“Fake jobs, fake applications, fake AI, fake people.”

In the months after being laid off I had a health scare, my first child was born, my home had a major repair. The strain feels immense, holding my infant in one arm, trying to use the other to slowly finger-peck a resume into a system for the thousandth time.

But above all, it all feels fake. Fake jobs, fake applications, fake AI, fake people.

After so many applications, you begin to realize there is no point to the applying, without any feedback mechanism to tell you what works and what doesn’t. Which is maybe the most disheartening part. When trying to find work truly feels pointless, what is left?

I’m mid-career, still in my 30s by the skin of my teeth, I have a new mortgage, a new baby. The wondering where to go from here keeps me up at night.