Today is my third day of unemployment.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not working. In fact, I’ve been working quite a bit. Applying to roles, studying, reflecting. I’m engaged. What’s missing, if anything, is a sense of urgency. Not because I don’t care, but because this moment feels like something else entirely.

Right now, I feel like a caterpillar.

On my first day, I ate through one apple.
On my second day, I ate through two pears.
Today, I’ve eaten through three plums.

(If you know, you know. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a favorite in our house.)

The point is: transformation.
Even in the midst of chaos, there’s a slow, steady shift happening.
A quiet rebuilding. A spirit being reformed.

Current Climate

Let’s not sugarcoat it: anyone who’s unemployed right now is facing one of the worst markets in recent memory. I can’t say exactly why. The causes are murky, but the effect is real. It feels like employers have lost their minds. Unicorn candidates only. No exceptions.

Now, I’m not blaming companies for my situation. I’m saying: this is a wakeup call for everyone. Even those who are still employed.

I know people with jobs who are deeply unhappy. They live with fear. They’re quietly disengaged, always halfway out the door. That’s the current work climate in America. It’s not about fulfillment anymore…it’s about survival.

And that’s a two-sided problem.
Years of neglect from employers.
Years of disengagement from employees.

Jobs, in many cases, exist because someone didn’t want to do the work themselves. (See: Delegated Drift) Yes, that’s an oversimplification. Economies of scale matter. But too often, hiring happens not out of vision, but out of deficiency. People with no time, no skill, or no motivation trying to patch holes in the ship they’re steering.

Job Description Optics

Reading job descriptions these days feels like a game of hidden messages.

Sometimes they hint at what the last person failed at.
Sometimes they reveal what’s missing inside the org.
Sometimes they reflect the dysfunction of leadership.

And more and more, what I see is this:

“Things are broken… please fix.”

From the outside, it can feel absurd.
These companies have jobs, budgets, teams—and still, they’re stuck.
They want someone to swoop in and untangle it all.

But here’s the thing: I get it.

I’m not here to trash companies. I know things break. I know gaps emerge.
That’s why jobs exist.

So Fucking What?

Fair question. 😂

Here’s the reality:
Yes, companies have problems.
Yes, they need people who can fix them.
But the hiring process itself? It’s just as broken.

Five to seven rounds of interviews. The “great filtering.” The search for high-consistency performers who can lay a foundation and build.

Let’s get statistical for a second.

Think of performance consistency as a bell curve.
Roughly 50% of people are above the average marker.
Now imagine you’re trying to prove you’re one of them—through a tiny window of structured interviews.

  • In 5 rounds, you might have a 2% chance of showing it.
  • In 7 rounds, your odds shrink to 0.4%.

So we’ve optimized for process, but we’ve lost sight of people.
We’ve gamified interviews, chasing certainty in a field full of humans.

Still, I’m here. On day three. Eating plums.
Transforming. Waiting.
Grinding for my next evolution.