They were fired and use the popular TikTok platform to share stories about the lost jobs, to give advice and look for new roles. One of them, 25-year-old Bailey Harris, who worked as a recruiter at a major tech company for more than a year and a half before being laid off in January. After the initial shock, she decided to tell her story three days later on TikTok. “I never really worried about them layoffs“, he said in the video, which he recorded from a car. “I just didn’t see it coming,” he added. It was only the second TikTok video Harris had ever made, but within a day it had more than 100,000 views. That number has since quadrupled.
Keep posting what it is unemployed. In a video, he shared the how he was saving money. In another she told her followers about a new casual work in which he was helping a friend with real estate. (These videos performed much better than others he posted later, which focused on topics like dating, fitness, and nutrition.)
“I was like, ‘Why not talk about it because I know a lot of people have been through the same thing?'” she said. Sta video, she continued, “I’ve been getting a lot of comments about how people like my attitude about my condition.”
As tech workers continue to be laid off across the country – more than 50,000 workers were laid off from Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft alone in recent months – some have turned to TikTok to share their experiences. An emerging sub-genre on the platform, layoff videos can be a source of validation and community or boosting self-esteem for young workers who recently lost their jobs, report the New York Times in their publication.
Some in these videos talk about their former employers, exposing them. Others have a more practical goal in mind: using the platform to find their next job. Mass layoffs by companies are nothing new, and neither is the idea that former employees will find an outlet to talk about what happened to them. When about nine million AmericanThey lost their jobs in the financial crisis of 2008, employees were on the phone, meeting in bars or posting on Facebook and Twitter. And during the last major economic upheaval at the start of the pandemic — in one week in March, more than three million Americans lost their jobs — the TikTok was another available “avenue”. However, while some workers used the platform to speak out about their layoffs, the majority of videos did not resonate as they do now. This is the first time that the employees who have been laid off can press a button on their phone and do something mega-mega-viral,” said Gabrielle Judge, a content creator on the platform, which helps women find jobs in tech. He noted that platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn, where disgruntled employees may have gone in the past to vent, don’t have the same momentum as TikTok.
Calon DiPiero, 30, said that when she was laid off last month from an event planning job at Attentive Mobile, an SMS marketing platform, she made a TikTok video to put her situation into perspective. The caption read: “You’ve been fired and spent the last 48 hours crying in the same hood, but then you remember that you just are unemployed and not ugly”. Posting the video helped her overcome the shame she felt when she was first fired, she said.
“Initially, if that happens, your ego is hurt,” DiPiero said. “But, you have to step back and say, OK, this happens to a lot of people. It’s not a personal vendetta.”
Tech recruiters said TikTok could be useful for networking and job search. Dozens of companies, including Target, Chipotle and Sweetgreen, have used the app for recruiting.
“If you say in a video that you’d like to connect with anyone who has a role for you, a lot of people will see it,” said Jonathan Javier, CEO and founder of Wonsulting, which helps people, especially those from non-traditional backgrounds. backgrounds, to find jobs in technology. “If you are employer, seeing a prospective employee talk about a previous employer can be a red flag. I encourage everyone to stay positive, focus on actions they take to find a new jobsaid Mr. Javier.
Some people listen to this advice, he said and gave an example. Ms. Harris chose not to say which company she worked for in her videos. “Obviously people can do their research and find out where they’ve worked through LinkedIn,” he said. “But I really wanted you to stay positive and not name names.” Brit Levy, 35, who said she was fired from Meta in November, used TikTok to talk about her frustration due to her dismissal, garnering nearly 800,000 views. Dozens of former Meta employees contacted her after the series of videos she posted, she said.
“We find a little community with each other,” said Ms. Levy, who lives in Oceanside, California. He said he has also asked from hiring managers to reach out for support and give her professional advice on the next steps she needs to take in her career. However, TikTok creators who share details about the circumstances of their firings could be in legal trouble, depending on who they’re talking about. “There are many companies that require you to sign documents to receive your severance package,” Mr. Javier said. “If they sign a form, there are legal implications.” Ms. Levy said she was not worried about the potential consequences of speaking publicly about a former employer. “Honestly, you should be worried about the consequences,” he said. “Now I know how to approach a topic that I consider very important.”
Source: News Beast
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
