Let’s Face It: Instagram is the Future of Resumes
Source: Wikimedia Commons
It’s 2025. You’re scrolling online looking for a job, and finally, you find one you’re interested in. As you look closer at the application, you notice at the top, where they usually ask for your name, they are also interested in something else — your Instagram handle. At first, you may be confused. However, this has become the new normal.
Instagram has officially become the future of resumes.
This has become a reality, especially for dancers and artists alike. Sure, talent still plays a large role in booking jobs, but now, with Instagram and the introduction of other social media platforms like TikTok as a means of casting, this is no longer the only aspect of artists being looked at.
In addition to your appearance and overall talent, your Instagram has become a sort of tell-all for your capabilities as an artist. Headshots and resumes aren’t what’s being asked for. Instead, casting directors feel they can judge you solely based on your appearance, number of followers, and posts related to your art on your social media profiles.
With this comes the good and the bad. Smaller artists may get discovered due to having a personally curated and professional profile, meaning they could potentially get booked for more jobs due to the accessibility. However, we don’t live in a perfect world, and the algorithms of social media platforms aren’t perfect either.
If sites like Instagram keep pushing artists’ profiles with the most conventionally attractive appearance, the most followers, and the most consistent yet not-so-genuine content, the bad may outweigh the good in this situation. To get a better understanding of this, I sat down with four different dance professionals who have all watched social media change the industry before our eyes.
Dominique and Danielle Russo
The first artists I interviewed were sisters Dominique Russo and Danielle Russo, who have each been working in the industry for over ten years. Dominique, a choreographer, dancer, and photographer for her company ninetynineeyes, has been working professionally since she was 13 years old. Danielle, a choreographer, dancer, and stylist herself, has also been a part of the industry since she was a teenager.
Dominique and Danielle both agreed that the dance industry started to shift to a more digital space for casting when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the United States in early 2020. As Dominique states, “[It was] a major switch just because everything, even auditions, was virtual. Then everything just [stayed] 99% virtual.”
Dominique and Danielle both agreed that switching over to a digital space for the dance industry has its ups and downs. As Dominique states, “It [can] give the artist and the dancer the space to build how they want to represent themselves. But I hate it in the sense that sometimes the numbers matter.”
She continues, mentioning how dancing via Instagram has sort of become a “numbers game.” As a result, despite social media platforms giving artists the ability to “build their brand” and “put more power in the actual artist,” factors like the algorithm play a key role in who’s being seen and who’s not.
As Dominique mentions, “I feel like there’s a lot more accessibility to find new people. But I do feel like I see the same faces not even in just dancers, but choreographers [as well]. I feel like they have a group and use the same people for a lot of things.”
In addition to this, one downside of the algorithm is that the more followers someone has, the more they’re being shown to other audiences, meaning we see the same people over and over again in comparison to smaller artists or influencers who may be working ten times as hard.
Dominique mentions how some artists even buy a large number of followers just to have that starting point to jump off of. This then creates an even bigger issue, making those who have money or those who have parents with money pay their way up to the forefront.
Despite all the downsides, Dominique and Danielle agree that there are some positives to turning to digital platforms as a means of casting in the dance industry. As Danielle states, “TikTok [is one of the sites] that gives a level playing field for everybody.” It allows artists to “grow organically,” whereas sites like those a part of the Meta universe, “you have to pump more money into” to see a noticeable change.
Social media also helps promote more dancers and connect them through communities in unimaginable ways never before we’ve been able to connect dancers and artists from around the world so easily, which makes sites like Instagram so beneficial to artists in the digital age.
Iman Brooks
The next artist I interviewed was Iman Brooks. As a dancer, choreographer, member of the Ladies of Hip-Hop organization, and assistant director of the VEN15 dance company, she has been working professionally in the industry for about seven years, since she was around 18 years old.
Similar to Dominique and Danielle, Iman believes the dance industry began to see a shift into the digital space during the pandemic. She put it best, stating, “We couldn’t see people, but we still needed to work.”
Nevertheless, we are now a couple of years into the 2020s and have watched the rise and fall of the pandemic. But things have remained consistent, and a majority of dance gigs and casting calls are all done online.
As Iman states, “No one wanted to go back to how it was before because it was so much easier to do castings and auditions and everything online.” Now more than ever, with the use of technology, she mentions how “[Dancers can do [anything] and audition [for anything] from anywhere in the world.”
The convenience of it all is definitely a huge plus. Iman mentions how technology gives artists the ability to “audition for things they would have never seen,” especially if they are independent and “not signed [to agencies],” similar to her. However, there are some cons to this as well.
The overall toxicity of sites like Instagram is where the negative side of dancing in the digital age starts to come in. As Iman states, Instagram can be “a lot of posting like ‘look what I’m doing’ and boasting,” leading other dancers to think to themselves that they’re “not doing enough” and begin second-guessing their capabilities. In reality, this makes posts on these sites seem like we’re valuing quantity over quality, which is not at all accurate.
Another con to online casting and job sites is the fact a lot of people have begun prioritizing followers over anything else. As Iman states, “I hate to say it, but these TikTok stars [are] booking these world tours [and] commercials [and] dance gigs [simply] because they have X amount of followers.”
She continued, stating, “I feel like it’s turning into a world of ‘eff the talent’… You can be talented all day long, but if you don’t got 10K [followers], you’re not [getting] booked. [And] it’s crazy, because [people] would rather work with somebody that has a bigger follower count that will hype up your work, [rather] than with someone that has actually been [wanting] to do this their whole life.”
With this, Iman agreed that the future of the dance industry is unclear. There are pros and cons to dance being so digital now, but if we stray too far from its origins, it may be too late to go back to things the way they were. As Iman states, “I honestly don’t know, but [it’s clear] it’s just a scary time for everybody, 100%.”
Kelly Peters
The final artist I interviewed was Kelly Peters, owner and creative director of Brickhouse NYC, one of New York’s only Black-owned and female-owned dance studios. He has been a part of the industry for over 35 years, starting his career off as a b-boy, performing for artists like Herbie Hancock and New Edition.
Since Kelly has been in the industry for a longer time than many others, he has watched the rise of social media and its impact occur in real time. He first saw the shift of dance to the digital space back in 2015 and 2016, which sort of spearheaded its way into an almost entirely remote platform by the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Kelly mentions how being asked to submit dancers for gigs via their headshot and Instagram tag heavily influenced the structure of his training program at Brickhouse NYC. It’s become so crucial to have a clean and professional Instagram because, as he mentions, “[No one] should have to scroll through [multiple] pictures of you and your friends [just] to find one video of you dancing.”
Instagram has become the easiest source to find and recruit dancers. With this, resumes can sometimes be lengthy and even deceitful. It provides a sort of clean slate for dancers. As Kelly states, “You’re either you’re dope, or you’re not, period, [regardless] of what your resume says. I know a lot of people that have a great resume who are average dancers.”
On sort of the flip side, Kelly brings up the point that Instagram can be more beneficial to dancers in comparison to the classic headshot and resume combination. As he states, “[Some] people can go in with a prejudice [on] who you are because of what your resume says. And that’s just really unfair to talented dancers who don’t have that kind of work experience yet.”
Instagram can be a fully customizable tool for dancers to showcase their work and overall artistry. As Kelly states, “Just because you have a lot on your resume doesn’t mean you’re a great dancer. It just means that maybe you have great connections. [But on Instagram], compared to somebody else who may not have a lot on their resume, you watch them dance and go, ‘Oh my God, they’re dope.’”
It's clear Instagram can also hold a lot of benefits when it comes to the dance industry. In addition to the customizable format of your profile, your commitment to your online persona, no matter how many followers you have, can be just as valued as the hours you commit to your dance training and persona. This allows others to see your work ethic and overall commitment to your craft all in one place, with evidence like photos and videos to back it up.
Kelly recalled a time when he went on a trip with a group of choreographers who were also all influencers. He mentioned how “throughout the whole trip, [they would] have to stop sometimes and buy certain items so they could do a TikTok when they got back to the hotel just for a brand deal.”
These “rigorous filming schedules,” as Kelly states, that dancers and choreographers put into their profiles on social media sites like Instagram and TikTok can be more effective than the classic resume at showcasing one’s skills and work ethic. Even on vacation, these artists are working overtime just to post on their social media sites and gain more followers, connections, and overall engagement.
As Kelly mentions, “That shit is tiring. That in itself is a hustle, just like anything else.” With this, it’s clear that although a lot of social media sites do have a downside when it comes to the dance industry, they can also be used for good and to promote dancers who may have never been given a shot in the past whether it was due to their headshot, resume, or both.
Overall, it’s evident that turning to social media sites like Instagram as a casting tool has its ups and downs, as does most things. However, Dominique, Danielle, Iman, and Kelly all agree that we need to start educating dancers more on how to present themselves on these platforms in order to be the best versions of themselves and stand out among the millions of other users attempting to do the same.
If things continue to go the way they currently are, we are going to see even more virtual castings and job applications that prioritize Instagram and social media profiles over headshots and resumes. Eventually, when the day comes and everything has gone fully virtual, we need to be prepared as dancers and artists to make our work matter not just in the real world but in the digital world as well.