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Picture this scene: You speak with a recruiter about a job and set up an interview. Days pass. The company reaches out to remind you about the interview and then, when the scheduled time comes, the recruiter gives you a call. You pick up the phone and … silence, from both ends.
You say nothing. No “hello.” No “hi, may ask who’s calling?” Nothing. You continue this silence for as long as it takes for the recruiter to make sure that someone is on the other line.
Sounds weird, right? But for at least one recruiter, it’s becoming an increasing trend about Gen Z job candidates.
i’m a recruiter so i do a TON of phone interviews and something i’ve noticed about gen z specifically is that a lot of them answer the phone and don’t say anything. like i can hear their breathing and the background noise, but they wait for you to say hello first.
— lex (@jorilextera) July 10, 2025
Gen Z Is Trying To Ruin Decades Old Social Conventions About Phone Call Interactions
X user @jorilextera explained the phenomenon recently, and the blowback she got in the replies from those in Gen Z was nothing short of astonishing.
“I’m a recruiter. So I do a TON of phone interviews, and something I’ve noticed about Gen Z specifically is that a lot of them answer the phone and don’t say anything,” she wrote. “Like, I can hear their breathing and the background noise, but they wait for you to say hello first.”
Now, one common rebuttal was about how many calls these days are spam calls. But she specifically noted in a follow-up post that all the candidates self-scheduled the calls and were given a reminder an hour beforehand. Additionally, all of the candidates are told what number the call is coming from.
The post immediately blew up, with over 11,000 reposts and 250,000 likes. In most of the replies, Millennial and Gen X users pointed out how bizarre the behavior seemed.
“The word hello was literally popularized as a greeting as a way to answer the phone so the caller knows you’re there lmao,” one posted.
There are people in this thread earnestly defending the idea that it is on the caller to speak first. How is the caller supposed to know when to speak if the receiver hasn’t established they’re on the line yet? I refuse to get tricked into thinking this is a new norm!” said another.
But Gen Z pushed back!
“Yet another case of ‘older gen’s created a sh—y situation (constant spam bot calls) and are now throwing a tantrum bc they don’t like how younger gen’s were forced to adapt’ Not our fault you made it so 90% of the calls I receive are bots trying to steal my credit card info,” one Zoomer posted.
“Shouldn’t the person initiating the call be the first to speak or am i crazy?” asked another.
Now, I’m not going to call that person crazy. Because I do not know that person. But no, Gen Z, the impetus is not on the caller to greet you. Phone call etiquette has been agreed upon for several decades. We are not backing down on this one. So it’s time to learn how to be normal human beings.
Content shared from brobible.com.