My partner was laid off in January of last year. Hundreds of applications later, he’d only landed two interviews with no job offers.
We had managed to stay optimistic during the job search, using the time to travel and see family, but our positive attitudes began to wear thin as January turned into September.
As a tech professional, he found it difficult to find work in the field as AI surges and companies grapple with the uncertainty it brings. Even with my help as a previous recruiter, he was ghosted by most companies. I reviewed and tweaked his résumé multiple times, edited his cover letters, gave him tips on finding leads on LinkedIn, and we even practiced mock interviews.
At one point, I listened in on a remote second-round interview to make sure I didn’t have any additional pointers. He was doing great, but when he didn’t land that position either, our worry grew.
Desperate, he stepped outside his comfort zone and began applying to non-tech companies. But with no experience in other fields, that effort was also fruitless. He wasn’t even getting a call back. That’s when he came up with a unique plan.
Nothing was working, so he decided to try something old-school
One day, after seeing an open role that was locally posted online, he decided to try an old-school tactic by visiting in person after submitting his online application.
When he told me, I worried about how they’d react to an unexpected drop-in. But he’s a social person, and being at home so much was tough on him. If nothing else, putting in an appearance at their headquarters would let him be social in the middle of what would have been a workday, instead of searching through postings at home for the thousandth time.
I had serious doubts that showing up unannounced would work, but we were approaching the 10th month of his job search, and he looked excited about an opportunity. That had become rare.
I wished him luck and held my breath when he left that morning.
He showed up with doughnuts
Now, my husband is a pastry lover, and on the way to their office, he stopped for a box of doughnuts to bring as a nice gesture. The move drew attention during his visit and jump-started conversations with staff.
He came home hopeful but nervous, telling me about who he had met and how the sweets had gone over better than expected. And it was true: his visit pulled him to the top of the applicant pool, and he finally received a call from HR later that day. The woman mentioned the doughnuts and how the staff had appreciated the treat.
A few interviews with them finally turned into a job offer.
When he first told me he planned to show up at their office with a box of sweets, I didn’t think the visit would do much. Truthfully, dropping his résumé in person for that level of role seemed outdated to my recruiter’s mind. I worried they would find his actions antiquated. I was wrong.
His visit earned him the chance to land a job he wouldn’t have been considered for otherwise. Six months later, he’s been offered a raise and recently had a great review. We still joke that doughnuts are responsible for his employment, even though they were just a symbol of his tenacity in this hard job market.
Making things personal opened the door to his new role
Unemployment isn’t for the faint-hearted. It chips away at your confidence and finances while escalating life’s stressors. I feel for anyone currently on the hunt when I look back at those 10 months of uncertainty.
What I love about the story is that showing up with a box of doughnuts is a very “him” thing to do, and it was when he let his personality shine that he finally got recognized as a person instead of just another applicant in their email inbox.
As a former HR professional, the job market and hiring process can feel brutal and impersonal on both sides. He forced it to be personal, and that’s when things clicked.
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