How we used to get jobs: A newspaper classifieds story
Newspaper classifieds, walk-ins, and mailed resumes once shaped how people found jobs and apartments, with geography, social capital, and effort acting as natural filters on both sides of the hiring process. Commenters contrast that era’s slower, more personal and often locally bounded systems with today’s online job boards, algorithmic screening, visa-related PERM ads, and AI-driven resume spam, arguing that the modern market is simultaneously more accessible and more chaotic. Many reflect that while the internet broadened opportunity and information, it also intensified competition, weakened informal social advantages in some areas, and introduced new forms of gatekeeping and exploitation.
How People Used to Get Jobs (Classifieds Era)
- Many recall mailing or hand-delivering resumes in response to newspaper ads.
- Physical effort (printing on good paper, mailing, visiting offices, attending job fairs) acted as a filter and reduced applicant overload.
- Some companies only listed openings on-site; walking in and asking was required.
- Coding tests were often paper-based or whiteboard, focused on basic correctness or code review.
Comparisons to Modern Hiring
- Several argue the old system was better for both employers and employees: fewer applicants, more attention per candidate, and more willingness to invest in hires.
- Others note the old system heavily constrained opportunities geographically and favored those with guidance on “how the world works.”
- Today, online postings enable more access but also a flood of resumes, bot/AI-driven applications, and a feeling that the process is “totally broken.”
- Some lament that the modern process is information-rich yet worse at answering “can this person do the work?”
Social Capital, Class, and Meritocracy
- Posters emphasize “social capital”: knowing where to look, how to present oneself, and having networks still strongly shapes outcomes.
- Some see this as persistent elitism and nepotism; others argue referrals are rational because trusted recommendations beat short interviews.
- Debate over whether hiring was more meritocratic in the past or is less so now; views conflict.
Immigration, PERM, and H‑1B Loopholes
- Several mention PERM ads in classifieds as box-checking exercises to justify green cards for foreign workers.
- Belief that some jobs are intentionally advertised in low-visibility channels to avoid domestic applicants.
Technology, Internet, and Broader Life Changes
- Mixed views: some think life and job search were “simpler” pre‑internet; others stress it was only simpler for the well-connected.
- The internet increased reach and competition, but also enabled better information and remote opportunities.
- Similar dynamics noted in other markets (apartments, used cars): easier discovery plus more “hustlers” and intermediaries.
Anecdotes and Nostalgia
- Numerous personal stories: walking into IBM offices, dot-com bust hardship, small-town help-wanted signs, quirky early brokers, and long careers launched from a single newspaper ad or aptitude test.