Some of the companies listed in the meme are staffing up with seasonal employees for the holiday season.
None of the phone numbers listed in the meme connects callers to hiring or personnel departments.
A meme that typically pops up on social media around the winter holiday season proclaims to identify several major companies that are currently staffing up and offers phone numbers presumably useful for connecting job-seekers with hiring/personnel departments at those businesses:
"NOW HIRING," the image blares, before listing a series of five toll-free numbers for FedEx, Home Depot, UPS, Verizon and Staples. But none of those phone numbers actually connects callers to any job line.
We tried calling all the listed companies and found the FedEx number either doesn't work at all or connects to customer service, the Home Depot and UPS phone numbers lead to interminable sales pitches for "special offers," the Verizon number directs callers to a fake "Verizon Jobs Search" web page, and the Staples number is a general customer service line (which doesn't offer a menu option for those seeking employment).
That's not to say that these businesses aren't hiring with the holiday season looming, however.
According to news reports, FedEx will be taking on 55,000 seasonal employees, although prospective workers would probably be better served looking at the company's actual job board rather than calling a non-working number or a customer service line. "FedEx representatives cannot address any employment-related requests," a recording on the toll-free number states.
Those seeking jobs at Home Depot would also be better served looking at the company's job board rather than calling the number on the meme, which led to a recorded survey about the age of household members and did not appear to be in any way associated with the home improvement store chain.
UPS has been holding hiring events in different parts of the county and, like FedEx, is staffing up for holiday deliveries. Job seekers can also search for and apply to open positions on the company's online job board. The number in the meme directs to a vague "offer" and asks callers to participate in a recorded survey.
Verizon also has its own website for hiring. The phone number on the meme offers a recording of a man speaking in a faux-British accent which directs callers to a ZipRecruiter website rather than Verizon's.
Like all these other large companies, Staples has their own job board. The phone number on the meme is merely the customer service line for the office supply retailer.
This image has been circulating online since at least 2011, and it's unclear who created it or what the intent behind it was. What is clear is that sharing the meme and pursuing its purported job leads are a waste of time and effort. Job seekers are better served going directly to the hiring websites of the referenced companies or seeking out job fairs in their vicinities.