reputation of the employer posting the job advertisement," said Trang Nguyen, Northern recruitment manager of a media company and owner of the podcast channel specializing in sharing about jobs and recruitment, The workaholics .
Nguyen Huyen Hao, CEO of a headhunter company in Hanoi, added that the proactiveness of young people in finding jobs compared to previous generations is partly due to their shorter tenures, and they also look for more job opportunities at the same time so as not to depend on a specific source of income or job.
"I have met young people who work full-time at one place or unit but will work part-time or remotely for another unit," Hao said.
A Gen Z in Hanoi searches for recruitment information on Threads on April 13. Photo: Phan Duong
Second, flaunting degrees and summarizing work history on a CV has been the way job hunters have done it since around 1950. Gen Z is changing this approach by directly showcasing skills.
For example, Duc Anh, 23 years old, in Hanoi, when he just graduated last year, shared a short video about his skills on TikTok, unexpectedly receiving dozens of job offers.
The young man had just quit his job at an NGO. In addition to traditional job-hunting methods, he was also considering new approaches. "I'll try selling myself online in the next few days," Duc Anh said.
A 2023 report by global talent recruitment firm Randstad found that 43% of 18- to 24-year-olds struggle to find a job due to barriers such as not having the "right experience", while 63% have problems with traditional CVs and believe they don't allow them to present their best selves.
This is not surprising, according to Randstad, as the traditional application process is often labor-intensive and does not allow a person’s true personality and skills to shine through. Social media can help build a diverse workforce, simplify the application process, and remove barriers.
Third, when searching for jobs on social networks, workers can use more familiar, friendly, and playful language. "This makes the serious task of finding a job and interviewing easier and more natural," said Trang Nguyen. This reality requires companies that want to attract Gen Z workers to change their recruitment methods and also find ways to adjust and highlight the values and benefits within the company.
However, applying for a job is just a small step in the entire process of attracting talent for a business. Many large and branded businesses still have their own rules of the game that candidates must follow. And according to Mr. Chung, quick and urgent recruitment has never been effective.
Short posts mean that information about the employer is not complete. This also opens the door to job scams or other dubious practices such as collecting user data instead of hiring.
"Because social networks are free and the information is incomplete, many people have been tricked into paying and lost money because they did not research carefully," Mr. Chung warned.
Expert Huyen Hao also said that Threads is a playground that attracts young people. However, the recruitments on this are often low-level positions, collaborators, interns, freelancers and the recruiting units are often small companies, startups, not having the high reputation, seriousness, and professionalism like other platforms.
Phuong Nhi also noticed this a few days after posting. Although the post had 10,000 views, she only received a few job offers. Moreover, she realized that they were all jobs that were not suitable for her experience.
"I think I should just show off my skills so that recruiters can find me, which is also a way to help improve my skills," she said.
Phan Duong
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