While Coronavirus has had detrimental impacts for everyone, it has been particularly tough for Gen Z. They are a generation who have emerged fresh out of university loaded up on ambition to find the job market in disarray and thousands of applicants applying for a few precious jobs.
This has resulted in the under-25s witnessing the biggest rise of unemployment in lockdown, with the youth unemployment rate rising to 13.1%, compared with 4.1% for the whole of the UK. This means the number of 16-24 year olds not in education or employment has more than doubled. For those who have been lucky enough to secure a job, they are the age bracket at highest risk of redundancy.
So what do you do if that’s you? Get creative. Long gone are the days of a simple CV and cover letter, this savvy generation are using their impressive digital skills to create highly innovative video CVs in hope of getting noticed by potential employers.
For example, one candidate applying for a fitness app turned her Instagram into a full-blown video CV selecting images that show off her personality and using captions to discuss her skill set and experience.
Others are shunning LinkedIn in favour of Tiktok, the Gen Z platform of choice, to share their resume and create short videos. Not only are they creating content for the eyes of potential employers, but these ambitious young creators are sharing their tips with fellow users on how to get noticed.
A prime example is 22 year old New Yorker Cedoni Francis who has received over a million views on TikTok for her “tell me about yourself” pitch. In true Elle Woods style, she is perched in a hot tub sharing her tips for success. She has also shared videos on how to nail an interview with Google and how to effectively network on LinkedIn.
So, if you’ve applied for hundreds of jobs to no avail, don’t lose steam. Take note from Gen Z who are confronting the job market in full force. We salute you.