“Thank you for your interest in the position. After careful consideration, we’ve decided to move forward with a candidate who more closely aligns with the role.”
I’ve come to read various iterations of that sentence frequently these days as I apply to part-time jobs.
I graduated with distinction from The Ohio State University in the spring of 2025. While I majored in film, a degree that will often raise eyebrows and sow doubt about post-graduation job prospects, I fully made use of the liberal arts and interdisciplinary education. I was involved in multiple student organizations, completed four internships in the film industry, and held three on-campus jobs. I was promoted to manager in several customer-service roles.
Yet since graduation, I haven’t been able to find a part-time job while living at home.
I’m living with my parents for now
The traditional advice for a film grad is to move to Los Angeles and work your way up from the bottom. However, the film industry is feeling the strain of multiple strikes, wildfires, and downsizing. Opportunities are sparse.
Luckily for me, I’ve been able to live with my parents as I consider where and when to take a full-time plunge.
I’m extremely grateful to have a supportive community that has afforded me the time to review my prospects. As I consider everything from grad school programs to moving across the country, I’m on the hunt for a part-time gig.
I’ve been trying to strike a balance between helping my parents financially, continuing to further my experience in my chosen field through freelance work, and adding to my savings to prepare me for a move.
I’m struggling to find even a part-time job
So far, all of my experience seems irrelevant to Starbucks and Target, who evidently doubt I can translate the critical thinking and work ethic skills from my undergraduate degree into their barista and grocery bagging roles.
Going into a creative field like film means acknowledging that you’ll likely have to work some jobs unrelated to the industry to make ends meet. I have always been willing to embrace that, seeking a balance between stable, part-time work and freelance opportunities in the industry. What surprised me the most was that the freelance jobs would be the easier of the two to obtain.
I’ve gone through three rounds of interviews as a part-time movie theater employee just to get rejected. I’ve waited weeks after promising interviews in the public sector, only to be told that my qualifications (identical to those listed in the job posting) did not match their desired candidate. I’ve also been unable to convince employers in the food service industry that my experience will make me successful in it.
I don’t regret my degree
For what it’s worth, I absolutely do not regret my choice of degree.
Many of my friends from my graduating class, who earned “safer” degrees, have watched entry-level jobs in their fields get automated. They’re now competing for positions unrelated to their majors, with fewer of the soft skills gained from a liberal arts education.
So in the end, we’re all in the same boat — no matter our backgrounds or degrees.
An impersonal hiring environment, heavily automated by the very same AI programs that are making entry-level jobs sparser, makes it hard to dream small in order to support larger dreams.
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