Its the dumbest fucking advice I’ve found since everything is centralised and run from head offices but they dont seem to understand thats not a thing
Not so much the dress up. But yeah. You need to show up. Also, it doesn’t help to be a bitch about people trying to give solicited advice by sharing their experiences.
If you want to make $350K working 10 hours a week in your underwear, go find out how all those other wildly successful folks in your generation are doing it.
What is this strawman? Weirdly specific.
with job sites being the primary source of job hunting, you wont even get a chance in most cases to even an interview.
The only time showing up in person works in the UK is if you’re a teenager looking for part time or apprenticeship work in independent shops/hospitality/mechanics etc.
It does work sometimes because people can ignore an email or phone call, but its harder to ignore a person standing in front of you.
As an example we were contacting a business abut something we offered that we knew they needed.
Emails and phonecalls always got the reply of: I have left a note for the owner and when he has time he will contact you.
After months of that, and us happening to be in their area, we just dropped in unnounanced and asked for the owner.
He engaged with us , asked lots of questions, asked for samples and info. As we were doing that the secretary realized who we were and said something like " oh I’ve been meaning to have you read their emails and setup a meeting" lol
Too late lady.
Lived experience and/or delusion. Many can’t seem to absorb that the labour market didn’t stop changing in 19-fucking-73, and it shows.
I couldn’t believe how dogshit so much of their advice was the last time I was searching for new work, and how irate they were that I wouldn’t take it - because it was useless and/or hazardous to my financial stability in the situation at hand. That coffee drinks-avocado toast shit seemed like satire at first, but some of them actually believe it, and had I been spineless/stupid enough to allow them to push me into the courses of action they were insisting on I think that it might have killed me.
“Naughty corporations” made me chuckle, but “I don’t know what the solution is” definitely rang true.
Most boomers actually don’t know where to begin, even though many of the solutions would be a 6-year-old’s first guess, and are actually proven to work, simply because they grew up being told that every single one of those obvious, proven solutions were “socialist” and that socialism was anti-American.
That indoctrination was so thorough that these solutions can be put right in front of them, gift-wrapped, with a neon arrow pointing at an easy button labeled “fix that shit,” and they’ll still shrug and say “we’re all out of ideas, maybe ask a billionaire what to do, surely they know how to fix the system.”
And the sad part is that they do and, in fact, already did.
This works for small businesses. Sending them an email will just wind up in spam. But show up in person, and you might get to talk to an actual person. This distinguishes you from some random, semi-anonymous piece of paper or text header.
If you’re applying at some gigantic mega-corporation, then none of that matters. They won’t have time to see you anyway, and will only look at your application if they specifically asked you to give them one.
This distinguishes you from some random, semi-anonymous piece of paper or text header.
It also just gives them a lot more information about who you are as a person. A list of skills or lived experience can be misleading in all kinds of ways. And they only allow inferring personality traits indirectly, like someone with good grades is less likely to be a slacker, but ultimately you don’t know.
Probably, yeah.
It’s how I found internship a year ago. It was really just vague “something related to computers”, so I ended up in a small PC repair and sale shop. I just asked the owner, and that was that. Although, since that was for free…On the other hand, the large company where someone else went in the past… they just told me “write an email to this person”.
But also, that was kinda rare. He usually wasn’t there, especially soon before I left, as he apparently ended up receiving some threats and a few mad people showed up after he helped organize some protests.
Yeah I was going to say the same. Currently work at a small business run by a boomer so if the random person walking in looking for a job happens to catch him there’s a 50/50 chance that person will get hired. Bonus if the person looking for work has a degree from a ivy league university, boomers love that shit. I don’t know why someone with that sort of degree would be applying for a low wage small business job but the job market is a bit crazy nowadays.
The practice can backfire of course - I’ve seen the same boomer boss hire other boomers that barely know how to use a computer and then proceed to fail at his/her job spectacularly. It’s interesting when you run into boomers looking for work and it turns out they spent most of their career relying on others to deal with the mundane tasks of dealing with email, spreadsheets, etc. So many of them spent their careers falling upwards into management roles until they were laid off/fired/whatever.
My dad was a big believer of this when I was younger. Finally I humored him and had him drive me around town as I went into every buisness ask for a paper application. I printed and stapled 30 resumes for the trip, got dressed up, on the way into town he was so smug about how I was finally “really trying to get hired”. Four hours later, we’d been to nearly 50 businesses, I’d gotten two paper applications and only 16 of my resumes were accepted. Everyone else said to apply online or “we only hire through the temp agencies”. My dad for his part took it way harder than me. I think he actually realized that’s not how it works anymore because he never suggested it again and took me seriously when I said I’d been putting in applications online.
also he might not realizing before AI, they were using Software to screen out peoples resume, or keep peoples resume just for the sake of weeding out people. and many listings purposely have no plans of hiring at all.
Congrats on getting your dad to change his mind, even if begrudgingly.
There are so many people in his generation that simply do not understand what this job market is like, what navigating Indeed or LinkedIn is like, or how people apply for those jobs anymore. Very little human interaction happens applying for jobs these days.
The part that gets me is they surely cant have had any recent success with it. Like, the first time they ever get to following their own advice in the modern day, they inevitably realize its bullshit. They voted and used their positions or authority in society to literally make it so that wasnt a thing that would ever be possible after them, shareholders dont care for opportunity or paying to train anyone or giving any rando a chance anymore
That would conflict with all the big cash payoffs
They probably did have recent success with a variation on the theme. While they’re likely old enough and established enough now that they’re not having to walk around to retail businesses off the street and attempt to get a job like they did when they started out, this approach likely helped in more recent times in their career in the context of promotions or switching to a new job in their same field or at a similar level in a new field. They might have succeeded in getting that new job or promotion in large part due to their social connections and direct interface with the right people just like they’re advising you to do, except in their case it’s now at the higher level, which is probably one of the few places left where showing up at the right time, having the right manner and air about you and dressing nicely actually still makes the difference. The tactics wouldn’t work on their own, they still needed their credentials and connections and experience to get that far in the first place, but it probably helped cinch the position. Now they’re trying to give practical advice to someone just starting out and for them those tactics genuinely are still helping even if they’re not the sole factor in their success and when they cast their minds back to when they started out it helped a lot then too. With this experience in mind, in their shoes, it worked way back when, and it still works now at the higher level and the youngster you’re earnestly trying to help doesn’t have much else going for them since they’re starting out so of course they should at least do this and if everyone else is applying online then this alone will make them a memorable candidate for putting in the extra effort and place them ahead of 90% of the pack.
In reality, it doesn’t really work that way, the processes are centralised, the people physically in the office or location don’t really handle this themselves so they don’t care what you were like to talk to or how you dressed because it’s not their decision and the way the jobs market is, the employers have the leverage and there’s way more people looking for the jobs than there are jobs so it’s not going to be practical to have them all turning up in a suit because they want to be remembered and they prefer to streamline the process rather than deal with people directly.
I totally see why it would seem like sensible advice to someone who started working when these simple steps were a marker of basic competency and motivation and for whom it now continues to matter to this day. They’re just insulated from the way the situation has shifted.
Have you heard the expression ‘pulling the ladder up after themselves’ in relation to Booomers, and the housing/labour market?
*Boooomers
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooomers
It’s highly depends on a situation. But generally speaking it does work in a lot of situations.
You want work? Clean up, print a dozen resumes - apply online (if they have a website), then go and show up in the physical location. You will be noticed waaay more than a silent application.
You want to solve a service issue: even with big probiders atnt, T-Mobile there is a chance that a corporate store manager can do something.
Sometimes even between offices it can help if you show up in addition to the regular channels.
Being proactive, clean and respectful can take you long way.With fake job posts and AI resumé scanning, showing up can’t hurt.
Obviously not every job is open to people who show up, but if you just want any job - any small (mon and pop) store will be impressed.
Honestly I saw some job applications that peope would not believe…I meant in addition to online applications.
That’s also true :)
Sometimes for example hotels even if they are big chains, prefer to see a face.
Fundamentally, it’s hard to overstate how much assertiveness skills can help you meet your needs. Just because it doesn’t always work doesn’t mean it never works. (When I say assertiveness, I mean confidently and respectfully seeking what you want)
The respect is the key word. Nowadays most people don’t give a shit. So when you do, you stand out. And if you treat someone with courtesy they will be much more favorably towards you.
I’ll agree that there are instances where it works, but the tricky part is knowing who those were. I love your second example because I worked at one of those stores and the manager could definitely get things done if you were polite and got the employees to advocate for you.
But, we wouldn’t be much use in the first example because all applications were online, and the GM didn’t interview anyone until HR told them to.
They have since closed that store, so there are only authorized agents in my town, and there’s not a damn thing they can do for your billing issues.
I believe that asking respectfully won’t hurt. And if you are lucky you can get ahead of people who do not show up.
I’ve never encountered anyone of any age that thinks that. Presentation of yourself is important, but nobody has ever even implied that just looking nice is enough to get everything. It’s simply part of the whole equation.
Generationally, the only thing here I’ve seen disconnected between Boomers/Xers and yoinger generations like my own and Gen Z are that they have a different sense of what looks good or professional. Personally, I like that younger people also hate suits. Suits are stupid.
Most of the “boomer” discussion is veiled ageism and ignorance. The younger generations are setting themselves up to be “boomers” themselves. Inevitably they will be old. They’re already willfully ignorant. They take joy in it even. Not on a good track there.
There is also such a thing as trying too hard. I once saw a guy show up in a blue button shirt with white collar and tie, to apply for a cook job. He got the job, and was good. But that outfit was a fucking costume and all it communicated was “I am into putting on a false front.”
Suits aren’t stupid! There’s casual suits, for one, and really there’s suits for basically every occasion… There’s so many different fits, different materials, different cuts…
That’s just such a violent generalization, I simply can’t stand by and say nothing.
Maybe the idea you have of a “suit”, in your mind, sucks balls, but suits certainly don’t suck balls.
The only suits that aren’t stupid are fursuits. 😤
Every generation just gets more casual and I love it!
Pretty soon I won’t even need to put on pants to run to the store!
You put on pants for the store?
I would love to live like an actual cartoon dog and only wear tshirts to express myself.
What
I think they mean in the context of getting a job. At least that’s what most of the reactions seem to assume. The post really doesn’t have enough detail.
They believe that because that’s how it used to work (and still does in some industries). That’s their lived experience.
it definitely didn’t work that way for Black boomers
Maybe not in general, but it IS the reason that if you look at photos of the million man march, they’re all dressed up. Reason being, they were afraid any media coverage would paint them as degdnerates, thugs, and vandals. It’s much harder to paint that picture if they’re marching in unison wearing 3 piece suits, and their sunday best.
This in the middle of the summer when that was wildly uncomfortable.
That was also a time when a man wouldn’t dare leave his house without wearing a hat.
Times have changed. The only people who care about the shit anymore are boomers. People can go to work in the pajamas for all I care.
This. I work in un-unionized trades, which is arguably the least changed career since the time of the Boomers, and this advice does still actually apply
That’s what happened to them. If they were white.
only works for white people, it only works for POCs if they are rich or very affluent, so they have EXTRA fluff on thier resume. i assume its for job hunting, there was less competition for jobs like 30-50+years ago, now its oversaturated.
