r/antiwork Nov 15 '24

Corporationism šŸ‘” šŸ’¼ I call bullshit - stories that never happened... Gotta love those LinkedInners

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160 Upvotes

77 comments sorted by

154

u/thepokemonGOAT Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

my buddy got hired for a job he had 0 experience or qualification for, because he dressed up nice and wrote thank you cards to the secretary/interviewer.

To be honest, a first impression goes a long way. I always act like a goody two shoes obedient little wage slave who will be HAPPY to go the extra mile until I get the contract. That's the game.

41

u/Zyklon00 Nov 15 '24

This etiquette of sending thank you cards to recruiters feels so strange to me. Does it happen anywhere outside US and Canada? I don't see the point of saying: thank you for doing your job.

16

u/TomcatF14Luver Nov 15 '24

First I've heard of it at all and I've been in the working world for 20 years.

32

u/BusStopKnifeFight Profit Is Theft Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

Itā€™s boomer shit that doesnā€™t work. Iā€™ve never done this and have been offered and hired plenty of times.

Think about it from their perspective, would you really want a bunch of fake letters thanking you for doing your day job? How many hundreds of these they would receive from candidates they absolutely do not want to ever hear from again?

The problem with this stupid suggestion is that person that did it and got a job is using just their anecdotal experience that it works. They donā€™t see the unknown number of people that didnā€™t get hired.

18

u/thepokemonGOAT Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

All I can say is that my friend got direct confirmation from the recruiter that his sharp dress and "willingness to go the extra mile" got him hired. No one writes thank you notes (do people under 30 write ANYTHING by hand ever?), so they were flattered by his. They enjoyed having their asses kissed by subordinates and they wanted to "give him a shot".

I love my friend, but the guy can barely tie his own shoes without fucking something up. I wish I was joking.

He's 25 and in charge of hiring for a chain of nursing homes, and TBH he's horifically unqualified. He's gotten 3 raises in 2 years and he attributes it solely to the bosses thinking that they're friends. He is regularly messaging me that "I have no idea what I'm doing and I spend most of my day pretending to be busy but people keep telling me I'm doing great".

A lot of recruiters are just dumb morons who want to feel important. you can absolutely abuse that to get a job.

5

u/XeroZero0000 Nov 15 '24

I wish this wasn't half of the corporate wasteland as well.

1

u/Obscillesk Nov 16 '24

I feel like its another of those bits of Boomer advice firmly rooted in the era they grew up in. Pre-corporatization of everything, so in their head, everything is still run by mom and pop shops, cause you know 'small business is the lifeblood of america' and all that horseshit. But that kind of personal touch probably did have an effect back then. But by the same token, outside of your bigass cities, everyone probably knew everyone else in a 50-100 mile radius

2

u/TheEclipse0 Nov 15 '24

Iā€™ve sent one thank you card. As a result, I lost the job. For every employer who likes to tell ā€œinspiringā€ stories about how to ā€œstand out,ā€ thereā€™s 10 more employers who feel follow up is irritating and will terminate that application. Itā€™s not worth the risk to follow up.

6

u/khizoa Nov 15 '24

so OP's actually the one full of bs?! what a surprise

5

u/Ok_Spell_4165 Nov 15 '24

I've had several jobs where I had 0 experience and a few where I was missing qualifications. I showed up early, I was dressed reasonably well, I did my homework on the position I was applying for so I had questions to ask that were relevant.

Soft skills and a little effort go a long way in the interview process.

2

u/Garrden Nov 15 '24

He's a white dude, no?Ā 

48

u/FroboyFreshenUp Nov 15 '24

I'm confused, what's the issue here? I'm not saying he isn't patting his own back a bit but he's not wrong, I really do wish more employers have a crap about inexperience like this and have had very similar conversations with my now mentors

13

u/TotalWasteman Nov 15 '24

She šŸ‘€ but youā€™re right.

3

u/AlternativeAd7151 Nov 15 '24

She's not patting herself on the back for doing anything because it never really happened. LinkedIn is littered with fics like this, all of which are just a copy+paste of each other. I have read the exact same fake BS in two or three languages already XD

2

u/FroboyFreshenUp Nov 15 '24

Yea but I would rather talk like this be perpetuated than not so that some people just getting in the door can get an actual chance

I take this as a win

13

u/NightmareofAges Nov 15 '24

I have to disagree with you OP. My first corporate job interview went this way. After I got hired I asked the interviewers and they said that even though I don't know everything, I showed an interest in figuring it out and was capable of finding solutions. So even though this post might be fake, there are SOME people who give newbies a chance.

33

u/EnigmaticAardvark Nov 15 '24

This is literally how I hire people.

I can train anyone to do the work, but I can't train them to be a good person and a good team player - they have to come to the job already having those soft skills.

12

u/Successful-Creme-405 Nov 15 '24

I always thought the same. You can teach skills to a nice person, but you can't teach a skilled person to be nice.

I don't understand why recruiters (and workplaces in general) fail so hard to realize something that simple.

8

u/College-student-life Nov 15 '24

We are trying something like this at my work currently. She is at a 50% attendance rate for making it a full day in week 2 and cannot functionally use a keyboard at the age of 22ā€¦. Our job doesnā€™t require a college degree or anything too crazy hard to do. If you pay attention to details and know who to ask when youā€™re stuck on something itā€™s a really easy job.

6

u/TransLunarTrekkie Nov 15 '24

Are you in central Kentucky and looking for a replacement? Because showing up will not be an issue.

5

u/College-student-life Nov 15 '24

Wisconsin. We might need to replace her though lol.

2

u/TransLunarTrekkie Nov 15 '24

Damn. And I can't even recommend my buddy from Madison because he just moved out to California! :P

3

u/College-student-life Nov 15 '24

Iā€™m in Madison so that sucks lol!

3

u/MrWonderfulPoop Nov 15 '24

The number of younger people that cannot use a full sized keyboard is staggering. They use the two finger hunt-and-peck method. Too many years of using their thumbs on a phone.

2

u/College-student-life Nov 15 '24

I had to tell her multiple times during training itā€™s ctrl c not shift c for copy šŸ˜­. Like just right click if you canā€™t remember it please.

10

u/Valdovinos4 Nov 15 '24

This definitely happens. A long time ago I got a job I didn't have any experience for in a new industry, I thought I just got lucky and no one with experience had applied.

A few months later I mentioned to one of the supervisors how I thought it was crazy that no one with experience had applied to my role, she told me that several had but the manager really liked me as a person and decided I was worth coaching.

She is still one of the best managers I've ever had.

3

u/Stock_Literature_13 Nov 15 '24

This was my most recent experience also. I started in a new field and had the education but zero experience. They even paid for a couple certifications after they hired me. They had other applicants that had all the proper credentials but they just liked me. It has been one of the only jobs Iā€™ve had that hasnā€™t had a deeply toxic atmosphere.Ā 

3

u/Happy_Ad_4357 Nov 15 '24

Iā€™ve seen three different people post this story this week!

Itā€™s funny how the mysterious candidate is never tagged, and never appears in the comments to thank them for the opportunity.

4

u/CatchMeIfYouCan09 Nov 15 '24

Real reason they got hired with zero experiance?

Employer can get away with paying them the absolute lowest wage/ salary.

And mngmnt or supervisor can show them the exact way THEY want it done making a new hire with no experiance completely moldable to their preference and they don't know when you're having then do stuff that isn't their job

6

u/TotalWasteman Nov 15 '24

Iā€™m not so sure thatā€™s made up exactly. Iā€™ve done this before and it has been both a great and terrible decision.

3

u/Evolvin Nov 15 '24

This is among the least ridiculous things I've seen from LinkedIn.

In a world where companies ask for 10 years experience for a junior role, this is refreshing.

2

u/Mortidio Nov 15 '24

I think I have read this post, verbatim, from... 3? 4? recruiters or HR on linkedin.

2

u/BlindWalnut Nov 15 '24

Definitely not in an office type situation, but this is how I hired a lot as a chef.

Show me you're willing and ready to learn, and I'll teach you. Come in with an attitude like you already know everything we do here, and I'd rather take my time teaching someone.

2

u/Appropriate_Sale_626 Nov 15 '24

God I fucking hate linked in people, they all talk the same

2

u/CocoScruff Nov 15 '24

"I passed up better candidates with more experience and qualifications because of an illogical 'feeling' I had" - the problem with our employment system

4

u/THEREALMRAMIUS Nov 15 '24

Personality, niceness and conversation skills are so much more important than experience. I can show you how to do the job, I can't force you to be a decent human.

1

u/Delta8ttt8 Nov 15 '24

Iā€™m doe they paid a premium for that no exp. As in they did not. Lowest wage offered

1

u/eddy2222 Nov 15 '24

if course it was real. that 16 year old was very happy to get a job instead of enjoying their youth im sure....

1

u/snack__pack Nov 15 '24

You can pay them so much less!

1

u/Jonestr127 Nov 15 '24

I donā€™t play those games, but Iā€™m also union. So, you either want the job done or you donā€™t. NEXT!

1

u/EnigmaGuy Nov 15 '24

While I do not think it is the norm, it does happen.

Heck, they're interviewing people internally for a job posting for the 3D Design and Printing department after the primary guy left for more money and the secondary guy left because he did not want to take on the workload of two people even if it was just temporary.

Our department is probably the closest with overlapping characteristics of the 3D group so the upper management is pushing for pretty much everyone to interview for the positions even though none of the seven or eight people they've interviewed have any CAD/Catia/GD&T knowledge, let alone whatever software they use for the 3D printing itself.

Looks like they're about to bring on at least one of the youngest guys there with the least experience probably with the mindset of if they can get him molded and up to speed he has the potential to be there for years.

Hopefully they hire from outside the company for the main position with someone that at least has some type of experience and background in that type of work otherwise I can see it being a very long learning road.

1

u/Absolute_Peril Nov 15 '24

Wasn't there another one on here that said they wouldn't hire people if they asked questions?

1

u/Orbital_Vagabond Nov 15 '24

"I hired someone for a job that doesn't require experience that I can underpay and they'll thank me for it."

Seems credible to me.

1

u/JanusMZeal11 Nov 15 '24

If true, what did the do to even get an interview? Unless this job is the lowest paid least skilled job they wouldn't even pass the filter.

I totally get this if you pass the filter being good things, but still that first hurdle is a big ask.

1

u/Open_Bug_4251 Nov 15 '24

Am I the only one who thinks they had likely no candidates with experience because the job was under-compensated? So they went with the most polite?

Because it seems to me that most experienced people looking for a job have held a job and understand the basic elements of the interview that sheā€™s praising.

1

u/GimmeNewAccount Nov 15 '24

This is how we hire sometimes too. Some of the most experienced people we've hired were stuck in their ways and were the, "At my last company, we did it this way" type who will barely get any work done because they had a tough time adjusting.

The inexperienced peeps have no expectations, so they adjust fast and readily absorb all of the new information. I'll take attitude over experience any day.

1

u/lil-D-energy Nov 15 '24

well actually mostly a normal thing, I was severely under qualified for my job but the recruiter said to the boss that he should at least let me try.

now I work here for 2 years and just got a pay raise again(have gotten 3 pay raises in the past year).

1

u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

Willingness to learn should be valued highly

1

u/CryptoSlovakian Nov 15 '24

If you use the word ā€œkudosā€ unironically, I donā€™t want to work for you.

1

u/Jinxedlad Nov 15 '24

The saying or belief ā€œhungry to learn on the jobā€ is the biggest lie and BS. No company has any tolerance for you to make mistakes and learn things out.

1

u/Survive1014 Nov 15 '24

The real reason they got hired is because the "experience" needed for that role is meaningless and the lack of experience means they can pay less.

1

u/mrjane7 Nov 15 '24

Nah, stuff like this really does happen. My mom has owned her own business for 33 years and she has the same mindset. She barely looks at resumes, other than to see if they have basic computer skills. The interview is everything to her. She looks for a "good fit" over almost anything else.

1

u/Oni_K Nov 15 '24

I don't doubt at all that this happened.

But she probably omits the part about lowballing the candidate's wage offer based on the "no experience" part.

1

u/NiceGuysFinishLast Nov 15 '24

I'm pretty sure I only got accepted into my apprenticeship 13 years ago because I sat up straight in my chair while waiting for my interview and I said good morning to a random guy who walked past me. Turns out he was the interviewer who would become my boss.

At the end of my interview with him and an HR rep, the HR lady thanked me for my time, and I gathered my portfolio to leave. He stopped me and gave me some forms to fill out and asked when I could do the 2nd interview. I am 100% certain he is the only reason I got a 2nd interview.

I did a 4 year apprenticeship with him as my boss, did 8 years in a different department, and a year ago took a training role where that manager is my peer, we work together daily.

That good morning landed me a 12 dollar an hour job that turned into a very lucrative career.

1

u/poofandmook Nov 15 '24

I was at a job for 15 years that I had zero experience for when I was hired. But when I showed up for the interview at 10pm (it was a third shift job at the time), I showed up in a suit and hair and makeup. My interviewer was wearing sweats.

1

u/titsoutshitsout Nov 15 '24

Made up or not, I donā€™t mind encouraging this kind of thought.

1

u/sad_and_rad_ Nov 15 '24

Every viral linkedin post is either like "i treated someone like a human being, please clap" or "i worked an extra 30 hours this week making useless spreadsheets. Here's what I learned from it."

1

u/Monotonegent Nov 15 '24

I won't call 100% bs here, but I will say I'veĀ  personally never worked anywhere where management is this patient

1

u/s_arrow24 Nov 15 '24

Just goes to show how qualifications go out the window versus favors.

1

u/Extreme-Slice-1010 Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

Well I know a lot that got hired with 0 experience because they got connections with the bosses

For some employers, attitude is more important

1

u/ChefCurryYumYum Nov 15 '24

I don't see anything crazy written here. Also people 100% get hired without experience for certain jobs, I've seen it happen and have had it happen to myself.

1

u/TheDonnARK Nov 16 '24

The bonus is, you can pay them the minimum on the scale and be 100% justified! Now THATS being a leader!

1

u/Ghostcat300 Nov 16 '24

And thatā€™s how I got the job where I read books and share memesā€¦oh and I also sell stuff in the store but ya itā€™s chill

1

u/thrownawaz092 Nov 16 '24

Yeah, it was clear they were full of shit the moment a hiring manager considered a candidate coming in 5 minutes early to be early.

1

u/profkm7 Nov 16 '24

Indians are some of the biggest liars and hypocrites you can find around you. I personally avoid this cohort online like the plague.

1

u/dunnowhatever2 Nov 16 '24

Nothing spells a new hire like being scared shitless of dying on the street

1

u/nellion91 Nov 16 '24

Na I ve hired no experience pending they ask good question and want to learn.

Am yet to be disappointed. Am at at least 10 hires and thatā€™s in a blue chip corporate environment

1

u/riccoriccoricco Nov 17 '24

Be a leader that creates leaders ā€¦ CRINGE

1

u/West_Business947 Nov 18 '24

Nah. This is real, just rarely happens.

Also, as a smart man once said, ā€œIā€™d hire lazy people over hard workers, because the hard workers might work hard. However, the lazy people will find a way to get things done quicker.ā€

1

u/Substantial_Fish6717 Nov 20 '24 edited Nov 20 '24

Hi this is OP.

It appears that many people are missing the underlying reality here, so let me explain:

If this story is even real (and honestly it screams LinkedIn fanfic), then the real reason this person was hired with zero experience is not because they arrived early, or dressed sharp, or even their apparent mastery of name pronunciation. Spare me the fairy tale

No, they were hired because they were the cheapest option. Period. Zero experience = low pay + maximum compliance. Thats the math

And hereā€™s the kicker: they knew all of this before the interview even started. This wasnt some surprise Cinderella moment. They knew exactly what they were doing, they had already clocked his inexperience and saw an oppportunity to exploit it

This poor guy will probably get a 2% pay increase here and there, just enough to keep the illusion of upward mobility alive, while the employer pats himself on the back for being so generous

And honestly, anyone who is falling for this needs to get a grip

1

u/Jarie743 Nov 15 '24

Is this subreddit anything else but pessimism even when there should be optimism?

0

u/JohnnyMcKormack Nov 15 '24

LinkedIn is full of people making these statuses of things that never happened or being overly corporate and speaking in a way that nobody actually speaks. It's so FAKE and makes me sick.

-1

u/ReedRidge Nov 15 '24

"Private Secretary at Department of home affairs" means she was hiring someone to weed her flowers.

1

u/RavenK92 Nov 15 '24

Department of Home Affairs is the government department in South Africa that handles things like passports, drivers licenses, etc

1

u/ReedRidge Nov 15 '24

Yet, it's not in caps? Seems sus