People in China Using Tinder to Land a Job
Contributed by: kellyseal on Wednesday, September 27 2023 @ 10:05 am
Last modified on Wednesday, September 27 2023 @ 10:22 am
Young jobseekers in China are increasingly turning to Tinder to network and look for a job, rather than to find a date.
According to Sixth Tone, young Chinese college graduates are gravitating to the platform in the midst of a record-setting 20 percent unemployment rate across the country. Tinder is not one of the more popular dating apps in China, but it is known, mostly for the type of people who are on it. Namely, employees of large companies that hold some of the most coveted jobs in the country.
Tinder is also not officially accessible in China, though residents have found a way to join. In fact, the difficulty associated with accessing the platform is one of the reasons people are turning to it – because they have access to people they wouldn’t normally encounter in everyday life. In this region, Tinder skews toward people who have studied overseas and now work for international companies.
“The great thing about Tinder is that you can connect with people outside of your usual social circle,” said one such Tinder user said to Sixth Tone[*1] . “Most people on Tinder work a decent job, so there are greater chances to get referrals at a big company. And unlike LinkedIn, Tinder creates a more intimate atmosphere because the first conversation usually starts with your personal life.”
LinkedIn pulled out of the Chinese market earlier this year.
This job seeking method has not gone unnoticed, and people have mixed feelings, including recruitment managers. They understand that China has a very competitive job market for young people with no experience, but they also feel that it’s manipulative to use a dating app to make personal connections to try and get a job.
Those who are using the platform to date are also speaking out against the practice. According to Sixth Tone, they argue that job-seeking devalues the platform for users with “good intentions.” Other Chinese residents have argued that there’s no harm in job seeking on Tinder. Dating apps are by nature manipulative, with many people using them not to find a partner, but only to hook up.
Tinder has come out against the practice, too. According to Sixth Tone, a spokesperson from the company warned that using Tinder to network for a job is violating the community guidelines. “Tinder is not a place to promote businesses to try and make money,” the spokesperson said. “Similarly, users also shouldn’t advertise, promote, or share social handles or links to gain followers, sell things, fundraise, or campaign.”
Young college graduates are not deterred. As one Tinder user said: “Dating apps are about expanding your social circle,” with people using them for many different purposes.