TikTok ban is a hiccup for social recruiters, not a disaster
A TikTok ban in the U.S. won't crush recruiting efforts. While the platform has reach, employers still prefer LinkedIn, Instagram and niche tools to find top talent.
Employers and recruiters use social media platforms to find candidates, but TikTok is not a top choice. While the application has enormous reach, especially with younger users, TikTok hasn't replaced employee referral platforms, recruitment marketing tools, diversity-focused talent networks or LinkedIn Recruiter, according to research from Gartner.
Although TikTok hosts plenty of career-related content such as resume advice, job application tips and even video resumes, it hasn't become a significant resource for employers, according to Jamie Kohn, research director in Gartner's HR practice.
"If TikTok is banned, we're going to see very little impact on recruiting," Kohn said.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled for the government's demand that TikTok divest from Chinese ownership due to national security concerns. The platform is owned by ByteDance, a China-based company. The ban is set to take effect Sunday, but a policy shift by President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office Monday, could change that outcome.
Kohn said employers have struggled to use the platform because of its algorithm-driven content, making it harder for them to reach target audiences. But there's also a user preference, and people don't want social media sites, including TikTok, to feed them job information, she said.
Still, some business owners, including Iffi Wahla, CEO and co-founder of global recruitment platform Edge, use TikTok and Instagram to help increase visibility of their businesses. Wahla, whose business was founded in 2022, sees value in reaching "the TikTok generation." Social media accounts for about 70% of his platform sign-ups.
If TikTok gets banned, we'll lose a few eyeballs in the short term.
Iffi WahlaCEO and co-founder, Edge
"If TikTok gets banned, we'll lose a few eyeballs in the short term," Wahla said. However, he believes the long-term impact will be minimal, as users will likely migrate to TikTok alternatives such as Instagram or new platforms.
Edge connects employers with full-time remote workers and targets non-tech businesses that traditionally wouldn't have considered hiring remotely.
The company uses AI and machine learning to analyze candidates and has successfully placed workers in roles such as insurance adjusters, underwriters, billing specialists, medical administrators and patient follow-up staff, according to Wahla. He said it aims to make hiring as simple as using Uber.
One TikTok ban positive for businesses
Some businesses might even be relieved to see TikTok disappear. Social media can create reputational risks for employers. For instance, when Better.com had a layoff in 2021 delivered over Zoom, it went viral on TikTok.
"If anything, the loss of TikTok might even be a net positive for recruiting functions," Kohn said.
"Recruiting leaders have felt an increased need to monitor these sites for negative information such as employees recording their layoff conversations," she said. "One less social media site could reduce the risk of reputational damage, at least until the next big platform comes along."
Rebecca Wettemann, CEO and principal analyst at tech research firm Valoir, said TikTok can be helpful for brand awareness and cultural alignment. However, she pointed out that other social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Facebook, are taken more seriously by employers.
"As social media has evolved, employers and recruiters have had to adapt their strategies to reach their candidate pools, and the same will be true if a significant platform like TikTok is banned or disappears," Wettemann said.
Patrick Thibodeau is an editor at large for Informa TechTarget who covers HCM and ERP technologies. He's worked for more than two decades as an enterprise IT reporter.
