A job rejection letter from 1957 is causing a stir in Reddit’s popular r/antiwork forum, and it’s definitely got us wondering exactly when professional courtesy went out the window.
“I am sorry to say that, due to no fault of your own, that job is dead,” begins the rejection letter from the Director of Public Relations at a menswear company to the job applicant. It goes on to say that the company’s plans have changed, and they “don’t have enough money to hire somebody just for writing.”
Honestly, we’re already impressed. Nowadays, you’re lucky if you hear back from jobs you applied to at all, even with a rejection form letter. Ghosting from the company is much more common, and it’s a very discouraging practice for job seekers.
But wait — there’s more! “I am enclosing a check ($75) for you, which I hope is some recompense for the trouble you have taken.” That’s when the internet had a collective jaw-on-the floor moment, us included.
‘Wild How Backwards We Went’
In today’s money, that $75 would be $868, which is mind boggling, even if it was meant to pay for travel expenses incurred during the interview process. Can you imagine a company you interview with being concerned about your time at all, let alone caring enough that they compensate you for it? Maybe it’s the norm for jobs with million dollar salaries, but it’s unheard of for anyone making a middle- or lower-class living.
Reactions from Redditors range from amazement to anger at what society has become since the letter was written. “Wow. Class act,” said one commenter. “An actual letter and recognition that applying for a job takes time. Nowadays you’re asked to code several projects as part of the application process.”
“These days I don’t think I’d blink if places started asking YOU to pay to apply to work for them,” said another, and we feel that one. A company needs good workers more than the workers need the company, but most people nowadays seem to think the power dynamic should be opposite.
“1957: ‘we respect your time, here’s compensation’
2026: ‘build us a full app for free and maybe we’ll ghost you’
wild how backwards we went.”
‘Never Forget What the Boomers Took From Us’
Other reactions included playing the blame game. “Never forget what the boomers took from us,” quipped one Redditor, which got more than 800 upvotes. “Climbed to the top, then kicked the ladder over,” responded someone else.
Others tried to determine why the job application process was so different back then. “How…did the 50s have better working culture?!” wondered someone incredulously. “Oh wait, unions,” they continued. “That is why.”
A surprising amount of commenters said they have taken matters into their own hands when it comes to job interviewing, and we’re here for it. “I live in the South SF bay area (San Jose) but in my younger years I took interviews everywhere,” explained one commenter. “At some point I started doing the math. (1/2 tank of gas… $20.. plus my time…) and just started getting really irate at companies asking me to do long drive in person interviews. One day I actually started asking them for reimbursement.”
“I have been through a lot of multi-round interviews in my career,” chimed in another Redditor. “If they ask for anything more than 3 interviews I ask to be compensated.”
These are the real heroes job seekers need right now.
More From Cheapism
- ‘No One Will Hire You’: Long-Term Unemployment Is on the Rise, and It’s Taking a Toll on Job Seekers — Long-term unemployment now accounts for a whopping 25% of all jobless workers in the U.S.
- Laid Off? In This Economy? These 8 Mistakes Might Make Things Worse — Here are some of the biggest mistakes after losing your job — and how to avoid making them yourself.
- As if the Pay Gap Wasn’t Enough: Study Finds AI Could Disrupt More Jobs Held by Women — According to the report, more than 6 million workers are at high risk of AI-driven job loss and are the least equipped to recover. About 86% of them are women.
