Scott Kelly said it was his resume that went viral on TikTok, shocking him. Photo / Mile Cristobal, MidlineCode
Jen Wilson and her roommate were crying from joy and cheering at a Jonas Brothers concert in Buffalo when they saw something in the row before them on Sunday that made them burst into laughter.
A man was scrolling on his phone, looking at a PDF of a resume titled “Scott Kelly Resume Sept 2025”. Wilson took a video of the resume and posted it on TikTok that night, having no idea the cascade of events to follow.
The video took off, drawing more than 45 million views and tens of thousands of comments – including from the Jonas Brothers and major brands eager to join in. Many wished the resume owner well, while others jokingly claimed to know him. A few even falsely claimed to be him.
As the video amassed more fans, people began to ask: Who is Scott Kelly, and why was someone looking at his resume at a Jonas Brothers concert?
Even Kelly, 36, told the Washington Post that he didn’t know the answer to the second question.
Kelly said he was taking a virtual class at his Syracuse, New York, home for his Master’s of Business Administration programme on Monday night, when a friend texted him that he was going viral. Kelly didn’t have a TikTok account, he said, but he logged on and started his trial by fire.
“I would’ve bet every dollar I own … that this would never happen,” Kelly said.
A copy of Kelly’s two-page resume – outlining his experience working for a telecommunications company and serving in the US Army – that he provided the Post appeared to match the one shown in Wilson’s TikTok.
As Kelly scrolled on the app Tuesday for the first time, he began to piece together why companies were giving him on-brand compliments, like Old Navy writing he “dresses professionally,” Clorox calling him the “cleanest person I’ve ever met”, and skin care company Laneige saying he should be hired for his “hydrated skin”. Nick Jonas wrote that Kelly’s “work ethic and critical thinking inspired” him to write a lyric in the song Burnin’ Up.
Wilson, the TikTok poster, was sitting in KeyBank Centre’s lower-level seating area on Sunday night when she and her roommate, Randi Brod, noticed the man scrolling through the resume. Wilson recorded him – unbeknownst to the man, Brandon Bieron.
Bieron, president of New York’s Reimer Home Services, told the Post that he went to the concert with his wife, Ange, a Jonas Brothers fan, and his brother-in-law and sister-in-law. His company is considering expanding, he said, and a colleague found and emailed him Kelly’s resume on Sunday to flag a potential candidate.
“Talent waits for nobody,” said Bieron, 37. “And I started looking through it.”
Bieron said he scanned the resume for about a minute.
Wilson didn’t think about the resume most of the concert as she listened to the Jonas Brothers perform her favourite childhood songs, including Burnin’ Up, Lovebug, and When You Look Me In The Eyes. After the concert, Wilson, a sales manager at a Hyatt in Buffalo, posted the video on TikTok with the caption: “Good luck Scott Kelly. I hope you get the job”.
“There was always the hope in the back of my mind that the Jonas Brothers would see it, but I did not actually expect them to,” Wilson told the Post. “I really didn’t expect anything out of it.”
The video blew up the next day.
“Can confirm Scott can deliver,” Instacart commented.
“Scott Kelly has that drive,” Kia America wrote. “Hire him immediately.”
“Scott Kelly is always on time with the rent,” Monopoly added.
A man with the same name as Kelly wrote in the comments, “No job offer yet …”. But he said in a LinkedIn message that the resume shown in the video wasn’t actually his. Another man named Scott who discussed his job prospects in the comments spells his last name “Kelley” – clearly different from the resume title.
Kelly, who said he’s the real owner, wondered how someone got his resume. He said he hasn’t applied for a job recently, but found the supportive comments funny.
“It’s better than the opposite, for sure,” Kelly said. “It’s nice for folks to have that much faith in a stranger.”
Bieron, who said he’s not on TikTok, said a colleague texted him the video on Tuesday after recognising him. Bieron said the first question that popped into his mind was: “How’s Scott going to feel about this?”
Bieron said he contacted Kelly, who was embracing his newfound internet fame. Kelly said in his first TikTok: “Apparently folks are looking for Scott Kelly. Well, that’s me.” Kelly hopes the attention will lead to more listeners on his national security podcast, At the Water’s Edge.
Kelly is “gainfully employed” by his telecommunications company, he said, but his friends have joked that he would have a chance to receive any job he wants now because of his new references.
“My inbox is so flooded with opportunities right now,” Kelly said. “It’s hard to know where I’m going to start, but right now I’m working on growing my opportunities where I am.”
While Bieron and Kelly plan to get coffee on Friday, neither is expecting a job offer – although Bieron said he wants to “open up lines of communication” with the country’s new most coveted employee.
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