Photo: TikTok
The job hunt isn't easy nowadays, but boy was it a breeze back when our parents were doing it.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on May 13, 2023
Job hunting is serious work — not only does it feel like no one is hiring, but employers are asking for years upon years of experience for roles that probably don’t require half your lifetime.
One woman recalls a conversation she had with her parents about how their job-hunting went back in their day and compared it to her current job-hunting process.
She claims they used to be able to walk in and get hired on the spot.
In a TikTok video that has already received over a million views in less than 24 hours, a woman named Aneeka describes what it was like for her parents when they were trying to get a job. Spoiler alert: it was easy.
“When my mom was my age and she needed a job, her dad would go into stores and be like ‘are you guys hiring?’ and they would say ‘yep,’ and then he would say ‘my daughter needs a job’ and they would say ‘okay when can she start?’”
Aneeka claims that was how she got most of her jobs. Not to mention that back then, a job at any old store could likely provide for a whole family, get all of the kids through college, and even afford a new house/car/trip to wherever you want. These days, you’re lucky to get a living wage.
“My dad, he told me how one time he just called the place and he was like ‘Are you guys hiring?’ and they were like ‘Yep, when can you start?’” she continued explaining. If you’re a Millennial or younger, this sounds like a pipe dream. A fairytale. This sounds like the start of your favorite fiction book.
Aneeka talks about how her month-long job search has been so far.
“I spend over an hour applying to just one job because I have to fill out their questionnaire, and then after that, I have to do some kind of online quiz for them just for them to not even look at my application,” she explains, “and that’s what I do all day, every day, for like the past month.”
Aneeka’s process expresses a very common frustration, as told by the comments section under her video. “Please, submit your resume *uploads resume and click next* now write your past work experiences and education pls,” reads the top comment, referring to how long it takes to fill out a job application.
“They asked me if I had 8 years of experience. 8 YEARS?!” reads another comment, referring to the ridiculous requirement for some of the jobs they had to apply for. “I went through applying, screening call, skills testing, personality quiz, and five interviews over NINE WEEKS and they ghosted me at the end,” wrote someone else, highlighting their own experience.
Aneeka has been doing this for about a month, but according to FlexJobs, it’s going to take much longer than that to find anything.
“On average, it takes about 3-6 months from start to finish to get a job, and you have an 8.3% probability of getting a job interview from one job application,” former FlexJobs Career Expert, Cidnye Work explains. “That means it could take as many as 10-20 applications to get one interview. And, on top of that, it can take 10-15 interviews to get one job offer.”
On top of the older generations claiming that “no one wants to work” and constantly increasing cost of living prices, job-hunting is a full-time job in and of itself — just one that doesn’t pay.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.