the thongs in recruitment agencies - sigh - i think you'll find they're the ones that HAVE to be there, not the ones that want to get a job. My DH doesn't "do" shoes unless they're work boots - so he wears leather sandals to important things (like job interviews) with cargo shorts and a dress polo... the type of work he does, that's the standard of dress.

i noticed you mentioned call centre work on FB - the way you dressed for your interview is completely appropriate for a lot of call centres - but not all. we have a "relaxed corporate" dress code - no jeans, shorts only if they're dress shorts, no spaghetti straps, dress shirts, no colarless tees etc. others i know are much more casual. the commetn we've had is if you dress business like, you act it - if you dress like a sloth, your work ethic becomes more casual.

i still do two spaces after full stops most of the time - it's how i was taught! i don't do it so much now that i chat a lot (the same as i don't use caps due to injury in my wrist making the shift key hurt! but in formal docs i do)

i think a lot has changed - but i'm not 30 yet and everything you've mentioned is stuff that i was taught and am having to teach myself to NOT do now!