I've been unemployed for almost a year. Getting ghosted is making it worse.

• Christopher Santoso, a UX designer, has struggled to find a job since getting laid off last year.
• Despite job rejections and ghosting, Santoso remains determined and continues to upskill.
• Supportive friends have helped Santoso manage financial struggles during unemployment.

Christopher Santoso, 37, is a UX designer who lives in Chicago. He has been looking for a job since May 2025 after getting laid off. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

It's been a tough time. Last year, I had a job interview with a large company here in Chicago. I worked with a recruiter, followed their framework, and felt like I killed it. I told a story about how I did each project. I also had a close friend who knew one of the people interviewing me, so I thought the odds were in my favor. Not getting that job flipped my perception of things.

More recently, in one week, I had five interviews. It was during my birthday week. I was like, "The stars are in my favor." I was checking my zodiac apps. I thought, "Everything's going great. I'm going to kill it."

For a different job, I had several interviews. The third one was in-person. I felt like I was in good hands after that interview — even if it was going to be a "no," I was going to get a response. The last thing I heard was that I was still in consideration for the role.

A couple of weeks went by, and I still hadn't heard from the recruitment company that works with the employer. I reached out to the hiring manager and tagged the recruiter I was working with, but I didn't hear back, so I followed up again. I don't like doing that; it makes me uncomfortable. I thought, if I come off as annoying, just tell me and say "No."

Finally, I asked a friend who had a contact at the company to try to find out what was happening. My friend said that they were no longer hiring for that role. I'm just floored. This ghosting is insane.

Survival mode

I'm not going to lie, it's been tough. I have rent and bills to pay. I had to take out a loan to buy a computer, just to look for a job. I thought things would be OK by the beginning of this year.

When I get into survival mode like this, I tend to stay in my apartment. But going out and being around friends has also made me realize that I have a really supportive community of people who are willing to help me out.

I'm trying not to lean on my network. I'm very afraid to ask for help, to be honest, because I sometimes see it as a form of weakness. Society has modeled it that way.

This year has humbled me. One of my friends, on his final unemployment check, bought me groceries. He was really insistent on making sure that I was OK.

At the beginning of the year, my college friends that I'm really close with paid my January rent. I didn't ask for that. I do not want to ask that of them, but they did it because they care. My one friend who led that charge also paid my internet, phone, and electricity bills. I took food stamps at the beginning of March to keep me afloat.

I have determination

I'm two months behind on rent. I worry about when my landlord is going to serve me an eviction notice. I have so much stuff, partly because I've been involved in the music scene and have a lot of gear. I've been trying to sell some of my equipment, but people are pinching their pennies right now.

As far as hustling goes, I don't have a car, but I've looked at apps like Taskrabbit, being a shopper, and part-time jobs. You can't find those jobs either.

I've been trying to do what I can with what I can control. I've been taking my mind off things by upskilling with design programs like Figma.

I'm stubborn and have the will, grit, and determination to survive. I want to feel like I'm productive in society by leaving a legacy, whether it be big or small, and inspiring somebody the way I felt inspired when I started drawing, using Photoshop, or using the internet and coding on MySpace.

I want to center back around that joy. I experience some of that by cooking, and I recently redesigned my portfolio. The tools are a lot easier, and what would have taken me three months can now be done in a week, so I am somewhat hopeful.

Life is life. You can only control so much, but I will bounce back.

Do you have a story to share about your job search? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.