Why TikTok’s viral job trends could see you lose your career- or any prospect or having one

Date: 2024-10-21

TIKTOKERS may think it’s a laugh by gently poke fun at workplace culture, but it might be worth paying attention to what you post.

However, employeers have started checking the TikTok accounts of applicants and some trends might make you seem lazy or, worse, incompetent.

TikTok has over one billion users
Reuters
Bare minimum Monday began as a way to fight the Monday blues
TikTok/itsmarisjo

A career expert named Jasmine Escalera told Newsweek how the lightheartedness of posting online could have serious consequences.

Here’s everything you need to know about the TikTok trends that could cost you a job.

White-fonting

According to Gen Z TikTokers, white-fonting is a “hack” that uses an employer’s A.I. to your advantage.

White-fonting videos show a user copying and pasting a job description onto their CV in white font.

The white font stops an employer seeing the text, but A.I. would pick up everything the white text said.

This tricks the A.I. into thinking that the applicant meets all of the job criteria.

Jasmine warned against the trend when talking to Newsweek.

She said: “Though it seems like a clever workaround, using white font can backfire.

“Recruiters are aware of this trick and often see it as deceptive, which can lead to a loss of credibility and trust.”

Bare minimum Mondays

Another TikTok trend that can harm your career prospects is Bare minimum Monday.

The trend sees users talking about how doing the bare minimum can beat the Monday blues.

Some TikTokers even said that easing themselves into the week helped them to battle anxiety and stress.

However, Jasmine said that posting about doing the bare minimum could be detrimental in the workplace.

She said: “This trend promotes the idea that coasting through work at the beginning of the week is acceptable.

“While self-care is important, consistently doing the bare minimum can create a perception of laziness or disengagement.”

Quiet quitting became very popular after the pandemic
TikTok/bengeister

Quiet quitting

Quiet quitting is one of the most infamous trends to go viral on TikTok.

It involved users sharing how they covertly start to refuse going above-and-beyond in their jobs and, instead, embraced doing the bare minimum.

The movement’s ethos is that employees should not be doing work that they are not paid for.

However, some employers argue that going above-and-beyond in your job is a good way to get a promotion.

They suggest that doing the bare minimum might make you seem lazy.

#QuitTok videos see users film the moments that they leave their jobs
TikTok/josiejoyyy

#QuitTok

#QuitTok takes the quiet quitting video a step further.

As part of the trend, Gen Z workers share their reasons for leaving their jobs on TikTok.

Others film themselves quitting on Zoom or in the office, before naming and shaming their employers.

Jasmine said: “Posting one’s resignation on TikTok might gain momentary attention, but it also raises concerns about discretion and professionalism.

“Potential employers who find these videos could view them as a red flag, questioning whether the individual will exhibit similar behaviour at their company.”

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