Jack Nicholson’s sequel—nautical edition. /// Taken by me, walking many docks during my yacht charter years //// Cortez island, British Columbia, 2019

As a seasoned career artist and children’s book author, like 99% of other artists out there, this has yet to sustain my full income needs. Just read my bog post that will give you a current pulse on the publication industry, as well as this other Substacker’s brilliant post.As for a lot of professional hard-working artists out there, our sales are down—but I still have gotten some recent large-scale custom commissions (like Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe) here and there which keeps my hope afloat these days which I am so grateful for. Nonetheless, an inverse equation is happening here: my art sales have been slightly lower this past year (due to people having less discretionary income) while inflation is higher and I have a mortgage and more bills to pay (because adulting). So, I really need to prioritize my hospitality work as my a prominent job more than ever right now. Thus, enter this “job search.” To supplement my art career, I have always had independent contractor work throughout the years—ever since I left college 15 years ago—and now, after 12 years working as a freelance yacht chef and stewardess/chef for UHNW families, I decided to take my skillset to a permanent land estate position. I needed to finally graduate from yachting and stay tethered to land, not just because I now have my dog Totem, but for a lot better reason (which I reveal in the 4th paragraph). So, I signed up and interviewed with several UHNW staffing agencies who were all enthusiastic about putting me forward for jobs that arose in my skillset (especially having a yacht background)—but, omgosh, torture of landing just ONE of these positions was not something I was prepared for.

First, my search started in my home state of Colorado and surrounding states. Not that many opportunities were available, so nothing secured. Then, to be around more job opportunities, I flew down to my old yacht stomping grounds of south Florida and stayed with a friend for 2 weeks while searching for work in either temp yacht jobs or land estates. Close calls for temp work but nothing came to fruition in getting hired. I even got to do a test chef job for a family on Fisher Island (the most expensive zip code in the USA lol but I personally think that place is way overrated). I even utilized my professional network and reached out to several captains I knew to see if they had work—still, nothing came of that. Then, I flew up to NYC to better my chances of being prioritized as a local candidate for the New York and New England market (fun fact: most private estate chef jobs are congregated in FL, NY, CT, MA and CA—most UHNW families reside in those states). Again, some close calls but, ultimately, nothing. Now, I am back in Colorado living with my parents trying to save money, taking up babysitting work in the ski resort community (which I have not done since my early 20s). 4 months and over 370 positions applied to—dependently through dozens of agencies, independently through Indeed, and other yacht job sites I’ve used over the years—all down the drain I feel like.

I’m a work horse and yearning to find a job has left me scraping in my stall, foaming at the mouth, ready to go mad—“Let me run already!” This has been the most demoralizing, despairing and dodgy process of finding a job in my hospitality sector since I left college. You really start to doubt your self worth at this point and questioning your sanity: what you may not know about yourself that other people do and THAT is why they are not hiring you. It’s twisted. Your imagination starts to run wild. Seriously, I was beginning to think: did these people find a Deep Fake of me on the internet in a compromising position or did they go through my Facebook the past 10 years and find a stupid picture of me or comment about something political that does not align with their beliefs? I’ve realized that this is not a case of examining “what you are doing wrong because you are the common denominator between all of this.” You just can’t apply that excuse to this current economy because there are tens of thousands of young professionals just like me going through the same turmoil! It’s a supply and demand issue: an oversupply of candidates spoiling an employer who gets handicapped by all of these choices. The frustration has humbled me to the rubble. Thank goodness I have things that fill the void, that give me a daily sense of joyful purpose. Walking my dog an hour a day, talking to a close friend or family member, staying with my parents back in Colorado and working my current babysitting jobs (which I’m so grateful for) —that’s what sustains me. There is also one more thing that gives me much needed purpose my life right now…

As I vented in the title, going out to the forest to scream at the top of my lungs would be so cathartic amidst my job search in the months leading up to Christmas—but I don’t think it would be so good for the little life growing inside of me right now. Only my immediate family and close friends have known about this little gem of a secret the past 5 months. It’s my new purpose in life and it keeps me going in this crazy world. That is the bittersweet irony to the agony of trying to pay my bills this past Fall: growing a baby inside of me and feeling super “productive” in that sense, yet, feeling kinda worthless and shut out from being monetarily productive in the outside world at my age of 37! Trying to make decent coin while applying for jobs as I started to grow the most beautiful living asset within me—oh, the cognitive dissonance is glaring is it not!? She or he (not sure the gender yet) gives me solace at the end of the day when I feel like my life is a little out of control (as a lot of people’s are feeling, I’m sure). I do have my health and amazing family and friends, though—I’m “rich” in that way, because one’s health is the true wealth, as they say. Nonetheless, I am praying to God this chapter of my own personal economic recession will be over so I can comfortably support my first born next year when I pursue solo motherhood as an SMBC (that story coming later). In the meantime, I’m over the niceties of showing a resilient spirit and being so stoic during this process. The whiplash I have experienced from recruiters and prospective employers is like being in an abusive relationship—and I know I am not the only victim of this toxic hiring (or lack of hiring) culture happening right now. That’s why I started surfing the internet to try to find others to commiserate with and—wow!—I soon found a a treasure trove of similar stories lamenting what is happening right now. An abundance of Reddit and YouTube channels show some of the most qualified people have been suffering in this environment for years now. I was just late to the commiseration party….

These guys are right: do not believe these idiotic economists that say we have a “strong job market”—they are being paid to fudge the numbers and not being forthright about the real statistics of unemployed qualified people in this country. Just like politicians and the medical industry, you have to look at economists with a side eye. Talk to the civilians, not these other people who are getting paid to gaslight the American worker.

Again, I’m not alone. I’m not ashamed to air my story—this is not my dirty laundry, it’s the dirty process of getting hired in America right now. Work for yourself if you can—because this is an “Employer’s Market” (and almost half of the job posts out there are fake). The this why I am SO grateful I have my art and books to somewhat sustain me when I can’t find work in my secondary career as a private chef. And bachelors degree shmacklers degree—I could name drop my Alma mater (top tier on the nation) and it still does not bolster my-already shining credentials. I’m also not bad looking, have charisma, very interpersonal, I don’t get nervous in interviews, I’m emotionally intelligent and expressive. Usually these things help get people get jobs. But y‘all, in 2024, this still is not ultimately helping getting me get a job. Employers are entertained by how many candidates are applying for their positions and it’s almost a sick flex for them to take us on a wild goose chase, showing up to several interviews and still not land the position.

Also, is anyone else getting annoyed by recruiters pulling your references—especially when you are close to landing a job but nothing is secure? This hiring hellscape has made me want to scream at recruiting agents (in my head of course): “Please stop reaching out to my references unless you know I got the position—it’s so fickle in the beginning of anyone getting hired these days and I would rather not bother my former bosses this much! You are notthe only agency to contact them these past 4 months I have been applying to jobs—they have probably been contacted a hefty amount of times. If I was an employer I would be glad to reccommend Whitney Anderson as an excellent candidate but with people constantly reaching out to me I would be a bit annoyed and confused after awhile, thinking, “Why has she not landed a job, yet??”

My advice: remember you are not alone. Tap in to your current social capital to find opportunities—nothing like mutual referrals!! No one wants to deal with the cold reality of recruiters and HR in 2024 that either knowingly or unknowingly exploit the efforts of qualified individuals seeking jobs.

Getting advice from others: I’d say the only way for me to take seriously the opinions/advice of others is to have each of you sit down for 2 hours with me in a coffee shop and hear my story (this essay is just the tip of the iceberg and does not give the nuances of my situation). Only THEN will I allow one to give me tips and tricks on how to land a job in this demented market…

In the meantime, I know I am not crazy. I am not alone—and neither are you others out there who get this current job landscape and wondering if “the American Dream” is becoming a relic of the past…