Hilton is leveraging Gen Z’s favourite social media platform TikTok to expand its team – and improve brand awareness as a result – with an Australian industry-first recruitment pilot launching on Thursday November 9.
The six-week recruitment campaign, #HireMeHilton, encourages TikTok users to apply for a range of roles across its 17 properties by posting a 30-60 second video on the platform explaining or demonstrating how they would ‘Make the Stay’ memorable for its guests.
According to TikTok’s figures from June 2023, 8.5 million Australians are active on the social media platform every month.
Speaking exclusively to HM, Hilton, Asia Pacific, Regional Director Human Resources, Mary Hogg, said the campaign aims to remove recruitment barriers and increase candidate diversity.
“Globally, Hilton has a highly engaged audience on TikTok and it’s also a channel that celebrates diversity and allows people to be their real, authentic selves – which makes it a great platform for our pilot,” Hogg told HM.
“Our intention is to build a diverse and rich workforce and anyone and everyone is welcome. We want people to be themselves and ultimately show us how they can make the stay for our guests memorable. That’s it!”
Hilton launched a dedicated TikTok page, @hiremehiltonau, on Thursday with a selection of videos featuring Hilton employees as well as TikTok creators, including comedian Nick White.
It’s not the first time Hilton has leveraged TikTok to build brand awareness.
Earlier this year, Hilton bucked the trend of short-form videos by posting a 10-minute TikTok ad featuring Paris Hilton and numerous creators which has racked up over 35.7 million views to date (09/11/23) and gained global media attention.
“We have had strong engagement from paid recruitment marketing campaigns on TikTok in the last 12 months and, equally, independent research Hilton commissioned shows that Australians are increasingly turning to social media to find their next gig, particularly Gen Z,” Hogg told HM.
“In adding TikTok into our recruitment channel mix, we can build a diverse workforce, simplify the application process, remove barriers and find great talent.”
Social media as a recruitment channel
The recent Hilton survey that Hogg referenced featured 1,000 18–65-year-olds from across Australia.
It found that 68% of Gen Zs would rather apply for a job via social media than write a resume, and that 82% are discouraged from applying due to the time it takes to write a resume and cover letter.
Furthermore, 63% of job hunters aged 18–24 years said that written applications do not allow them to represent their best self during the recruitment process.
“Our research shows Australians are increasingly turning to social media to find their next gig,” said Hogg.
“This isn’t surprising when too often the traditional application process can be labour-intensive and doesn’t allow one’s true personality and skills to shine through.
“Behind every stay at a Hilton, there are hundreds of extraordinary people who work together to make it a seamless, magical experience for every guest. TikTok encourages people to be their real, authentic selves and this is exactly what we want to see as an employer that values diversity.”
Hilton’s findings are echoed by recruitment company Randstad, which says social media has become a key hunting ground for jobs with one in four jobseekers under the age of 35 having recently found a job on social media and nearly half (45%) of Gen Zs using TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat to land their dream role.
“Building a healthy talent pipeline that spans multiple generations offers enormous benefits, from encouraging innovation to promoting the sharing of best practices and different perspectives,” said Randstad NSW Director NSW, Jo Jakobs.
“We know from our research that different generations are increasingly looking in different places to find work – with Gen Z’s eyes turning to social media. Embracing a multi-channel approach in recruitment will help to attract that all important diversity and supercharge potential through a future-ready workforce.”
Bar attendants, front desk receptionists and food and beverage team members are among the roles currently on offer at Hilton and Hogg said anyone with a TikTok account and working rights in Australia is welcome to apply.
“As the pilot is an Australian industry-first initially, we have set up the @HireMeHiltonAU TikTok account which is separate from the @Hilton global account,” she explained.
“All applicants need to have working rights in Australia to apply and our experienced recruitment team will work through these details as they review all applications. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited for a face-to-face interview at the property where they have applied for a role.”
In 2023, Hilton was named a Great Place to Work in more than 30 countries, with the company reaching the number one spots in 11 countries, and ranking second on the top 50 list for companies with over 1,000 employees in Australia.
Each year, the company creates close to 2,500 employment opportunities in Australia, according to Hogg.
“We want great talent to come and have a long fulfilling career with us at Hilton and we are proud to be trialling more inclusive recruitment processes and employment outcomes for all Australians interested in working in hospitality,” Hogg added.