When career coach Shoshanna Davis asked TikTok to share the “most unhinged” things they’ve done to land a job — social media users delivered.
Unhinged? Try unholy.
Among the job-seeking jaw-droppers who headed to the post’s comments section:
- “Sent a picture of a T-rex trying to make a bed instead of my CV with a note saying I’m not sending my CV because I’m bored of doing that. If you like this pic, meet me for a drink to discuss the job.” (It worked.)
- “Changed the font on my resume to SF Pro so when they read it, it feels ‘familiar’ to them and think ‘that’s the one.’”
- “A woman stopped by my boss’s office to ask about a job opening, but she spoke through her puppet.”
- “Won a dance battle for a referral.”
Desperate times, desperate measures.
Other contenders rewrote the rules of romance — turning dating apps into networking platforms:
- “Put ‘open to work’ on their Hinge dating profile.”
- “Turned a speed dating event into a networking one. Asked all matches about jobs and if they were looking for people.”
- “Matched with her on Raya, and landed an MD role after a few dates. She’s my wife now.”
- “Pretended to be interest[ed] in having dinner with a guy so he could send my CV to his boss because I wanted to work at the same company.”
“Some of these, no, I would not recommend,” Davis cautioned, telling Today.com in a recent interview.
“Some … are just point blank lying or deceiving the employer and I think eventually you probably will get found out.”
Davis herself admits she’s pulled off a few clever tricks — sneaking into invite-only tech events to get the inside scoop and bring that intel to interviews.
But not all job seekers are out there shaking hands and dancing for referrals — some just want the truth.
According to a report from the essay writing service EduBirdie, 58% of Gen Z workers won’t even apply for a job unless the salary is disclosed. Forget hiring hacks — they want hard numbers.
“Gen Z has watched previous generations get strung along with vague promises,” HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek. “When the job’s expectations far exceed the pay, candidates want to and deserve to know upfront.”
And don’t blame them.
A full 71% of young workers believe salary should be openly discussed in the office.
To them, it’s a red flag when employers don’t post pay — and a dealbreaker not to apply.
Because if Gen Z is going to lie their way into a job, they’d like to know what it pays first.
