It is a well-known fact that short video, livestreaming, and social media platforms no longer have content which only provides entertainment. Kuaipin is the blue-collar worker recruitment business launched by Kuaishou. On 11 July, Kuaipin released data showing that Kuaishou’s annual recruitment short videos and livestreams were viewed 100 billion times; nearly 25 million job search leads were generated in a single month, and the number of two-way job intention matches rose by 167% per month. Additionally, recruitment influencers have flocked to Xiaohongshu, which attracts many young users, creating a closer and more interactive relationship between recruiters and job seekers on the platform.
Under Kuaipin’s business model, a simple graphic poster can generate 390K views and 1,209 CVs; a short video on professional hiring has amassed 640K views and 1,152 CVs; and one livestream featuring a digital human has eliminated the need for human manpower while generating 1,051 CVs through interaction in the comment section. Effective recruitment content includes job salary levels, benefits, job descriptions, and job requirements.
Weibo’s topic #Kuaishou Recruitment Short Video and Livestreaming Reached 100 Billion People# received 142K views. One netizen commented: ‘The recruitment information in the livestream was quite genuine – the company provided detailed information about food and housing conditions, salary, and insurance. I applied and received a call the next day and was soon accepted by the company.’
Kuaishou itself has a user base where 60% of users are from Tier 3 to Tier 5 cities and below. Users of Kuaishou, also known as ‘old iron’ (老铁), a northern dialect term for ‘brothers,’ are generally engaged in labour work. Therefore, focusing on blue-collar services is a strategic choice for Kuaishou. Traditional recruitment methods cannot intuitively showcase the work content, working environment, and accommodation, but short videos and livestreams allow job seekers to gain a real-time, intuitive understanding of the actual situation. This reduces information errors, and the real scenes and instant interactions make the recruitment process more vivid and feasible.
Xiaohongshu is also attracting users from recruitment and job search platforms. Under the topic of #job posting#, Xiaohongshu has accumulated more than 10K notes. HR professionals, and even company executives and CEOs, have posted on Xiaohongshu to look for employees. A post with hashtags such as recruiting, job searching, big factories, and layoffs, along with the playful phrase ‘I heard that recruiting is very easy on Xiaohongshu,’ easily garnered more than a thousand likes within three days. Within the same period, there can be hundreds of replies and private messages, mixed with dozens of CVs.
Recruiting on Xiaohongshu offers a very different experience for both recruiters and job seekers compared to traditional platforms. For instance, users often express dissatisfaction with Boss Zhipin, citing inaccurate searches, expired listings, and ineffective paid services. However, on Xiaohongshu, recruiters are more focused on finding candidates with specific interests and easier-to-get-along-with personalities. Job seekers, rather than immediately inquiring about salary or interviews, tend to send emojis and make friends first. Even if rejected, they often ask for additional job search advice, similar to the networking function of LinkedIn.
