When I was 14, I started my own business selling handmade calligraphy cards and signs so that I could start making money. When I was 16, I got my first job. I have an extensive resume with over five years of job experience, ranging from food service to government internships. That hardworking quality is one that I’ve always been told I would be rewarded for. After all, in a world where “kids these days just don’t want to work,” doing so means that you will have plenty of opportunities open to you…right?
Due to a miscommunication that resulted in a loss of financial aid, I recently found myself in the unexpected position of needing to move off campus and get a part-time job to cover my expenses. This experience was a daunting one.
Although I know that many students struggle to find jobs, I convinced myself that my resume would pull me through as long as I was willing to take whatever job I was offered.
For three months, I applied to or inquired about more than 15 separate jobs. This process seemed like it would be easy because just about everyone was hiring! I applied to places like Drake’s, Old Navy, Walmart, Chick-fil-A, public libraries and even local churches and ministries. Most places never contacted me.
One of the fast food places I applied to required two rounds of interviews. After the second interview, I was told that I would receive an email with the hiring decision within 24–48 hours. I never got an email. I even tried calling, but they always said they would contact me soon…and never did.
That’s when I started to spiral.
Did I do something wrong? Was my resume not good enough? Did past experience in a different field disqualify me from working in the food service industry? Did my resume have a typo that I hadn’t caught? How is it possible that I could go from getting highly sought-after positions to practically begging fast food restaurants to hire me?
Each unanswered application made the situation feel heavier, more urgent and more isolating. I found myself replaying interviews and rereading applications in my head, scrutinizing every detail of my resume, looking for an explanation that would make the silence make sense. And that’s when I realized something that was difficult to swallow.
It actually wasn’t my fault.
That may sound obvious, but in a world that values efficient maximized performance, it becomes increasingly easy to carry the weight of life’s problems on your shoulders. Blaming yourself is easy because it helps provide an explanation that is within your control. While taking personal accountability is important, it is also important to recognize that not every life circumstance is in your control. Sometimes you can do everything right and it just doesn’t pay off.
This isn’t because you are doing something wrong. It’s not because your resume isn’t good enough, and it’s certainly not because you’re lazy. It’s because the job market is broken.
Hiring for entry-level jobs has dropped and employers are picky about your amount of experience. According to an analysis by Bankrate, “[U]nemployment among 20 to 24-year-olds is nearly 1.5 percentage points higher than expected given today’s 4.3% national unemployment rate.”
When older generations respond to stories like mine with a well-meaning but dismissive, “You just have to work harder,” they ignore the reality many young adults are facing. Hard work is not the problem. Many of us are working hard, harder than ever, only to find that effort doesn’t actually guarantee opportunity.
I wish the conclusion to this article included an easy answer or an uplifting anecdote to give you hope, but I don’t have an answer for you, and honestly, I don’t feel hopeful. Right now, I’m tired of fighting. Tired of doing everything “right” with nothing to show for it. Tired of carrying the quiet assumption that I must have failed somewhere along the way to deserve this outcome. Bottom line? I’m tired. But I know I’m not alone.
We live in a broken world, shaped by systems that do not always function as they should. When we reduce complex structural issues to personal failure, it adds unnecessary shame to an already heavy burden. Although I don’t know what the solution is, I know that despair is not the answer.
I believe in a God whose faithfulness transcends my circumstances. In a world that values maximized efficiency, I know that my worth is not measured by my productivity. If you are searching for a job and are feeling unseen, exhausted or discouraged, you are not failing, you are not lazy and you are not alone. While the system may be broken, your future is not beyond redemption.
Scripture reminds us of this promise in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” I don’t read that verse as a promise that things will get easier overnight, or that doors will suddenly swing open if I just wait long enough or pray hard enough. I read it as a reminder that, even when progress feels nonexistent, God is still at work. Faith doesn’t always look like confidence or optimism. Sometimes it looks like showing up tired or applying to jobs even when rejection feels inevitable. Sometimes it looks like holding onto a truth that feels distant and unreal.
Sometimes the best you can do is believe that it’s true until you see that it is.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash.
