It’s 10 p.m., and you are scrolling on TikTok when a video appears on the screen.
“The cold email I sent that turned into an internship offer,” the video’s text reads.
It seems like the countless hours spent applying for jobs and internship positions are over. You save the video for later, thinking you’re spared from the struggle of thinking and writing something yourself.
However, given the importance of career development, students should be wary of career advice on social media and instead prioritize personal professional experiences.
Social media videos disregard and eliminate the most central pillar of career development: introspection.
Thirty-six percent of young people use social media to make career and job decisions, surpassing official resources such as career fairs and university career portals, according to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
On TikTok, the leading social media platform for career inspiration in ABPI’s study, a growing niche is “CareerTok.” The hashtag #careertok features more than 176 thousand career-related videos covering topics such as job-hunting tips, resume-building and interview strategies.
Catherine Di, a fourth-year computer science and linguistics student, said she watches videos about her field on social media. She said the people on her TikTok For You page discuss their experience in tech and the work culture, while also providing tips on how to answer technical interview questions.
Di added she feels motivated when she watches these videos.
“It’s not like I’m doomscrolling on TikTok or anything,” Di said. “I’m looking at advice on how to get a job.”
[Related: Opinion: We must escape doomscrolling to reclaim control over our lives]
But career advice videos prevent students from engaging in the self-reflection needed for career exploration.
“You need to understand what your skills are, what you bring to the table,” said Heather Loyd, a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology who designed and taught a class called Careers in Anthropology.
Passively watching career advice videos may lead students to skip this important step, as many videos encourage them to use ready-made templates for cold emails or cover letters.
Furthermore, career content on social media is generic by default. Students cannot receive personalized feedback tailored to their unique circumstances because of social media’s one-sided nature. General advice designed to appeal to a broad social media audience may not apply to every student’s situation.
The videos’ wide audience poses another problem: Everyone has access to the same video.
For example, a common type of content on CareerTok is the suggestion of questions to ask at the end of a job interview. If such a video receives a large number of views, it is likely people will interview for the same positions and ask the same blanket questions which can compromise a candidate’s overall performance.
Moving away from generic online career content is essential.
Instead, students should center their job search on their personal experience and rely on qualified advice from career counselors and industry professionals.
Kimberly Terrill, the associate director for career education and development at the UCLA Career Center, said in an emailed statement that career counselors draw from their understanding of different professional development nuances to provide students with customized assistance in achieving their career goals.
Some argue social media can still be useful for career advice, especially for students without access to traditional resources like a university career center.
Nonetheless, if students cannot completely avoid social media content for career guidance, they should at least exercise discernment.
Jeff Share, a senior lecturer at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, said media literacy is fundamental for navigating the information ecosystem we are constantly exposed to on social media today .
“Understanding the motive and the designs of these tools that we use so often is essential, because a lot of people assume that they’re just neutral or objective transporters of information and they’re not,” Share said.
Students should prioritize content creators with an established career in their field of interest, rather than career influencers whose work depends on how many viewers they attract.
“A lot of times, they’re going to just tell you whatever they think you want to hear, whether it’s true or not,” Share said.
Bruins should therefore avoid the shortcuts social media promotes and rely on professional resources and personal experience to engage in meaningful career exploration.
After all, university students have no time to waste on unreliable career advice.
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