After quiet quitting, comes rage applying: What is this new corporate buzzword?
This year comes with buzzwords of its own. In 2022, TikTok popularised quiet quitting, the trend of doing the bare minimum at work. But that is passé. It’s all about rage-applying now, another trend which has taken off on the video-hosting service and seems to be resonating with Gen-Zers and millennials.
Rage-applying means channelling your anger at your work or boss towards applying to multiple jobs at the same time when you are dissatisfied with your current one. This career trend is for those who feel underappreciated by their superiors. The idea is to be aggressive in sending out your rèsumè to several organisations to find a new job with a hefty pay hike quickly.
In early December, a Tiktok user, Redweez, said in a video that she got a raise of $25,000 (Rs 20.44 lakh) through “rage-applying”. The clip went viral and the trend caught on, according to a report in Fortune. Since then, rage-applying has become the buzzword. Several TikTokers claim they have “rage-applied” and benefitted.
TikTok is filled with videos of those who have been unhappy with their jobs and have sent out dozens of applications. Some claim that within a few days or weeks, they have received several job offers with a substantial rise in salary and great managers.
Low pay, higher inflation and higher interest rates for borrowing money in the West have pushed Gen-Zers and young millennials to look for new opportunities. A lack of growth, work-life balance or just losing interest in the job is enough to make young employees rage-apply.
Jill Cotton, a career trends expert at Glassdoor, said that rage applying isn’t new, but the phrase certainly captures what it feels like to send off a flurry of frustration-fuelled applications without putting too much thought into whether the role is your dream job or not, according to a report in Stylist UK. A decision taken in a fit of rage might not be the wisest. More pay does not necessarily amount to job satisfaction or guarantee work-life balance.
Careers coach Ayesha Murray told Stylist UK a hasty decision when emotions are heightened is not a recipe for success. According to her, changing jobs needs careful consideration. “From understanding why you want to leave your current employer to reviewing what you truly want from a new role, there needs to be a process.”
Jill Cotton advised that if you are looking for a change, swap rage applying for rage job searching. Sending out CVs without putting thought into the job you are applying for might not always work in the long run.