Gen Z is turning Instagram into the new LinkedIn

When you’re bombarded with AI slop, humble bragging, and a general sense that everyone is achieving bigger and better things in their careers than you are, it’s easy to get the Linked In ick. So, many professionals looking to advance their careers—especially Gen Z—have started congregating elsewhere. A new survey from Zety, a résumé builder, found that You Tube and Instagram are now the top platforms where Gen Z workers seek career advice, cited by 80% and 73% of respondents respectively. Linked In lagged behind, with just 26% of the 919 Gen Z workers surveyed saying it was their go-to source. The report also found that 74% used Instagram for professional networking, and 69% had successfully landed a job or internship from there—which is surprising for a platform originally designed to share photos with friends. Instagram isn’t exactly replacing LinkedIn, but it is increasingly taking on the role of recruiter, career coach, networking event, company website, and employer review platform all at once. For employers, attracting Gen Z talent may now depend more on skills traditionally associated with social media creators, including transparently demonstrating their company culture in public. Jasmine Escalera, the career coach who wrote the report, tells Fast Company that Gen Z is redefining what work looks like: While millennials had it drilled into them that the performative professionalism we see on LinkedIn is how we get ahead and network in our chosen career paths, Gen Z tends to approach work differently. “They’re getting those definitions from the place that they get everything, which is social media,” she says. “Gen Z was raised on Instagram, so it makes a lot of sense that where they play would be where they get work information as well.” Investigating and ‘netpicking’ employers Younger workers are using social media to investigate employers before they apply. In a way, they’re attempting to rebalance a hiring process that has traditionally favor