People have shared the baffling job hunting advice their parents have given them (stock image) (Image: Getty)
No one enjoys hunting for a job, and with recent figures showing more than 1.8 million people in the UK were out of work in the last three months of 2025, competition for roles is hotter than ever. Statistics released this week show the rate of unemployment in the UK is 5.2 per cent, the highest since January 2021, when the world was in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Outside of the pandemic era, this is the highest figure since autumn 2015.
It’s no wonder then that many people are seeking advice on how they can find a job. But unfortunately, that advice isn’t always that helpful – especially if it comes from someone who hasn’t had to look for a job for some time.
The truth of the matter is the job market has changed rapidly in recent years – and this is a clear reason why so many people are struggling. The rise of AI means job roles can be flooded with applications, which is a major issue for candidates hoping to get noticed.
One Reddit user said they were becoming frustrated with their parents giving them advice on job hunting which was useless in the modern world. Posting to the social media site’s CasualUK page, they asked: “Anyone else’s parents give them old-fashioned job advice?”
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They wrote: “So I’m currently looking for work. Three years in client acquisition and five in sales.
“And my parents’ advice? People in their 60s and 70s? ‘Go to some of the shops in the town centre, ask for the manager, look him straight in the eye, give him a firm handshake, hand him your CV, and ask for [a] job. You’ll be given the job by the time mum puts the dinner on’.
“Then goes on about at my age, he had a trade, a motorbike and a career. At least my mum knows it’s all done online now. You’re lucky if you even get a f****** interview.”
Others shared their own similar experiences. One said: “My younger brother still lives with my mum. He’s been looking for work for a while, and he’s a bit naive, so I say to him on a regular basis ‘don’t listen to a word mum says’.
“I can’t remember exactly what she said, but the last time I was looking for work she was giving me a lecture on everything I was doing wrong, I said ‘Yes mum, but looking for a scientist job now is not the same as looking for secretary work 30 years ago’. She just can’t comprehend that things have changed.”
Another said: “Sending applications in online and my dad told me I needed to take job hunting seriously. Get dressed, print off my CV and walk into offices and ask to speak to manager. Could not compute that sitting on my laptop was me trying.”
Someone else wrote: “Yes, my dad still says send a letter to the CEO and still thinks five applications will mean five offers. It’s laughably out-of-date advice.”
However, one shared how the old-fashioned approach had actually paid off for them. They said: “When I was 14 or 15 (15 years ago) I walked into my local computer repair shop and asked if they need any part-time help.
“I didn’t even speak good English back then. I already had experience fixing computers for people privately and hacking game consoles but nothing to prove it.
“They ended up hiring me and I worked there for three years. It helped me massively when I was searching my first real job out of uni. I graduated on Friday and started my full-time job in support on Monday.”
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