🚧 Walked On Every Building Site
👷 Back in the day, if you needed work, you got up, brushed off your boots, and walked the length of the high street — site to site.
“Any chance of a start?”
“Can I speak to the foreman?”
And just like that, you had a trial shift, a start date, and maybe even a bacon butty from the lad on the mixer.
No HR portal. No AI screening. No six-page CV.
Just face to face jobs, earned by showing up and taxes paid by the foreman out of your wages so we had to give him our details of course.
📩 Now Hiring… Through a Black Hole
Try that now, and you’ll be pointed to a QR code nailed to the hoarding.
“You need to apply online.”
“Have you emailed your CV?”
“Did you get the Zoom link?”
It’s not just the bricks that have gone prefab — it’s the whole hiring process. Cold, robotic, and built for people who know how to write “I’m a self-starter” instead of… well, actually being one.
Where did all the face to face jobs go?
🎥 Zoom Isn’t a First Impression — It’s a Filter
You used to get judged on how you carried yourself. Your attitude. The way you pitched in, even before being asked.
Now?
You’re judged on how strong your internet is. Whether your mic works. If your background looks “professional.”
Some of the best grafters I’ve known wouldn’t know where to find their webcam settings — but they could dig a trench straighter than a laser.
This new system’s not built for people who work with their hands.
It’s built for people who type about working with their hands.
💼 You Can’t Fist Bump a Screen’s Hand
There’s something powerful about being looked in the eye and offered a chance.
The quiet respect between a grafter and a gaffer.
The small talk over the boot of the van before the shift starts.
The “we’ll give you a go” moment — gone now, buried under PDFs and portals.
Face to face jobs weren’t just about getting paid. They were about getting seen. Getting a shot. Earning trust the old-school way.
🛠️ Time to Build Something Better
We’re not anti-progress. Zoom has its place. Online CVs work for some.
But can we bring a bit of balance back?
How about this: for every five roles online, let’s offer one the old-fashioned way. Let the boots-on lads and lasses have their shot — no webcam required.
Because face to face jobs don’t just fill positions.
They build communities, skills, and pride.
😂 oavo’s Cheeky Closer
So if you’re hiring, maybe keep one eye out for the fella at the fence.
He might not have a fancy profile picture.
But give him a brew and a start time — and he’ll outwork every algorithm in sight (He could even be the cheeky window cleaner called oavo, ha!).
That’s what we call a proper face to face job.
📢 Limericks from the Lounge
Said, “Gis a start — just a trial, maybe three?”
The gaffer said, “Right,”
Passed a shovel in sight —
And I left with a butty and glee.
I said, “I’ve got bricks, not a drone.”
The portal just crashed,
My patience was mashed —
So I went for a pint on my own.
Typed, “I dig well and lift heavy hoots.”
The site made me write
‘bout my insight and plight —
I gave up and swept garden chutes.
Could plaster a wall with one toe.
But Zoom gave him fear,
And they called him “too weird” —
Just ‘cause he waved from below.
No handshake, no gaffer’s old smile.
I once got declined
‘Cause I looked “misaligned” —
My headshot was cropped in old style.
I’m not here to trigger alarm.”
They said, “What’s your brand?”
So I held out me hand —
And offered to clean up the farm.
“If you’re hiring, don’t just tick-list.
Give lads a good look,
Not a website and hook —
And maybe a brew with a twist!”