Years ago, people insisted that the best way to get a job would be to just walk into an office and hand someone your resume.
And you know what? I suppose that—for a time—it worked.
The job market of today is nothing like the job market of the past, and, truth be told, I did follow that advice when I was younger (and yes, I managed to secure a job or two in the process).
But given the state of things, it's clear that advice like this doesn't hold up anymore, and it's far from the only advice that falls into this bracket.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor The Managah asked the online community:
"What was great advice 20 years ago, but definitely isn’t now?"
"In high school..."
"In high school as part of one of my classes they brought in a lady who worked HR for some recruiting firm for a few days to teach us how to do resumes and cover letters and such and she told us even if a place has an option to apply online always go in person and pick up an application because no one takes online applications seriously."
profJesusFish
I wonder where this recruiter is now. Surely she's eaten her words.
"My dad..."
"My dad told me once, "Son you shouldn't schedule a single vacation day the first year of your job. It shows you're committed.""
DayDreams9119
Yeah, good luck with that. If I have vacation days, I'm definitely taking them.
"Don't forget..."
"Don't forget to print out your directions from MapQuest before you leave."
stugaut35
Oh yes... GPS has totally changed the game, hasn't it?
"You need to memorize..."
"You need to memorize this because you won't have the info accessible later."
[deleted]
Ever heard of open book tests? The most important skill isn't knowing the right answer, it's knowing how to find out the right answer. And that's gotten much easier.
"People always wonder..."
"People always wonder how some people get to be soo creepy but they forgot that they've been brought up by a generation who thought the best way to get a woman was agressive flirting techniques, actual stalking and being overly possessive."
umbraldisappointment
An excellent point — and it's difficult to unlearn those habits!
"Getting a diploma..."
"Getting a diploma will secure your life."
[deleted]
But will it though? Will it?
"You're searching..."
"You're searching for a soulmate on the internet? Lord you must be insane."
yanks8190
Funny how times change. The script on this has flipped completely.
"To look after..."
"To look after your phone battery you should let it go all the way down to 0% and then charge fully to 100%."
PangolinMandolin
Who is the monster who told you that one and how did they get away with it for so long?
"Sure..."
"Buy that house!! Sure it seems weird that you qualified for such a high home loan but I'm sure they wouldn't offer it to you if you couldn't afford it."
JD_85
Oh, dear, the people who experienced the 2008 financial crisis would like a word.
"To this day..."
"To this day, my mom believes the way to apply for ANY job, is to walk in and hand your future boss your paper resume. Whether or not they're actively hiring."
IAmBabs
Oh wow, she really needs to get with the times on this one. If you do that these days, it's an easy way to get your resume discarded.
Times certainly do change — and fast.
It's no wonder some people can't keep up!
Have some other advice to share? Tell us more in the comments below!
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC