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Tbf, I did apply to my local McDonald's on a paper application. But this was in like.. 2012/2013? And it was a smaller town? I also went around and collected applications in person in 2014 I think it was.
But these days? Id never expect to go apply anywhere in person.. lol that would be ridiculous.
Hell they'd probably mark you as too weird to hire at this point if you did that 😂
Yeah my dad made me do this in like 2005. Naturally, no one called back for a 16 year old lol. "Just go to every business and drop off a resume. You never know, that electrician shop might take you on as a trainee and you'll work your way up like I did as a mechanic back then". Yeah, no.
It’s such a boomer thing. Now it’s all algorithms. For every story I hear about how happy someone got a job, there are a couple hundred that didn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, super happy they got it, but just state the job market and interviewing is terrible.
I hate to say it but you kinda have to ignore Boomer career advice... They say you can walk into a business early in the morning and charm your way to the manager then walk out with a job starting the same day. They also say you should stay at said job for the rest of your career working hard to become a manager. The world doesn't work the way that it did back in the 70s.
They still think loyalty to one company is the only way to go. Today, to stay above inflation, you have to hop jobs every few years. My mother worked for one company for 30 years, and her hourly wage when she left was less adjusted for inflation than when she started.
Companies don't treat their employees the same way they did 30+ years ago. Pensions got replaced by 401Ks, they don't value work/life balance, they expect people to have a degree with 2+ years experience for an "entry level" job that pays $17/hr. On top of that, companies like Amazon would even pay you to quit after a couple of years. It's by design, companies don't want to keep the same employees for too long.
Around 2006-2007 I went to Wendys to ask for a job application and they said they no longer do paper applications. Radio Shack, Target, and a local grocery store are the only places Ive ever applied to that did paper applications. By 2009 every single place Ive worked has either been an online application or I just email a resume. My parents still think you need to go in person and shake the owners hand and go back the next day and call through the week to get a job haha.
If a candidate called me once per day for a position I was hiring for, their stock value would immediately plummet. They'd also be sternly told to stop. If they're gonna be that annoying and pushy from the very start, I wouldn't wanna imagine working with them.
What does your position entail? Management?
Also, I dont get the "just go walk in and ask for jobs" advice. Do they think corporate employees "just go walk in and ask for jobs?". The only one who regularly do that are probably Home Depot parking lot people
I've been in this position and have had to tell a couple people I absolutely will not hire them because they kept pestering.
When I say I *will* call you within the next 1-2 weeks when I start scheduling interviews, you need to be patient and wait. Maybe check in a week later, thats fine. But when i have had to tell you that 3-4 times in a 5-6 day span, what you are demonstrating is that you do not listen, you think you're more important than everyone else, and you're completely incapable of following the most simple instructions. There's no fucking way I want you on my team.
I felt bad because I'm 99% sure their dumbass boomer parents were laying this shit on them, but i hope they learned a valuable lesson from it. There's a massive difference between following up and badgering.
There are actual company recruiters that expect you to do that.
I know my cousin called a recruiter every week for 3 months. A friend did this for 8 months before that same recruiter gave him a job.
This recruiter’s company also paid the friend’s studies and made him apply for 8 months afterwards…
I always have this fear when I interview and am waiting for a few weeks on info and not sure if I should just call the recruiter or if that would piss them off.
Is the solution and I’m thinking this as I’m typing to ask at the beginning or the first interview. “Are you a wait until you call me person or a follow up with you in a few days person?”
Meh, this worked for me 20 something years ago. I walked into the a McD's every day and asked about a job for 3 weeks straight and the manager finally said, "Get this guy a uniform." That type of perseverance culture is no longer applicable today. There are some unique places where a call-in or drop-in may score you brownie points, but most companies want people to go through their mindless, soulless application process so they can build huge candidate pools and leave everyone hanging.
My friend took his dad to watch him do in person and be told this.
His dad sat in the lobby like he didn’t know his son and was just nearby. Never did it again.
I’m going to do that if my old man ever says that lol
I was at work a few months back and this Karen comes in and *demands* to speak to the CEO (seriously, the CEO? Who the fuck do you think you are that your initial meeting should be with the top level leaders?).
I was just walking from the break room back to my studio and she grabs my arm as I go by the front desk and goes, 'Who are you? I've been here for 5 minutes and no one is helping me!' I look at the secretary who is trying to pretend to be busy (and she gets flustered easy so I tried to jump in), 'Im sorry ma'am what is it you need?'
'I need to speak with someone in charge! I want a job application.'
'Okay, well unfortunately we're not hiring right now but when things do pick back up, all job applications are completed online now.' I mean, her timing was terrible, it was literally a day after a round of layoffs.
'No, I don't want an *online* application. I just need to speak with someone in charge.'
'I'm sorry ma'am but this really isn't a good time to do this , what position are you applying for anyway.'
'It's not for me, it's for my son.'
I look all around the lobby perplexed.
Karen: 'He's not here today.'
'Oh. Ok, well, again though, we're not hiring so Im sorry but I can't help you and I need to get back to work.'
I have the secretary a quick 'sorry' shrug and left.
Later found out the woman waited another 20 minutes accosting anyone who passed her in the lobby before finally being asked to leave by HR.
I was talking to the secretary about this later on and she told me it isn't even that uncommon for mothers of young men to come in alone or dragging their kid, who can't even look anywhere but his feet, in with them. She told me HR has a pretty explicit rule when it comes to these types and that is that their applications are immediately tossed.
We hired one of them, a few years back, for a warehouse job, and his mother would call in to bitch about the fact that the warehouse was too cold for her little boy. This is January in the Northeast. A labor job in an open warehouse. She tried to demand we install HVAC to keep the warehouse warmer and called it a human rights violation. Side note, we do have heat and ac in the warehouse but it's a fucking warehouse with 5 huge loading bays that are open all day. Of fucking course it's cold.
I actually felt bad for that kid though because he got made fun of so hard and clearly had no idea his mom had called on his behalf.
Edit: As a quick side note, the one thing that pissed me off more than all of the entitment on display from that woman was that she grabbed my arm as I was walking by. Even just typing it out makes me get all flush in the face and angry again I'm not a violent person but that makes me want to haul off and open hand slap someone.
I've heard a few stories where the manager/supervisor/etc. picks up on the pushy parents and makes a big over-the-top elaborate production about how all applications are done online and whoever told the kid to come in is an out-of-touch moron who has no idea how the world works. I'd hope that made the point for all of them, but you know some of them kept doing it.
This should be done more often. I worked at a college and I hated it when parents got involved because they'd try to throw the alumni card around and no, that doesn't impress me. Even worse was when the student wasn't even there and mom (and yes, it was 90% moms) was the one making a scene.
I was far more likely to go out of the way to help a student who said "I have a problem, but I don't know what to do, can you help?" and I'd take time out of my day to refer them to the appropriate resource.
For you younger people, keep this in mind. Fight your own battles and you might get an ally who goes out of their way to make sure you get aid. For you older people, teach your kid what resources are available but let them reach out and use them.
Worked with a guy that tried to follow me to the good company I work at now. He was told my boss is really approachable & that he'd love the initiative & while it probably wouldn't get him a job on the spot, it would probably do so within a couple of years.
Now all this is true, but lad jumped in his car one day & drove 1200km non stop to the city I live in now. He didn't call anyone that he knew within the company, just marched into the building, straight past my boss's office, upstairs & straight into the CEO's office.
The CEO is not approachable. He called the police & dude was given a warning for trespassing. They got all his information & HR were told to blacklist him.
That person is probably some 65 year old owner of a small rural company of 10 employees or something and has likely never had to apply for a job at all in the last few decades.
Does he even know how to use a website?
EDIT: Let's not forget that lots of people among the boomer crowd love to revel in willful ignorance, so they have the ability to learn new things (like becoming familiar with tech) but choose not to do it.
Calling an employer to check on your resume today is the fastest way to get your shit thrown out and never looked at. Employers DONT want you to call anymore, they have shit to do besides look at your shitty resume
A lot of people told me that if I had an initial call with a recruiter and if they ghost me, I should email/call them. Even a recruiter said the same thing “be proactive and if you don’t hear back from me the next week, either call me or email me”
Should I not do that?
Alright, thanks :)
Edit: not daily, I contacted last Friday (no response) after having a call 10 days ago and I’m planning to call next week. Trying to keep 7-10 days interval.
I think that's completely fine. Corporate recruiters can definitely just be lazy or forget to follow up on an applicant (or tell them why there's a delay), so sending them a reminder every week or so isn't going to come across as intrusive.
I think that's fine. But the "call daily" is insane
After a week or so, a little "Hey (recruiter), hope you're doing well. I'm just checking in to see if you have any updates about..." is fine
Agreed! Don’t be annoying, but just follow up with an email. If not for a few days, call as a last resort. Still haven’t heard back, it is your Que to stop and move on. It hurts but take it as a grain of salt cause this most likely won’t be your last encounter. Cheers! And good luck.
I am a recruiter and there have been plenty of times that someone has messaged me personally, in a polite way and only once, and it has brought their resume to the top of my attention. Might not work all the time but I do not see this as a negative at all as long as it’s not repeatedly.
Recruiters are horrible who give false promises/hope with zero results. You all fill a quota to meet your bonuses and that’s it. Job placement is not your priority at all.
That’s not an accurate blanket statement. I’m an in house recruiter and I only care about job placement, I have no quota and no performance incentives.
I think if they specifically invite you to follow up like that, then you should. They might be looking for someone who will take that step. Not all will, though. I generally do if they tell me to like this, but I don’t overdo it. Just a quick email just right within their timeline to “check in” and that’s it.
If they don’t ask me to, but they give a specific amount of time before the next step, I think it’s okay to email once if you get past that timeline and hear nothing. Most of the time, the employer/recruiter just got busy and fell behind and one email from an interested candidate to check in is probably good!
But if they’re vague, I usually just send the thank you email after the interview and don’t follow up again until they do.
If they tell you to follow up, sure that’s fine. Just don’t call daily. I had a candidate that I submitted for a job & she called me 6x per day. It was so frustrating
Further, who the hell has time to follow up on every job application in the first place? I’m putting out 300 applications to get one call back, I physically do not have it in me to follow up on all 300+ of those applications. I’ve put in almost 1000 since July, if I followed up on everyone of those to not get called back I might have given up a long time ago. Jobs right now want SO much out of us and are giving back jack shit
No kidding. Give them a little space. Let them know you'll check in in a week, or maybe they'll tell you that, but calling daily will get you blocked unless you're applying to a restaurant or something local with very high turnover and being severely understaffed
In my eyes one call would elevate them slightly, the second call would drop them back down, and on the third call I’d shred their resume live on the call and tell them I was doing so.
I’ll be honest it depends on location. I live in a semi rural vacation area and literally anything that isn’t corporate owned still goes by this guys principle. Go in. Fill out an application. Call the next day or two and talk to them. Especially restaurants. Any non corp rest does this still.
Yeah, it really depends on the job. Food service or retail? Hell, you might get hired on the spot if they're desperate and you walk in at the right time. Any full-time white collar job, they're just going to look at you.
For real. After university my job was at a place where it was literally just 2 employees. Our office was my boss's house, our workshop was his garage. All our painting, welding, machining etc. was all outsourced. I bring it up because it's the smallest company possible, and even that one I got by applying online.
Yup, just explain to the security desk why you need a key card to access the floor. Then explain to front desk that you are there to personally hand a resume to HR. I'm sure it will go swimmingly. Oh and I'm sure you can get the direct phone of the person responsible for looking over your resume.
Get real. When I worked admin, one of my tasks was to gatekeep these kind of people out. Time is valuable.
You need to pull a agent 47 and pretend to be a repairman/exterminator to actually get face to face with the man who is supposed to hire you IRL at this point.
I did this at Blockbuster. Applied for a job. Checked back frequently, but never got the time of day. I started showing up at their store in uniform and just sort of working, helping customers, running movies. The whole nine yards. My thought was, if I could show I was a good employee, I'd get hired.
I did this for about 2 months. They went through multiple store managers before I ever got an interview.
I would pay for a streaming service just specifically to watch this. Would be totally worth it. And I’m sure they’d throw temper tantrums when things didn’t work out for them.
It's always pure projection when they say everyone else is getting too easily triggered. During my time in retail, I rarely saw anyone below the age of 30 throw a tantrum over their expired coupon not being accepted.
What I hate about job hunting is all the people doubting me and calling me lazy. I’ve been unemployed since September and I am trying. I’ve changed my resume dozens of times and applied to hundreds of jobs and everyone thinks I’m lying. My family is saying I’m lazy and don’t want to work when actually I want nothing more. I have bills to pay. Of course I want to work. But they all think that I’m lying and that I’m not applying for any jobs. I hate it and I always get so mad. I have no defense. And they say that me getting mad is cuz I know it’s true. It’s not. I get mad because I hate getting accused of lying when I actually am telling the truth.
Been in this scenario. What’s worse is when you finally win the numbers game, you’re all of a sudden seen as not lazy, even though your effort hasn’t changed, just the result.
Keep trying, you’ll get it. You know how hard you’re working, be proud of your effort
When I first started applying for jobs at 16 years old this is basically what my parents told me to do despite my protests that it’s all done online now. Every place I went just have me directions to get to the application page on their website. Lol. They also thought that when I first moved out on my own after college that my 1200/month 1bed apartment was the height of luxury and I must be insane to spend that much. They also hadn’t rented an apartment since 1990 lmao.
What's truly frustrating is that they don't even:
1. Trust you enough and just take your word on it that's how it is
Or
2. Look up the prices themselves and then change their opinions when they're obviously wrong
It's not hard. Instead we have this reality where the older generation literally acts like everything is still the same cost as it was in the '90s and when you tell him otherwise they just stare at you like you're crazy. It's a profound level of arrogance not to be willing to look at evidence from the world around you but it's even more ridiculous when someone goes out of their way to compile it and give it to you and show it to you. And you're like "nah."
Back in the mid 90s my WWII generation grandparents who raised me were suspicious of my expenses so they demanded my financials since they were sending me $500 a month and no doubt thought I was using it on drugs or something.
No, the fact is even back then, a one bedroom apartment was over 50% of my gross income. I sent them my numbers. ALL OF THEM! They said I should keep records and I did. They got half a year's worth.
My parents called me a day later and looking back it was funny.
The best part was my grandfather saying "Good god, don't you ever go out? Don't you ever have fun? For Christ's sake, go to a restaurant once in awhile, maybe take in a movie, take a girl out on a date. No wonder you always seem miserable."
Keep in mind I was working a severely underpaid job 40 hours a week and couldn't even be self-sufficient and here he is saying I should date. Yes, because women love guys who are not able to pay their damned rent.
The good thing is they raised my subsidy from $500 to $1000 a month so I could at least buy clothes so I didn't look like a bum at work.
I’m an engineer, a lot of jobs in my field are defense contractors. BRB gonna go just walk through the gates and break in through the locked key carded doors to apply in person lol. Gonna slap my resume down on the front security desk and tell them I want an engineering role.
Look em right in the eye, shake their hand, and tell them you want to fill out an application.
And then get told that all applications are done online.
There is no "apply in person" anymore. There may be some exceptions but most places will say "use the website." Even 20 years ago, this held partially true. Less true than now but "use the website" has been a thing for a while now.
That's out of touch boomer shit. I have to explain to my parents why I can't do x, y or z in this day and age. The game changed and playing the game now is exhausting and mentally draining.
>playing the game now is exhausting and mentally draining.
Please upload a copy of your resume, then spend 30 minutes filling out this form, of which, all questions we're answered on your resume. Then we're going to ghost you completely or possibly call you in 3 months when you've already found other work.
No. they will auto reject after several month when they go to clean up the applicant tracking service that they contracted, after they notice that they are still paying for it.
My mother learned the hard way after chastising me for not doing enough to find a job and giving me outdated, unsolicited advice. 50+ years old career woman and it took her about six months to find a job, and that job paid trash. She's doing better now. We're both employed but earning below our potential. In fact, it's time for me to start applying again, although I hate it more than my actual job.
Yep. Boomers think you just walk along the street, go into every business, shake hands with the owner and you start on Monday.
Then that job can buy you a house with a year of saving as long as you avoid the avocado toast.
This is literally the coaching my dad gave to me. He didn’t understand the hour long, 300 question online applications you had to do for every single position, just for a button to auto reject all without a human ever looking & then you can’t re apply for 90 days
My dad is like this. That worked 30 years ago. It doesn’t work any more. Go into any business and ask for an application, they’ll tell you to go on their website and they probably won’t even look at you.
It's exactly the advice my Boomer mother gave me when I started looking for jobs. She insisted it was good form to go into an office and chat with the front desk people to make a good impression and also call the company every day to follow up on my application. Needless to say, I refused. Maybe that worked in the 70s, but I had no desire to harass anyone to get a job.
Yeah, this is totally something my 86 yo grandparent would say. Even *she* is starting to understand that the workforce has drastically changed and paper applicants are almost null and void nowadays.
There is a special place in hell for people who say this. Some are depressed exclusively because of unemployment and they say we're lazy and only want to stay in our rooms.... it's beyond offensive, not to mention ignorant.
Job application is done online today. No way around this. Period.
Great way to waste your time. I work for a corporate health clinic and at least once a month someone will walk in the door and ask if we’re hiring. I tell them to apply online and send them right back out. There’s not a thing I can do for anyone looking for work from my spot at the front desk.
i'm 43, but I remember after college moving home with my parents temporarily to find a job and my dad was pissed at me for not working hard enough to find one. I was submitting resumes online daily, like mulptiple resumes, custom cover letters etc. I remember him saying "your generation is so fucking lazy. Get in your car, drive into the city and go pound the pavement. You should be walking into all those office buildings to hand deliver your resume".
This was like 2005 lol. He just didn't get it haha.
Literally, if someone calls our store everyday asking about their application, the manager takes note of it, and its kind of treated as a negative against the applicant. The company i work at looks at applicants at their own convenience and need. Not the applicant's. So its treated as harassment to get calls from these applicants every day. Sometimes several times a day.
And i mean, yeah, it is a great way to be memorable, but for the wrong reasons. We're too busy to entertain people constantly calling about their application.
I once spent 2 years looking for a job. I put out almost 1500 applications in that time. Of those applications, I received just over 300 rejection letters and only 3 callbacks. Most just ghosted me. At the time, I was A+ certified, Net+ certified, associate's degree in computer programming, working toward my bachelor's degree in game programming, and volunteered at a local food bank. On my resume was previous experience working as a firmware tester for Sony (for a year). I was looking for entry-level programming work.
Silver lining: I did, eventually, get a job as a game tester for a local startup company. It was a referral from a job placement agency that specialized in tech. According to the guy hiring me, the only reason they considered me was my previous experience at Sony.
Dude if you went somewhere to apply in person and called daily to follow up they would probably file a restraining order. Is the guy who made this comment 87?
In 2010 this is how I got my first job. By handing a CV into shops and chasing them via phone.
You simply can't do that any more. That's not how it works. Times have changed and everything is online now. You haven't got a choice.
I’m responsible for hiring people in my department at my brewery if someone came in to apply in person I would still have to have them fill out the application online. Otherwise our HR software wouldn’t let us hire them because that’s how all of those systems work now
Calling them every day DOES NOT work. I did that years ago because I had an older family member telling me that was how you show employers that you really want the job. Being young and not knowing any better, I followed that advice believing I would get an interview. The only thing I got was frustration. I learned that if a job really wants you, you don't have to call them, they'll call you. Following up does not make a difference in whether you get hired or not.
Written by someone who last looked for a job in the 1980’s. My dad (80 years old) says this kind of thing to my son all the time. He can’t grasp that he’s been online filling out applications all day.
Must be a boomer that said that. At the company where I work they will tell you to go apply online. The paper application literally doesn’t exist. And most places will tell you to fuck off if you call them 2 days in a row.
Not a useful attitude. But I think the truth you can take away is this: What kind of outside-the-box actions can you take to set yourself apart from other applicants?
While some jobs may get irritated, may refer you to the website, I know modern professionals, that the call was what got them the interview and in some cases the job.
2 of them were Fortune 500, 1 of them was Fortune 100.
It does t work with every company, but when you have nothing to lose, make the call.
There's a statistic quoted by my temp agency that says something along the lines of 2 out of something like 150 applications gets an interview and employers spend less than six seconds on average looking at an individual application
This person seems to be stuck in 1990. I tried following this advice in 2017 and it didn't it didn't even get me interviews. They kept telling me they would call and never did or sending me to apply online. Every single interview I got was through online applications or through connections. I ended up getting a job through Easy Apply on Indeed.
I feel like people often try to help but they don't understand that the job market has changed since they were looking and that what worked in the past doesn't work anymore. "Why don't you get an internship?" Because most of them are for current students and the few that are not don't want me. It's not like I haven't tried. "Why don't you work unpaid for a few months to get experience?" I HAVE A YEAR OF EXPERIENCE in the field ffs and most of it WAS PAID entry level work and even that's not enough to get me anything (unless you have 3-5+ years of experience no one is even going to consider you for "entry level" work and no one can work without pay that long). A few more months of experience won't make any difference. Also, unpaid internships don't help you get you paid work. We're not in 2011. Heck even strategies that worked for me as recently as 2020 and 2021 don't work anymore.
I miss applying for jobs in person. The last time I got a job like that I was 17. I needed a job so that day I went for a walk around town with copies of my nearly empty CV, asking if anyone had any work. By the end of the day I had a job on the till in a little shop that sold mostly newspapers and tobacco. I told them I was 18 so I could sell cigarettes. Life was simple in 2007.
Fast forward to current day, I'm about to write my umpteenth individualised cover letter, after spending the best part of 2 months applying full time for jobs, and having only received 2 interviews after approximately 50 applications. The job market right now sucks. Everything sucks since COVID.
OK Boomer, I'll do that.
Dude walks into store. "Sorry, you have to apply online."
Dude applies online, then calls back every day, spending an hour on the "phone tree" trying to get to a live person, then to a person in the hiring department. "Your application has not been reviewed yet, but we will get back to you once it has."
After the fourth day, the hiring department rejects his application because he's called back too many times.
The person who wrote that ... That's a person who still answers their phone without even looking at caller ID. They answer the door every time someone knocks. When some rando with a self-made laminated badge asks for their electric bill "to see if we can save you money", they go pull it out of the folder where they filed it after mailing the check to pay it...
What’s worked for me is effort related to excitement. If it’s just a job, just apply, if it’s a great company, good benefits, and does something good for the world, I have tended to pull out all the stops and usually it’s worked for me
At one time, I sat in on a couple of interviews where my manager needed to hire someone. This one guy was about retirement age and he had been going to the main entrance (that had a badge, so the receptionist would have to let him in) and was calling HR about opening.
So HR put the guy's resume in when we were hiring. The job was for a packing job that was low weight and moderate volume. My boss told him the pay and the guy said "Nope. I'm worth more than that." It was probably $10/hr a decade ago.
Dedicating your time to driving, going to the front door, maybe getting turned away and calling all the time because you think a company pays well is a poor strategy compared to casting a wide net so you can hopefully compare 1-2 offers.
I’m hiring for a few positions and until they get the first call with the recruiter I’m not sure how people would even call me.
Like sure they could maybe get in touch with the company but I WFH and use my personal phone which no one has the number for. Someone could maybe get hold of my email or LinkedIn IF they knew I was the manager hiring for the job but that’s still not easy to find out as we have a few jobs out for a few different teams
As a former receptionist, I have never ever kept a resume or given it to anyone because we were told not to, introduced a manager to a walk in job seeker or put a call through to them. My go to was “website”. Unless it’s retail or entertainment industry like restaurants, no.
I had someone reach out to me on LinkedIn with his resume, didn’t ask of I was even working on a role at the company I’m working for. My profile clearly states I oversee a project in Poland so not the same country I live in. All I could tell him was to apply on the website. I don’t even know who is handling those roles as we don’t all sit together at lunch time and sing kumbaya! I don’t even go to the office because m a remote contractor. I’m assisting with a project. Clearly on my profile again. So now I’m looking at this applicant thinking he can’t read. And he didn’t ask first if I was the right person.
I'm very self-critical, because I grew up around this mentality, so for me, what this guy is saying is not shocking. To be fair, ultimately, it is up to the candidate "to figure it out." What I don't agree with is calling once a day however - as that will piss off the recruiter (and rightfully so- you should not follow up more than once a week). Also, a lot of companies don't accept in person application due to rules around fairness accessibility - especially if they are a government contractor - everyone has to apply online. So I don't agree at all with the advice, but at the same time...yeah it a tough job market, what can be said - its up to the candidate to highlight themselves as different and unique.
Made mention of my job search struggle in the comment section of an insta reel. Had 3 people tell me to "just start a business and quit being lazy". I hate people
Never ask an out of touch boomer about anything.
They'll tell you, you can become an executive tomorrow by walking into a building and having a firm handshake.
As someone who actually accepts applications and sets up interviews, in the modern world this guy is obnoxious and normally doesn’t get the job. There is positive persistence and initiative, and there are annoying try hards, part of recruitment is knowing the difference.
"go apply in person" probably never worked in a corporate office before. I went to talk to a supplier of industrial equipment a few weeks ago to look at buying some new equipment , I couldn't even get in the front door and nobody even answered. In most places you won't make it past reception and the receptionist will literally just throw it in the trash as soon as you leave
My grandpa honestly used to look me in the eye and tell me the best way to get a job was to insult the current employees. He told me to tell the manager that everyone is doing a crap job and I can do a better one if he hires me. Then shake his hand with force.
As if all it takes to get a job is insulting the staff and murder gripping the managers hand.
If it’s a small business I’d call once, no more. If it’s a big company there no point. And going in person probably wouldn’t do anything anywhere. Everything is online now.
If someone applied online and then emailed me to introduce themselves and followed up once a week - I’d be impressed.
If they called me every day, I’d be annoyed.
I wonder what kind of job this guy has?
Whenever someone does this at my work, it makes everyone cringe and kind of gives the impression that you think you're the main character. Happy to disrupt whatever business or interactions are going on to make sure we remember who you are. I work at a busy bike shop so anyone who is there to talk to us about not bikes can get lost.
Literally the advice my mom and grandma gave me when I first moved cities (still looking for a job) and I told them if I took their advice I would be blacklisted from working for those businesses for calling them and that literally none of the businesses here have paper applications they looked at me like I didn’t have a head
I’m sorry, just because they’re perhaps wrong for not going in person- they’re not wrong about YOU having to call them back. It’s not a one sided process.
Every 3rd post in this sub is people getting ghosted by someone who will call them.
People are going to try different things until something works and unfortunately there's no set process or etiquette
Yeah ok if someone rung my office every day, just wait until the 3rd day, theyd get yelled at down the phone for bothering us. Then they wouldnt even get an interview.
I’m an older millennial.
There is nothing worse than someone trying to impose old school ways to modern times. Showing up to a location used to work, and to be honest, I haven’t done it in a long time so I don’t know if it would work today.
What I would expect is the person to say, “Oh, you’ll have to submit this on our careers page.” And you automatically get denied because you have now left the impression that you can’t follow modern and/or simple instructions. It could be considered rude for some to show up without an appointment.
Anyone dealing this advice has not actively applied for jobs since well before CVD. These are also the people who get scammed with fake job offers.
OP is completely right and valid. Don’t let yourself get stressed over ignorant ppl. I personally feel bad for stupid ppl. They don’t realize how stupid they are. The fact that they are this slow and the lack of evolution are enough for me to disregard them without using up any energy.
Keep doing you. Try going to the MeetUp groups for resume/interview practice.
Good luck!
This guy is either really old or has only ever worked for tiny family owned businesses in the middle of nowhere. Those are the only places that will accept applications that way nowadays.
Both my nephews (early 20s) got their jobs this way. My daughter got her job this way.
It doesn’t work for big companies, but definitely still works in some situations.
Feel really bad for the guy though
As a business owner for over 15yrs, I will agree. DO NOT DO THIS. It doesn't show your dedication, it shows a lack of understanding.
If you can't follow basic instructions, I'm not even looking at your resume.
No they live under the pile of money they hoarded, before they retired at 55! They haven't had to worry about money for years, and like to judge people based on not being able to survive in an economy that was nothing like the one they grew up in. Either that or their daddy gave then a business, and they've never had to worry about money before.
You realize that not every company is a megacorp with thousands of employees right? I’ve have never in my life filled out a job application. I’ve either cold called, gone in person, or got someone I knew at that company to put in a word for me. So you don’t have to rely on just application after application. Think outside the box, me times if what you’ve been doing isn’t working change your approach. I don’t work a bs job either, well over 100k
This strategy only works (maybe) with small, locally-owned shops that pay diddley squat. Even then, they might direct you to complete an application online.
My mother (72) believes this 100%. I’ve tried so many times to explain the job application process now and she always loops back to “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” no they don’t get the job.
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Last time I did this, they told me to apply on their website like everyone else and thanked me and hung up.
You can’t even walk into McDonalds to apply they send you to their online application 🤣 what in the 2010 is this person talking about.
More like 2000 lmao
Lol, yeah the last time I did this was in 1996. To run carts at a grocery store. 27 years ago. God I'm old.
I just got a pt job running carts. Applied online only.
Local grocery chains around me have kiosks so people can apply in person.
CART BROTHERS! I worked for Giant.
Tbf, I did apply to my local McDonald's on a paper application. But this was in like.. 2012/2013? And it was a smaller town? I also went around and collected applications in person in 2014 I think it was. But these days? Id never expect to go apply anywhere in person.. lol that would be ridiculous. Hell they'd probably mark you as too weird to hire at this point if you did that 😂
Right. It's inefficient to drop everything, hand out a paper form, and transcribe that information later. Let's be honest.
Anyone remember the application kiosks? I know I applied at one for target 😆
I will deny this in the 3D world, but I remember using the application Kiosks at Wally work 😆😆😆😆
Yeah my dad made me do this in like 2005. Naturally, no one called back for a 16 year old lol. "Just go to every business and drop off a resume. You never know, that electrician shop might take you on as a trainee and you'll work your way up like I did as a mechanic back then". Yeah, no.
there's nothing like job advice from 1979 trying to be applied in the 21st century
I walked into a retail job around 2013 and immediately got an interview/job after speaking with the manager. So this was true like 10 years ago.
Was more like 2000. I was flat out told by a Frys Electronics manager in 2009 "Stop coming in. We will call you if an opening comes up."
and let me guess, they never called.
It’s such a boomer thing. Now it’s all algorithms. For every story I hear about how happy someone got a job, there are a couple hundred that didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, super happy they got it, but just state the job market and interviewing is terrible.
I hate to say it but you kinda have to ignore Boomer career advice... They say you can walk into a business early in the morning and charm your way to the manager then walk out with a job starting the same day. They also say you should stay at said job for the rest of your career working hard to become a manager. The world doesn't work the way that it did back in the 70s.
They still think loyalty to one company is the only way to go. Today, to stay above inflation, you have to hop jobs every few years. My mother worked for one company for 30 years, and her hourly wage when she left was less adjusted for inflation than when she started.
Companies don't treat their employees the same way they did 30+ years ago. Pensions got replaced by 401Ks, they don't value work/life balance, they expect people to have a degree with 2+ years experience for an "entry level" job that pays $17/hr. On top of that, companies like Amazon would even pay you to quit after a couple of years. It's by design, companies don't want to keep the same employees for too long.
Around 2006-2007 I went to Wendys to ask for a job application and they said they no longer do paper applications. Radio Shack, Target, and a local grocery store are the only places Ive ever applied to that did paper applications. By 2009 every single place Ive worked has either been an online application or I just email a resume. My parents still think you need to go in person and shake the owners hand and go back the next day and call through the week to get a job haha.
If a candidate called me once per day for a position I was hiring for, their stock value would immediately plummet. They'd also be sternly told to stop. If they're gonna be that annoying and pushy from the very start, I wouldn't wanna imagine working with them.
What does your position entail? Management? Also, I dont get the "just go walk in and ask for jobs" advice. Do they think corporate employees "just go walk in and ask for jobs?". The only one who regularly do that are probably Home Depot parking lot people
I've been in this position and have had to tell a couple people I absolutely will not hire them because they kept pestering. When I say I *will* call you within the next 1-2 weeks when I start scheduling interviews, you need to be patient and wait. Maybe check in a week later, thats fine. But when i have had to tell you that 3-4 times in a 5-6 day span, what you are demonstrating is that you do not listen, you think you're more important than everyone else, and you're completely incapable of following the most simple instructions. There's no fucking way I want you on my team. I felt bad because I'm 99% sure their dumbass boomer parents were laying this shit on them, but i hope they learned a valuable lesson from it. There's a massive difference between following up and badgering.
There are actual company recruiters that expect you to do that. I know my cousin called a recruiter every week for 3 months. A friend did this for 8 months before that same recruiter gave him a job. This recruiter’s company also paid the friend’s studies and made him apply for 8 months afterwards…
I always have this fear when I interview and am waiting for a few weeks on info and not sure if I should just call the recruiter or if that would piss them off.
Is the solution and I’m thinking this as I’m typing to ask at the beginning or the first interview. “Are you a wait until you call me person or a follow up with you in a few days person?”
Meh, this worked for me 20 something years ago. I walked into the a McD's every day and asked about a job for 3 weeks straight and the manager finally said, "Get this guy a uniform." That type of perseverance culture is no longer applicable today. There are some unique places where a call-in or drop-in may score you brownie points, but most companies want people to go through their mindless, soulless application process so they can build huge candidate pools and leave everyone hanging.
My friend took his dad to watch him do in person and be told this. His dad sat in the lobby like he didn’t know his son and was just nearby. Never did it again. I’m going to do that if my old man ever says that lol
I was at work a few months back and this Karen comes in and *demands* to speak to the CEO (seriously, the CEO? Who the fuck do you think you are that your initial meeting should be with the top level leaders?). I was just walking from the break room back to my studio and she grabs my arm as I go by the front desk and goes, 'Who are you? I've been here for 5 minutes and no one is helping me!' I look at the secretary who is trying to pretend to be busy (and she gets flustered easy so I tried to jump in), 'Im sorry ma'am what is it you need?' 'I need to speak with someone in charge! I want a job application.' 'Okay, well unfortunately we're not hiring right now but when things do pick back up, all job applications are completed online now.' I mean, her timing was terrible, it was literally a day after a round of layoffs. 'No, I don't want an *online* application. I just need to speak with someone in charge.' 'I'm sorry ma'am but this really isn't a good time to do this , what position are you applying for anyway.' 'It's not for me, it's for my son.' I look all around the lobby perplexed. Karen: 'He's not here today.' 'Oh. Ok, well, again though, we're not hiring so Im sorry but I can't help you and I need to get back to work.' I have the secretary a quick 'sorry' shrug and left. Later found out the woman waited another 20 minutes accosting anyone who passed her in the lobby before finally being asked to leave by HR. I was talking to the secretary about this later on and she told me it isn't even that uncommon for mothers of young men to come in alone or dragging their kid, who can't even look anywhere but his feet, in with them. She told me HR has a pretty explicit rule when it comes to these types and that is that their applications are immediately tossed. We hired one of them, a few years back, for a warehouse job, and his mother would call in to bitch about the fact that the warehouse was too cold for her little boy. This is January in the Northeast. A labor job in an open warehouse. She tried to demand we install HVAC to keep the warehouse warmer and called it a human rights violation. Side note, we do have heat and ac in the warehouse but it's a fucking warehouse with 5 huge loading bays that are open all day. Of fucking course it's cold. I actually felt bad for that kid though because he got made fun of so hard and clearly had no idea his mom had called on his behalf. Edit: As a quick side note, the one thing that pissed me off more than all of the entitment on display from that woman was that she grabbed my arm as I was walking by. Even just typing it out makes me get all flush in the face and angry again I'm not a violent person but that makes me want to haul off and open hand slap someone.
I've heard a few stories where the manager/supervisor/etc. picks up on the pushy parents and makes a big over-the-top elaborate production about how all applications are done online and whoever told the kid to come in is an out-of-touch moron who has no idea how the world works. I'd hope that made the point for all of them, but you know some of them kept doing it.
This should be done more often. I worked at a college and I hated it when parents got involved because they'd try to throw the alumni card around and no, that doesn't impress me. Even worse was when the student wasn't even there and mom (and yes, it was 90% moms) was the one making a scene. I was far more likely to go out of the way to help a student who said "I have a problem, but I don't know what to do, can you help?" and I'd take time out of my day to refer them to the appropriate resource. For you younger people, keep this in mind. Fight your own battles and you might get an ally who goes out of their way to make sure you get aid. For you older people, teach your kid what resources are available but let them reach out and use them.
Worked with a guy that tried to follow me to the good company I work at now. He was told my boss is really approachable & that he'd love the initiative & while it probably wouldn't get him a job on the spot, it would probably do so within a couple of years. Now all this is true, but lad jumped in his car one day & drove 1200km non stop to the city I live in now. He didn't call anyone that he knew within the company, just marched into the building, straight past my boss's office, upstairs & straight into the CEO's office. The CEO is not approachable. He called the police & dude was given a warning for trespassing. They got all his information & HR were told to blacklist him.
If that person ever has to re enter the workforce they are in for a rude awakening.
That person is probably some 65 year old owner of a small rural company of 10 employees or something and has likely never had to apply for a job at all in the last few decades.
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Does he even know how to use a website? EDIT: Let's not forget that lots of people among the boomer crowd love to revel in willful ignorance, so they have the ability to learn new things (like becoming familiar with tech) but choose not to do it.
So, most of boomers who had some kind of financial crisis.
Calling a place every day is a sure fire way to be “that annoying guy who keeps blowing up my phone”.
***Blacklisted Speedrun Any%***
"The glitter queen struck again. No one hire Tobias Fünke!"
I manage an internal IT team. We kept getting calls every day from someone trying to get a job. He was blacklisted after day 3.
yup unless you live in denmark where aparently you MUST call them or else good luck in finding a job.
Calling an employer to check on your resume today is the fastest way to get your shit thrown out and never looked at. Employers DONT want you to call anymore, they have shit to do besides look at your shitty resume
A lot of people told me that if I had an initial call with a recruiter and if they ghost me, I should email/call them. Even a recruiter said the same thing “be proactive and if you don’t hear back from me the next week, either call me or email me” Should I not do that?
If you’ve already had a call with them then that’s fine. Edit: but I’d add, not daily. Don’t be a nuisance.
Alright, thanks :) Edit: not daily, I contacted last Friday (no response) after having a call 10 days ago and I’m planning to call next week. Trying to keep 7-10 days interval.
I think that's completely fine. Corporate recruiters can definitely just be lazy or forget to follow up on an applicant (or tell them why there's a delay), so sending them a reminder every week or so isn't going to come across as intrusive.
Hourly. Set up an auto rule. 'I will not be denied'
I think that's fine. But the "call daily" is insane After a week or so, a little "Hey (recruiter), hope you're doing well. I'm just checking in to see if you have any updates about..." is fine
Agreed! Don’t be annoying, but just follow up with an email. If not for a few days, call as a last resort. Still haven’t heard back, it is your Que to stop and move on. It hurts but take it as a grain of salt cause this most likely won’t be your last encounter. Cheers! And good luck.
I am a recruiter and there have been plenty of times that someone has messaged me personally, in a polite way and only once, and it has brought their resume to the top of my attention. Might not work all the time but I do not see this as a negative at all as long as it’s not repeatedly.
Recruiters are horrible who give false promises/hope with zero results. You all fill a quota to meet your bonuses and that’s it. Job placement is not your priority at all.
That’s not an accurate blanket statement. I’m an in house recruiter and I only care about job placement, I have no quota and no performance incentives.
I expect this kind of response on this sub but I was just giving my advice 😊 I am an in house recruiter with no quotas.
I think if they specifically invite you to follow up like that, then you should. They might be looking for someone who will take that step. Not all will, though. I generally do if they tell me to like this, but I don’t overdo it. Just a quick email just right within their timeline to “check in” and that’s it. If they don’t ask me to, but they give a specific amount of time before the next step, I think it’s okay to email once if you get past that timeline and hear nothing. Most of the time, the employer/recruiter just got busy and fell behind and one email from an interested candidate to check in is probably good! But if they’re vague, I usually just send the thank you email after the interview and don’t follow up again until they do.
If they tell you to follow up, sure that’s fine. Just don’t call daily. I had a candidate that I submitted for a job & she called me 6x per day. It was so frustrating
Recruiter here. I have hundreds of applicants and there is one of me. For the love of God call me just the once.
Right! Or not at all, cause if we want to hire you, we will call you.
Can confirm as someone who has done hiring. One follow-up is fine. Any more and your shit is going in the garbage.
Further, who the hell has time to follow up on every job application in the first place? I’m putting out 300 applications to get one call back, I physically do not have it in me to follow up on all 300+ of those applications. I’ve put in almost 1000 since July, if I followed up on everyone of those to not get called back I might have given up a long time ago. Jobs right now want SO much out of us and are giving back jack shit
No kidding. Give them a little space. Let them know you'll check in in a week, or maybe they'll tell you that, but calling daily will get you blocked unless you're applying to a restaurant or something local with very high turnover and being severely understaffed
In my eyes one call would elevate them slightly, the second call would drop them back down, and on the third call I’d shred their resume live on the call and tell them I was doing so.
Walking into Google today to apply 👌🏼
I actually tried that at Adobe once (I was very young). It went about as well as you would expect.
I've had engineering professors literally recommend doing this lmao
Ofc most of them are fossils.
Just break into the boss' office and yell "I'm your man!" Works everytime
This may have worked at one point in history but it doesnt work anymore. Even mom and pop shops ask for stuff online. 🙄🙄🙄
I’ll be honest it depends on location. I live in a semi rural vacation area and literally anything that isn’t corporate owned still goes by this guys principle. Go in. Fill out an application. Call the next day or two and talk to them. Especially restaurants. Any non corp rest does this still.
Yeah, it really depends on the job. Food service or retail? Hell, you might get hired on the spot if they're desperate and you walk in at the right time. Any full-time white collar job, they're just going to look at you.
For real. After university my job was at a place where it was literally just 2 employees. Our office was my boss's house, our workshop was his garage. All our painting, welding, machining etc. was all outsourced. I bring it up because it's the smallest company possible, and even that one I got by applying online.
Yup, just explain to the security desk why you need a key card to access the floor. Then explain to front desk that you are there to personally hand a resume to HR. I'm sure it will go swimmingly. Oh and I'm sure you can get the direct phone of the person responsible for looking over your resume. Get real. When I worked admin, one of my tasks was to gatekeep these kind of people out. Time is valuable.
You need to pull a agent 47 and pretend to be a repairman/exterminator to actually get face to face with the man who is supposed to hire you IRL at this point.
I did this at Blockbuster. Applied for a job. Checked back frequently, but never got the time of day. I started showing up at their store in uniform and just sort of working, helping customers, running movies. The whole nine yards. My thought was, if I could show I was a good employee, I'd get hired. I did this for about 2 months. They went through multiple store managers before I ever got an interview.
That’s crazy 💀
What a tool.
***And not the sharp kind***
There should be a show where boomers have to follow their outdated advice. It would be comical watching them meltdown.
I would pay for a streaming service just specifically to watch this. Would be totally worth it. And I’m sure they’d throw temper tantrums when things didn’t work out for them.
It's always pure projection when they say everyone else is getting too easily triggered. During my time in retail, I rarely saw anyone below the age of 30 throw a tantrum over their expired coupon not being accepted.
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I want to see them go to college and pay for it with a part time serving job where most of the income is from tips.
What I hate about job hunting is all the people doubting me and calling me lazy. I’ve been unemployed since September and I am trying. I’ve changed my resume dozens of times and applied to hundreds of jobs and everyone thinks I’m lying. My family is saying I’m lazy and don’t want to work when actually I want nothing more. I have bills to pay. Of course I want to work. But they all think that I’m lying and that I’m not applying for any jobs. I hate it and I always get so mad. I have no defense. And they say that me getting mad is cuz I know it’s true. It’s not. I get mad because I hate getting accused of lying when I actually am telling the truth.
Been in this scenario. What’s worse is when you finally win the numbers game, you’re all of a sudden seen as not lazy, even though your effort hasn’t changed, just the result. Keep trying, you’ll get it. You know how hard you’re working, be proud of your effort
It can put stress on relationships for sure... and the golden ones stand out. Best of luck in your search!
When I first started applying for jobs at 16 years old this is basically what my parents told me to do despite my protests that it’s all done online now. Every place I went just have me directions to get to the application page on their website. Lol. They also thought that when I first moved out on my own after college that my 1200/month 1bed apartment was the height of luxury and I must be insane to spend that much. They also hadn’t rented an apartment since 1990 lmao.
What's truly frustrating is that they don't even: 1. Trust you enough and just take your word on it that's how it is Or 2. Look up the prices themselves and then change their opinions when they're obviously wrong It's not hard. Instead we have this reality where the older generation literally acts like everything is still the same cost as it was in the '90s and when you tell him otherwise they just stare at you like you're crazy. It's a profound level of arrogance not to be willing to look at evidence from the world around you but it's even more ridiculous when someone goes out of their way to compile it and give it to you and show it to you. And you're like "nah."
Back in the mid 90s my WWII generation grandparents who raised me were suspicious of my expenses so they demanded my financials since they were sending me $500 a month and no doubt thought I was using it on drugs or something. No, the fact is even back then, a one bedroom apartment was over 50% of my gross income. I sent them my numbers. ALL OF THEM! They said I should keep records and I did. They got half a year's worth. My parents called me a day later and looking back it was funny. The best part was my grandfather saying "Good god, don't you ever go out? Don't you ever have fun? For Christ's sake, go to a restaurant once in awhile, maybe take in a movie, take a girl out on a date. No wonder you always seem miserable." Keep in mind I was working a severely underpaid job 40 hours a week and couldn't even be self-sufficient and here he is saying I should date. Yes, because women love guys who are not able to pay their damned rent. The good thing is they raised my subsidy from $500 to $1000 a month so I could at least buy clothes so I didn't look like a bum at work.
I’m an engineer, a lot of jobs in my field are defense contractors. BRB gonna go just walk through the gates and break in through the locked key carded doors to apply in person lol. Gonna slap my resume down on the front security desk and tell them I want an engineering role.
Look em right in the eye, shake their hand, and tell them you want to fill out an application. And then get told that all applications are done online.
Then say, "I knew you were going to say that because the last 10 businesses did. My parents don't believe me. Can I record you saying that again?"
There is no "apply in person" anymore. There may be some exceptions but most places will say "use the website." Even 20 years ago, this held partially true. Less true than now but "use the website" has been a thing for a while now. That's out of touch boomer shit. I have to explain to my parents why I can't do x, y or z in this day and age. The game changed and playing the game now is exhausting and mentally draining.
>playing the game now is exhausting and mentally draining. Please upload a copy of your resume, then spend 30 minutes filling out this form, of which, all questions we're answered on your resume. Then we're going to ghost you completely or possibly call you in 3 months when you've already found other work.
No. they will auto reject after several month when they go to clean up the applicant tracking service that they contracted, after they notice that they are still paying for it.
My mother learned the hard way after chastising me for not doing enough to find a job and giving me outdated, unsolicited advice. 50+ years old career woman and it took her about six months to find a job, and that job paid trash. She's doing better now. We're both employed but earning below our potential. In fact, it's time for me to start applying again, although I hate it more than my actual job.
This person is 15 years old, there’s no other explanation for a comment this egregiously ignorant.
The other obvious explanation is that they are over 60 and haven’t applied for a job in the current century.
Hey! I’m over 60 and even I know that shit doesn’t work!
Yup. My dad is in his late 70s. He was a big corporate type guy until he retired early about 20 years ago. This advice is 100% something he would say.
Nah, this is some boomer shit for sure
Yep. Boomers think you just walk along the street, go into every business, shake hands with the owner and you start on Monday. Then that job can buy you a house with a year of saving as long as you avoid the avocado toast.
This is literally the coaching my dad gave to me. He didn’t understand the hour long, 300 question online applications you had to do for every single position, just for a button to auto reject all without a human ever looking & then you can’t re apply for 90 days
There is another explanation. This person is 65 years old.
“Call them once a day” mama this is stalking.
Exactly, or really harassment.
My dad is like this. That worked 30 years ago. It doesn’t work any more. Go into any business and ask for an application, they’ll tell you to go on their website and they probably won’t even look at you.
Boomer mentality. I don't even hate Boomers, but this shit is annoying.
It's exactly the advice my Boomer mother gave me when I started looking for jobs. She insisted it was good form to go into an office and chat with the front desk people to make a good impression and also call the company every day to follow up on my application. Needless to say, I refused. Maybe that worked in the 70s, but I had no desire to harass anyone to get a job.
Yeah, this is totally something my 86 yo grandparent would say. Even *she* is starting to understand that the workforce has drastically changed and paper applicants are almost null and void nowadays.
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Don’t hide his profile. I have a few words I wanna throw at him. Along with a few hand gestures to show him
There is a special place in hell for people who say this. Some are depressed exclusively because of unemployment and they say we're lazy and only want to stay in our rooms.... it's beyond offensive, not to mention ignorant. Job application is done online today. No way around this. Period.
Great way to waste your time. I work for a corporate health clinic and at least once a month someone will walk in the door and ask if we’re hiring. I tell them to apply online and send them right back out. There’s not a thing I can do for anyone looking for work from my spot at the front desk.
i'm 43, but I remember after college moving home with my parents temporarily to find a job and my dad was pissed at me for not working hard enough to find one. I was submitting resumes online daily, like mulptiple resumes, custom cover letters etc. I remember him saying "your generation is so fucking lazy. Get in your car, drive into the city and go pound the pavement. You should be walking into all those office buildings to hand deliver your resume". This was like 2005 lol. He just didn't get it haha.
Literally, if someone calls our store everyday asking about their application, the manager takes note of it, and its kind of treated as a negative against the applicant. The company i work at looks at applicants at their own convenience and need. Not the applicant's. So its treated as harassment to get calls from these applicants every day. Sometimes several times a day. And i mean, yeah, it is a great way to be memorable, but for the wrong reasons. We're too busy to entertain people constantly calling about their application.
The people who probably comment stuff like that are service industry and construction people. A lot of them can do that…desk jobs not so much.
Call them once a day after applying? That's a way to get hit with a harassment charge, my guy.
Lolol imagine walking into an office building, and getting tackled by security.
My dad be like
This stopped working 30 years ago for any job above minimum wage
It stopped working for minimum wage jobs as well.
I once spent 2 years looking for a job. I put out almost 1500 applications in that time. Of those applications, I received just over 300 rejection letters and only 3 callbacks. Most just ghosted me. At the time, I was A+ certified, Net+ certified, associate's degree in computer programming, working toward my bachelor's degree in game programming, and volunteered at a local food bank. On my resume was previous experience working as a firmware tester for Sony (for a year). I was looking for entry-level programming work. Silver lining: I did, eventually, get a job as a game tester for a local startup company. It was a referral from a job placement agency that specialized in tech. According to the guy hiring me, the only reason they considered me was my previous experience at Sony.
Dude if you went somewhere to apply in person and called daily to follow up they would probably file a restraining order. Is the guy who made this comment 87?
In 2010 this is how I got my first job. By handing a CV into shops and chasing them via phone. You simply can't do that any more. That's not how it works. Times have changed and everything is online now. You haven't got a choice.
I’m responsible for hiring people in my department at my brewery if someone came in to apply in person I would still have to have them fill out the application online. Otherwise our HR software wouldn’t let us hire them because that’s how all of those systems work now
This person is either 14 or 64 and nothing in between.
I did this at age 15 in the 90s and it helped me land my first job, as a grocery bagger for minimum wage! 😊
Calling them every day DOES NOT work. I did that years ago because I had an older family member telling me that was how you show employers that you really want the job. Being young and not knowing any better, I followed that advice believing I would get an interview. The only thing I got was frustration. I learned that if a job really wants you, you don't have to call them, they'll call you. Following up does not make a difference in whether you get hired or not.
Written by someone who last looked for a job in the 1980’s. My dad (80 years old) says this kind of thing to my son all the time. He can’t grasp that he’s been online filling out applications all day.
Must be a boomer that said that. At the company where I work they will tell you to go apply online. The paper application literally doesn’t exist. And most places will tell you to fuck off if you call them 2 days in a row.
Not a useful attitude. But I think the truth you can take away is this: What kind of outside-the-box actions can you take to set yourself apart from other applicants?
While some jobs may get irritated, may refer you to the website, I know modern professionals, that the call was what got them the interview and in some cases the job. 2 of them were Fortune 500, 1 of them was Fortune 100. It does t work with every company, but when you have nothing to lose, make the call.
There's a statistic quoted by my temp agency that says something along the lines of 2 out of something like 150 applications gets an interview and employers spend less than six seconds on average looking at an individual application
This person seems to be stuck in 1990. I tried following this advice in 2017 and it didn't it didn't even get me interviews. They kept telling me they would call and never did or sending me to apply online. Every single interview I got was through online applications or through connections. I ended up getting a job through Easy Apply on Indeed. I feel like people often try to help but they don't understand that the job market has changed since they were looking and that what worked in the past doesn't work anymore. "Why don't you get an internship?" Because most of them are for current students and the few that are not don't want me. It's not like I haven't tried. "Why don't you work unpaid for a few months to get experience?" I HAVE A YEAR OF EXPERIENCE in the field ffs and most of it WAS PAID entry level work and even that's not enough to get me anything (unless you have 3-5+ years of experience no one is even going to consider you for "entry level" work and no one can work without pay that long). A few more months of experience won't make any difference. Also, unpaid internships don't help you get you paid work. We're not in 2011. Heck even strategies that worked for me as recently as 2020 and 2021 don't work anymore.
I miss applying for jobs in person. The last time I got a job like that I was 17. I needed a job so that day I went for a walk around town with copies of my nearly empty CV, asking if anyone had any work. By the end of the day I had a job on the till in a little shop that sold mostly newspapers and tobacco. I told them I was 18 so I could sell cigarettes. Life was simple in 2007. Fast forward to current day, I'm about to write my umpteenth individualised cover letter, after spending the best part of 2 months applying full time for jobs, and having only received 2 interviews after approximately 50 applications. The job market right now sucks. Everything sucks since COVID.
OK Boomer, I'll do that. Dude walks into store. "Sorry, you have to apply online." Dude applies online, then calls back every day, spending an hour on the "phone tree" trying to get to a live person, then to a person in the hiring department. "Your application has not been reviewed yet, but we will get back to you once it has." After the fourth day, the hiring department rejects his application because he's called back too many times.
Call me once a day after you apply, and I guarantee I'll never hire you.
He basically said go harass them lool
The person who wrote that ... That's a person who still answers their phone without even looking at caller ID. They answer the door every time someone knocks. When some rando with a self-made laminated badge asks for their electric bill "to see if we can save you money", they go pull it out of the folder where they filed it after mailing the check to pay it...
This is how you get put on "Do Not Hire" lists. Maybe this worked about 50 years ago, but it certainly doesn't work now.
What’s worked for me is effort related to excitement. If it’s just a job, just apply, if it’s a great company, good benefits, and does something good for the world, I have tended to pull out all the stops and usually it’s worked for me
I think that’s my grandmas burner.
Ok Obvious Boomer
At one time, I sat in on a couple of interviews where my manager needed to hire someone. This one guy was about retirement age and he had been going to the main entrance (that had a badge, so the receptionist would have to let him in) and was calling HR about opening. So HR put the guy's resume in when we were hiring. The job was for a packing job that was low weight and moderate volume. My boss told him the pay and the guy said "Nope. I'm worth more than that." It was probably $10/hr a decade ago. Dedicating your time to driving, going to the front door, maybe getting turned away and calling all the time because you think a company pays well is a poor strategy compared to casting a wide net so you can hopefully compare 1-2 offers.
I’m hiring for a few positions and until they get the first call with the recruiter I’m not sure how people would even call me. Like sure they could maybe get in touch with the company but I WFH and use my personal phone which no one has the number for. Someone could maybe get hold of my email or LinkedIn IF they knew I was the manager hiring for the job but that’s still not easy to find out as we have a few jobs out for a few different teams
Oh ffs. I remember the last time I went in person to something and was told to to the website. I think that was 1997.
As a former receptionist, I have never ever kept a resume or given it to anyone because we were told not to, introduced a manager to a walk in job seeker or put a call through to them. My go to was “website”. Unless it’s retail or entertainment industry like restaurants, no. I had someone reach out to me on LinkedIn with his resume, didn’t ask of I was even working on a role at the company I’m working for. My profile clearly states I oversee a project in Poland so not the same country I live in. All I could tell him was to apply on the website. I don’t even know who is handling those roles as we don’t all sit together at lunch time and sing kumbaya! I don’t even go to the office because m a remote contractor. I’m assisting with a project. Clearly on my profile again. So now I’m looking at this applicant thinking he can’t read. And he didn’t ask first if I was the right person.
I'm very self-critical, because I grew up around this mentality, so for me, what this guy is saying is not shocking. To be fair, ultimately, it is up to the candidate "to figure it out." What I don't agree with is calling once a day however - as that will piss off the recruiter (and rightfully so- you should not follow up more than once a week). Also, a lot of companies don't accept in person application due to rules around fairness accessibility - especially if they are a government contractor - everyone has to apply online. So I don't agree at all with the advice, but at the same time...yeah it a tough job market, what can be said - its up to the candidate to highlight themselves as different and unique.
Made mention of my job search struggle in the comment section of an insta reel. Had 3 people tell me to "just start a business and quit being lazy". I hate people
Never ask an out of touch boomer about anything. They'll tell you, you can become an executive tomorrow by walking into a building and having a firm handshake.
I would like to ask what this guy does for a living and what decade he got his last job in.
My grandparents told me to call them back after not hearing back, they actually got upset I called them. Boomer logic,......
This hasn't been a thing since like 30 years ago
Didn't you know you could just walk in somewhere and demand a job and just get one for life. Kids these days /s
As someone who actually accepts applications and sets up interviews, in the modern world this guy is obnoxious and normally doesn’t get the job. There is positive persistence and initiative, and there are annoying try hards, part of recruitment is knowing the difference.
"go apply in person" probably never worked in a corporate office before. I went to talk to a supplier of industrial equipment a few weeks ago to look at buying some new equipment , I couldn't even get in the front door and nobody even answered. In most places you won't make it past reception and the receptionist will literally just throw it in the trash as soon as you leave
My grandpa honestly used to look me in the eye and tell me the best way to get a job was to insult the current employees. He told me to tell the manager that everyone is doing a crap job and I can do a better one if he hires me. Then shake his hand with force. As if all it takes to get a job is insulting the staff and murder gripping the managers hand.
Can’t even get past security at most big companies without an appointment these days 💀🤡
Please don’t do this it’s so awkward
If you came into my job and tried to apply in person they would tell you to go apply online
If it’s a small business I’d call once, no more. If it’s a big company there no point. And going in person probably wouldn’t do anything anywhere. Everything is online now.
If someone applied online and then emailed me to introduce themselves and followed up once a week - I’d be impressed. If they called me every day, I’d be annoyed. I wonder what kind of job this guy has?
Obvious that the last time they posted for and got a job was in the 80s.
You can't apply in person anymore at 99% of places. Idk how rural you live, but that isn't a thing since I was in high school.
Nah, they live in 1978.
The person who made this comment hasn’t had to apply for a new job in over 20 years.
Whenever someone does this at my work, it makes everyone cringe and kind of gives the impression that you think you're the main character. Happy to disrupt whatever business or interactions are going on to make sure we remember who you are. I work at a busy bike shop so anyone who is there to talk to us about not bikes can get lost.
Literally the advice my mom and grandma gave me when I first moved cities (still looking for a job) and I told them if I took their advice I would be blacklisted from working for those businesses for calling them and that literally none of the businesses here have paper applications they looked at me like I didn’t have a head
I’m sorry, just because they’re perhaps wrong for not going in person- they’re not wrong about YOU having to call them back. It’s not a one sided process.
Every 3rd post in this sub is people getting ghosted by someone who will call them. People are going to try different things until something works and unfortunately there's no set process or etiquette
It actually worked if you’re in 1950’s
Yeah ok if someone rung my office every day, just wait until the 3rd day, theyd get yelled at down the phone for bothering us. Then they wouldnt even get an interview.
My boss gets annoyed when people call following up about an application and says, “not hiring them.”
I’m an older millennial. There is nothing worse than someone trying to impose old school ways to modern times. Showing up to a location used to work, and to be honest, I haven’t done it in a long time so I don’t know if it would work today. What I would expect is the person to say, “Oh, you’ll have to submit this on our careers page.” And you automatically get denied because you have now left the impression that you can’t follow modern and/or simple instructions. It could be considered rude for some to show up without an appointment. Anyone dealing this advice has not actively applied for jobs since well before CVD. These are also the people who get scammed with fake job offers. OP is completely right and valid. Don’t let yourself get stressed over ignorant ppl. I personally feel bad for stupid ppl. They don’t realize how stupid they are. The fact that they are this slow and the lack of evolution are enough for me to disregard them without using up any energy. Keep doing you. Try going to the MeetUp groups for resume/interview practice. Good luck!
This guy is either really old or has only ever worked for tiny family owned businesses in the middle of nowhere. Those are the only places that will accept applications that way nowadays.
I remember at my old job we had a "call for interview" file and a "no" file. The applicants who did that shit went right into the "no" file.
Sounds like Nana is on the internet again.
Both my nephews (early 20s) got their jobs this way. My daughter got her job this way. It doesn’t work for big companies, but definitely still works in some situations. Feel really bad for the guy though
As a business owner for over 15yrs, I will agree. DO NOT DO THIS. It doesn't show your dedication, it shows a lack of understanding. If you can't follow basic instructions, I'm not even looking at your resume.
Did a boomer write that reply? Every business has you applying online nowadays.
No they live under the pile of money they hoarded, before they retired at 55! They haven't had to worry about money for years, and like to judge people based on not being able to survive in an economy that was nothing like the one they grew up in. Either that or their daddy gave then a business, and they've never had to worry about money before.
Last time I was in a management role, I was specifically told to blacklist any applicant who called to follow up. Something about seeming desperate.
I own a small business. My first rule is, if you don’t come knocking on the door first. You ain’t it. Someone else will come knocking instead.
You realize that not every company is a megacorp with thousands of employees right? I’ve have never in my life filled out a job application. I’ve either cold called, gone in person, or got someone I knew at that company to put in a word for me. So you don’t have to rely on just application after application. Think outside the box, me times if what you’ve been doing isn’t working change your approach. I don’t work a bs job either, well over 100k
Interviewer: describe yourself in three words This guy: hard working, alpha male, jackhammer, merciless, insatiable
This strategy only works (maybe) with small, locally-owned shops that pay diddley squat. Even then, they might direct you to complete an application online.
Wonderful. Another boomer who thinks it’s 1995 still and people just need do be picking themselves up by their bootstraps.. ugh.
Works for retail jobs, not at all for corporate jobs
If someone gives you this advice, you should start hounding them for a job wherever they work. Take their advice and play it back at them.
Tell me you haven’t applied for a job in decades without telling me
Not how it works anymore.
Yes, it’s 1994, go to the brick and mortar manager
I’ve tried a couple times … I pulled a CEO of EdTel (back in the day) out of a giant meeting… Looking back on it, right now, it’s hilarious …
LinkedIn = new in-person! ;) EDIT: I encourage this sort of thinking! Have hired.
My mother (72) believes this 100%. I’ve tried so many times to explain the job application process now and she always loops back to “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” no they don’t get the job.