In the US for white collar jobs, have we arrived at the point that it's rude to walk into potential employers place of business and ask for work? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Erin Berkery-Rovner, Career Advisor, Former Recruiter, Freelance Writer, on Quora:
In the US for white collar jobs, have we arrived at the point that it's rude to walk into potential employers place of business and ask for work?
First your question says ‘have we arrived’ which touches on the history of job applications. It did used to be the norm that you walked into an office with a printed resume to inquire about a job because that was the most efficient way to get a job. There were fewer phone lines and no answering machines, and of course no emails in the past, and so nobody would look twice at you if you walked in to inquire. That is how business was done.
Also, in the past, employers were more forgiving about someone not having 100% of the qualifications. You haven’t worked for the last two years on a multi-line phone system? You seem like a nice guy, we can train you. But now, with the plethora of online applications, a company can (and is) seeing hundreds of applications, and so while your expertise might be exactly what they need, someone else might be even more qualified. Add to that the historical increase of people graduating from college (and high school too) and all of that has added to increased competition and employers looking for highly skilled workers even for a routine office job. In the past, someone who had some qualifications could walk in, make a good impression and walk out with a job.
Fast forward fifty or sixty years and that’s not still the case.
On its face, walking into a company and asking about a job is not rude.
But the reaction from the company will be the same reaction as if you did do something rude.
The thing that you have to remember is that technology has made things better and worse in hiring. An office needs someone to file all of their invoices. While it would seem convenient for someone to walk in off the street (and to your point that would be how they got the job over fifty years ago), it is more convenient for them to ask all of their colleagues if they know someone who already has experience. It is convenient to post this job and get hundreds of applications and to see the person who is most qualified for the job.
And you may be thinking “But I want basic office work—the type of thing a monkey can do!” And you’d be right, but because technology is so effective, they can see exactly the type of person who has already done white collar work (or any other criteria they want) by searching through resumes and talking to their colleagues about people they know who may be qualified.
So if you try to circumvent the situation, and instead of networking to try to find someone who works in that office or applying to the job online, you walk in the door, here is the reaction you will most likely get:
1) The many gatekeepers will not let you talk to the person who is interviewing. They will probably be short with you. And you will feel like you’ve done something rude. That is because they discourage people from walking in for security reasons, to not waste time, and so that they can hire people on their schedules.
2) You will be directed (even if you do meet with the hiring manager) to still apply online, and usually they’ll be annoyed if you haven’t done so already. You will feel that they’re being rude by telling you to apply online, but again, their reaction isn’t that you’ve done something rude, but that it makes their job harder for you to not follow the process.
3) If you do meet with someone, they haven’t had time to prepare for your interview, so they’re going to be more aggressive than they would be in another interview. It can show moxie, but the downside is that they expect you to bring it in your job interview. The clients I have had who were successful in barging in and getting an interview (which is a minority), always had a really hard interview. Harder than other clients who had interviewed at the same firm. You will feel that they are treating you differently and that’s because they are, you didn’t play by their rules so they’re not going to play nice.
So I hope this helps, but I also think that you should read this question: Can I get a job by just walking into a corporate office during its regular working hours with my documents and asking them to let me meet the HR?
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