25 Former Employees Share Shocking Industry Secrets: 'Job requirements are more of a wish-list situation'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Jun 13, 2024 6:00 AM EDT

When you work in an industry for a while, you're likely to learn some insider knowledge that the rest of the workforce probably doesn't know about. Whether you work in the service industry, sales, marketing, or anything else, there's a lot of little interesting tidbits of info that's fun to share with your friends. Like, for example, that flavor that makes movie theater popcorn so addicting? A former employee shared where exactly you can buy it and use it on your own popcorn, and you'd never know the difference. Or have you ever been job searching and turned down countless applications because you didn't meet all of the requirements? A former recruiter shared that those "requirements" are more like a wish list than anything else, and it most definitely should not deter you from applying if you don't meet one requirement. I don't know about you, but these are all things I wish I had known sooner. Keep reading below to discover some more juicy insider secrets from former employees.

Looking for more tips and tricks? Check out this next: 25+ Life Hacks That Are So Simple More People Should Know About Them: 'Be genuinely nice to a customer service person, and the amount of free stuff you will get will surprise you'

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  • 01
    r/AskReddit ⚫22 hr. ago Typical_Affect8207 What is an industry secret that you know?
    via u/Typical_Affect8207
  • 02
    . prezuiwf 1d ago The stuff that makes movie theater popcorn taste like movie theater popcorn is called Flavacol. It's a salt- like additive that you can buy yourself and add to your popcorn at home. A carton lasts forever because you only need like a teaspoon of Flavacol per cup of kernels, and it's indistinguishable from the popcorn you get at the movies.
    via u/prezuiwf
  • 03
    BangBangBartsBitch 23h ago Just last night we were playing a gig and my guitarist said he was going to show us a little trick he uses to get everyone on the dance floor. Over the mic he asked everyone to come up in front of the stage so we could get a group picture of everyone who came to the show. As soon as he got the pic we started playing and everyone stayed on the floor until the end of the set. It was a great!
    via u/BangBangBartsBitch
  • 04
    P bryson430 1d ago • Theatre Seats aren't all the same size. Some are narrower than others - we use a variety to manipulate the "sawtooth" arrangement so that you look through a gap between heads not straight into the head of the person in front of you. That means some seats are "better" (ie: wider) than others.
    via u/bryson430
  • 05
    • • zombieblack... 1d ago Edited 1d ago. The machine that injects white fluff operates at 37psi. If into turned up to 55, it blows the twinkle to bits and makes a big mess in the lab.
    via u/zombieblackbird
  • 06
    i-likebigmutts • 21h ago ER veterinarian. When your pets are hospitalized or need to stay at the clinic, unless they're aggressive, need to be monitored very carefully, or we're absolutely slammed, they are constantly getting positive attention from the staff. I've had kennel attendants and techs cuddle up with patients on their breaks, myself and colleagues have made phone calls or typed up records while holding on to your pets, we routinely talk about how cute the patients are (in fact, it's a
    via u/i-likebigmutts
  • 07
    We know that your pet got into your weed, and we truly don't care. Seriously. Just be honest. We operate on a triage basis (sicker things are seen first, regardless of how long others have been waiting). person and you're constantly up front. If you're a complaining to staff about the wait times/the decor/why there isn't enough staff, being difficult in other ways, being dismissive to the non-doctors, AND your pet is stable and has been triaged similarly to another pet that came in around the sa
    via u/i-likebigmutts
  • 08
    my job involves giving bad news, talking to emotional people who often take out their feelings on those around them, and having to defend the costs of emergency care and surgery, that I'm not going to eagerly jump into taking a file for someone who's being difficult before they've even been spoken to.
    via u/i-likebigmutts
  • 09
    IsJoeFlaccoElite • 1d ago When you're buying a higher end refrigerator, you're basically only paying for fancier doors. Most of the inner workings are the same, just a different door configuration. I used to work in the appliance industry.
    via u/IsJoeFlaccoElite
  • 10
    telecasper • 1d ago Most fitness models, coachers and influencers are using anabolic steroids or did it once at least, and among competitive bodybuilders everyone does it, but almost no one admits it.
    via u/telecasper
  • 11
    bigboisbotleo • 23h ago Used to screen resumes for small companies. Job "requirements" are more of a wish-list situation. Never let some unchecked boxes deter you from applying - you have no idea what the applicant pool is like. The biggest boon, especially at small companies, is someone who legitimately cares.
    via u/bigboisbotleo
  • 12
    martinfendertaylor Hospitals 1d ago at cyber security.
    via u/martinfendertaylor
  • 13
    STRICKIBHOY • 23h ago I was told during my driver training for a public bus company, if a car pulls out in front of you, causing you to slam the brakes, hit it. Let the passengers claim insurance from the car driver. If you slam the brakes, avoid the collision, the injured passengers will/can sue the bus company.
    via u/STRICKIBHOY
  • 14
    praetorfenix · 1d ago • Edited 15h ago Healthcare IT is held together with duct tape and twine. Related, pay attention to the treatment release forms. Your health data is being sent EVERYWHERE and there's not you can do about it. No sign, no treatment. Edit: apparently it is possible to opt out of your state's health information exchange. but it must be done with the exchange itself. The process varies by state and can be painful.
    via u/praetorfenix
  • 15
    • bliss jpg 23h ago If you give one website your name, another website your number, and another website your email, there are services that merge info together by scanning the web and build a profile of you for ad targeting and sales. Some of you may assume this already but it is standard practice and utilized more frequently than you might think.
    via u/bliss_jpg
  • 16
    OkEngineer8233 • 1d ago In the restaurant industry, the secret is that the "special sauce" is often just a clever blend of the same condiments you have in your fridge -mayo, ketchup, and a dash of mystery
    via u/OkEngineer8233
  • 17
    Human_Cranberry_2805 • 1d ago Nutrition labels on small, not well-known brands can be inaccurate, and nobody would ever know. Once you send your food product out to a lab to have a nutrition label created for it, that is the last time anyone is ever going to check it. It would take someone to pay for a new analysis at a lab to see if the percentage of qwar gum, for example. is still accurate, and nobody is going to do that.
    via u/Human_Cranberry_2805
  • 18
    stonedfishing • 1d ago The military typically disposes of old vehicles by parking it somewhere on a large base, and abandoning it. Sometimes. they use them as training targets. It's cool but eerie to see. I know where there's a lake that's full of Sherman tanks. They drove them out there in the late 50s in the winter and left them to fall through.
    via u/stonedfishing
  • 19
    highcaliberwit • 23h ago Some plus size models get liposuction on their face and necks to be more aesthetically pleasing
    via u/highcaliberwit
  • 20
    PM_UR_NUDES_4_RATING • 1d ago No matter how high up the chain you get, nobody really knows what's going on... everyone is winging it for any work that falls outside their very specific area of expertise.
    via u/PM_UR_NUDES_4_RATING
  • 21
    scrimmybingus3 • 23h ago Dawn dish soap is the single best way to clean up an oil spill on the small scale. The US government went to great lengths to try and make their own cheaper in house equivalent of Dawn for cleaning up oil but they found that they couldn't make it better or cheaper than Dawn already did so they just buy Dawn.
    via u/scrimmybingus3
  • 22
    . c2h5oh_yes 1d ago Edited 19h ago Teachers ROUTINELY fudge kids' grades upward. Sometimes it's because a kid is nice. Sometimes it's because administrators pressure us. Sometimes we're afraid of being sued. That high graduation rate at your local HS? It's most likely due to the books being cooked. ETA: I've said this before but this whole situation is a prime example of Goodharts Law in action. When a metric becomes a target it loses all meaning.
    via u/c2h5oh_yes
  • 23
    The HS I teach at touts a low number of suspensions and no expulsions this year. And yet, it is almost guaranteed that a student will tell me to "go myself when I ask for his phone tomorrow. ETA Again: for all the people talking about kids getting held back....that doesn't happen anymore really. I've been teaching 20 years and I can count on one hand the number if students I've seen get held back. It's exceptionally rare.
    via u/c2h5oh_yes
  • 24
    Tomato Nose • 1d ago Vehicles are offloaded from Roll-On, Roll- Off ferries (aka RoRos) in a specific order for weight and balance reasons. If you are nice to the crew and give us cookies, you will be offloaded sooner. If you are verbally abusive to the crew you will be offloaded last. Dead last. For weight and balance.
    via u/ShitBagTomatoNose
  • 25
    mellotronworker • 21h ago Recipe for Coca Cola Ingredients: Citrate Caffein 1 oz. Extract Vanilla 1 oz. Flavouring 2.5 oz (detailed below) F.E. Coco 4 oz Citric Acid 3 oz Lime Juice 1 quart Sugar 30lbs Water 2.5 Gallons Caramel sufficient Flavouring: Oil Orange 80 Oil Lemon 120 Oil Nutmeg 40 Oil Cinnamon 40 Oil Coriander 20 Oil Neroli 40 Alcohol 1 quart (let stand for 24 hours)
    via u/mellotronworker
  • 26
    These are all in US Imperial measurements and the flavouring units are in minims or mins. One min is literally one drop of liquid. That flavouring section, combined with the Vanilla extract is what is collectively known at the company as 7X - the ultra secret 7 things which make the flavour - the alcohol is only used to extract the flavours and doesn't end up in the final drink.
    via u/mellotronworker
  • 27
    Breathing Drake • 1d ago I'm repair tech at Chuck E Cheese. There are some games we can adjust the payout for and some we can't. We have a number called "Ticket per play" or "ticket per tap" that we have to try to maintain. EVERY game and ride is adjusted somehow so we can get to that average number. The length of the ride is so you will tap your card more or less times. Some games have fixed ticket payout we can't adjust so we adjust other games up or down to get the whole average to that magic
    via u/BreathingDrake
  • 28
    If a game is cheating you out of tickets, we probably did that on purpose to compensate for something else. This also goes for the claw machine. We can control how often it pays out. Tickets can be bought at one penny per ticket. If you drop a quarter into a token machine, if it doesn't pay you 25 tickets, you're better off just buying tickets. No we don't reuse pizza. It's cheaper and easier to just make another one since we get the ingredients in bulk. It's just that we cut into smaller slices
    via u/BreathingDrake
  • 29
    • • Impossible_Bit_431 1d ago Edited 1d ago. Your massage therapist doesn't care about your size or your body hair, but they appreciate when you've showered within a few days of your appointment and have brushed your teeth. They aren't judging you for the things you feel self conscious about, but they are judging you if you are an entitled . Saying things like "my wife would not be happy if she knew how hot you were", although it may seem to you like a harmless compliment, is creepy and will get
    via u/Impossible_Bit_431
  • 30
    buku43v3r 1d ago • i worked for Fedex Trade Networks clearing customs shipments and almost anyone buying anything over 800 bucks or stuff from china and a few select other countries have to provide what's called a 5106. A 5106 is a form the us government uses for duties and tax purposes and but on the form you need to provide a social security or ein number. We started working remote in 2021 and on my work computer from inside my house with nobody being able to ever know I had access to 100's of
    via u/buku43v3r
  • 31
    That's not even the kicker, this is an entry level position and anyone can work it and have access to this ...... If you import personally from overseas and need to provide a 5106 you're better off getting a llc to avoid the very high posibility that some fedex hired doesn't snap a photo of your 5106 form from his phone.
    via u/buku43v3r
  • 32
    OM middle a VOM E
    via Pavel Danilyuk

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