Hooks for career content: 52 real examples
These 52 hooks are about the thing that pays the rent: hiring, resumes, bad managers, raises, remote work and quitting. 35 of the 52 are LinkedIn post openers (the lines people read before they decide to expand a post), with 13 from TikTok and 4 from Instagram. They fit people who want a better job, career coaches, recruiters and anyone posting about their own working life.
Hooks by style
Hooks are grouped by style. All 52 come from Captain Hook's library of 761 classified real hooks. The library has no view counts, so treat every hook as a draft to adapt. None comes with a guarantee. Each card shows the platform and whether the creator said it out loud or put it on screen as text. LinkedIn hooks are written post openers.
Expert hooks (9)
Positions you as the authority. More Expert hooks
Did you know that 70% of HR professionals struggle with employee retention after the first 90 days
Expert · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
According to recent research, remote work burnout is on the rise
Expert · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Data shows that companies who invest in leadership development outperform their competitors by 20%
Expert · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
15+ million people quit their jobs since April of this year. The biggest threat to sales teams today isn’t losing clients. It’s losing people on the team. ESPECIALLY in startups.
Expert · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Negotiating a salary raise is scary. I've negotiated $200K+ in raises. 7 lessons to negotiate your next raise:
Expert · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Today I interviewed a 10 out of 10 candidate that immediately made me want to hire her, and I'm gonna tell you what she did well so you can do it too
Expert · TikTok · spoken
Things I don't wanna see in your resume in under a minute (as a recruiter)
Expert · TikTok · spoken
It took me 7 years to get to the product management journey, but let me tell you, you can start it right with a 6-month roadmap
Expert · Instagram Reels · spoken
"So you're telling me you're getting paid a buttload without knowing how to code? What do you even do?" This is Product Management casually explained
Expert · Instagram Reels · spoken
Personal hooks (15)
Builds connection, feels real. More Personal hooks
My 5 biggest struggles as a new manager were…
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
When I started my career in marketing, I had no idea what I was doing…
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
I’ll never forget the time I bombed a client pitch in front of 12 stakeholders and had to rebuild their trust from scratch
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Terrified? Absolutely. Ready? Not really. Worth it? 100%.
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
When I started off in my career in marketing, I was making under 75K.
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Most people think LinkedIn is just for resumes. But it’s so much more than that. Done right, it’s a platform for building your brand, growing your network, and generating leads.
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
4 years ago I took a bet.
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Negotiating a salary raise is scary. 7 lessons to negotiate your next raise:
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
A reminder to businesses: Maternity/paternity leave is not ‘a holiday’. It’s not ‘a nice break’ and it is not time off. It’s a heady cocktail of anticipation, expectation, arrival and survival.
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
War is over (finally got my first full time job offer)
Personal · Instagram Reels · on-screen text
I gave the biggest talk of my career this weekend. Not only was it the data science keynote, but also one of the closing speeches of the conference. And I was a nervous wreck the entire week leading up to the moment of stepping on stage.
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
If I retire tomorrow, I'll have zero regrets (a very personal post incoming)
Personal · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Another day leaving my daughter I took care of every single day for 10 hours. Tf is this planet bro
Personal · TikTok · on-screen text
Working remote makes you lose touch with reality. I've now been working remote for about a year, and I sometimes don't leave my house for WEEKS.
Personal · TikTok · spoken
Spend the day with me as a 24 year old product manager while I tell you how I got here from a Tier 3 college with no MBA
Personal · Instagram Reels · spoken
Suspense hooks (8)
Makes them watch til the end. More Suspense hooks
I almost quit my job because of a toxic manager who micromanaged everything, but then
Suspense · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
This is going to hurt. But the most valuable feedback often does.
Suspense · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Why I changed my profile pic
Suspense · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
I boarded a 14-hour flight to Asia, 100% convinced I was going to be fired when I landed.
Suspense · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
When a coworker does not have a life outside of work, there will always be signs
Suspense · TikTok · spoken
Here's the highest paying remote job you can do from anywhere. No degree, no experience, and no social media following required (and you can do it in 1-3 hours/day).
Suspense · TikTok · spoken
If there is only one piece of resume advice you ever take from me, please, let it be this. This is the absolute best resume hack that I can give to anyone, and I've said it a million times, but I had a hiring manager this morning tell me how much they love that we've been adding this to resumes, so reminded me I need to say it again.
Suspense · TikTok · spoken
Things on a resume that typically won't pass an ATS
Suspense · TikTok · on-screen text
Hot Take hooks (7)
Sparks comments and debate. More Hot Take hooks
Work from Thailand if you want. Switch off your Slack notifications to focus. Leave that work meeting early if you aren't needed. Take a few hours off to do Personal admin. Schedule that skiing holiday. As long as you get the work done, I genuinely could not care less.
Hot Take · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Is anyone still actually debating work from home options?
Hot Take · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
The 9 to 5 is getting pummeled. The great resignation is growing faster than ever. And I love it. Why?
Hot Take · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
We hired an 18 year old as an intern. And he's killing it.
Hot Take · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Looking for a good paycheck isn't a bad thing. Money matters when finding a job.
Hot Take · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
I'm the most average bloke ever. - I don't wake up at 5am. - I have not been to the gym in ages. - I don't have a million dollars in my bank.
Hot Take · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
The dumbest interview question I've gotten asked is "What's your most controversial opinion?" ????
Hot Take · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Chaotic hooks (2)
Relatable messy energy. More Chaotic hooks
I honestly can't be the only one experiencing this but are you ever at work, and they're coming at you for something and quite literally you're like "I literally don't care"
Chaotic · TikTok · spoken
I'm not allowed to share this but my HR friend revealed the ONLY resume format that survives the 2025 job market
Chaotic · TikTok · on-screen text
Call Out hooks (7)
Hits a nerve. More Call Out hooks
"We are hiring", "Join our team", "Here are our open positions". If this is the way you're communicating your job ads on LinkedIn, you are losing candidates. Here's why:
Call Out · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
80% of LinkedIn is networking backwards 🤷🏻♀️ People will HATE this post. But I'm calling it out regardless.
Call Out · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Harsh truth about hustle culture: It’s not sustainable.
Call Out · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Let’s kill the fantasy. AI isn’t replacing real software engineers anytime soon. Stop letting LinkedIn influencers with zero build experience convince you otherwise.
Call Out · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
"Women don't like sales". No. You're wrong.
Call Out · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
I see some stupid shit on Linkedin, here are the 3 worst:
Call Out · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Stop wasting time searching for jobs on Fiverr! These 10 Websites can help you land a job in 30 days:
Call Out · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Humble Brag hooks (3)
Shows wins without being obnoxious. More Humble Brag hooks
5 countries in 10 days. All thanks to LinkedIn. (No, this is not a "me, me, me" post → it's a lesson)
Humble Brag · LinkedIn · post opener (text)
Omg dude I'm 25 years old and I'm making $12K being in Aruba, right now. Like I can't make this shit up.
Humble Brag · TikTok · spoken
i wish we could put running fan accounts on our resumes bc wdym i have no experience when i was literally a social media manager, editor AND news outlet at 13
Humble Brag · TikTok · on-screen text
POV hooks (1)
Pulls viewers into the scene. More POV hooks
POV: you're the office baddie hired to do nothing but serve face
POV · TikTok · on-screen text
What these 52 hooks have in common
- 35 of the 52 are LinkedIn post openers, written to be read on a feed.
- Personal is the biggest style (15 hooks): a first-person story from someone's own job. Career posts tend to read as advice; a real story is what makes yours feel different.
- 26 include a number: salaries, years, raises, days.
Write hooks for your niche
Found a hook you like? Let the AI Hook Generator write fresh ones for your own career topic, so you start from a draft instead of a blank screen. Pick TikTok, Instagram or LinkedIn, spoken or on-screen text, and a style. Each generation gives you three hook angles. Free to start, no card needed.
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