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Gen Zer's teary video after going around town with a stack of resumes gets wave of support

Gen Z often gets a bad rap in the workforce. But job hunting is difficult right now, regardless of your age.

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People couldn't help but feel for a young woman who broke down in tears after going around town with a stack of resumes.

It can be easy to write-off younger generations as entitled, lazy and unwilling to work hard, without taking into account the very real challenges being faced.

Just like their “whiny millennial” predecessors, Gen Zers often find themselves in this predicament—unable to land a job, much less one that reflects their personal values, all while being labeled as“difficult” for wanting something better.

But the truth is, even hard-working people are struggling right now. That goes for people who are employed (many of whom are living paycheck-to-paycheck, despite having well-paying jobs) and those looking for employment.

Job hunting is particularly grueling, as looming fears of recession have caused companies to make candidates go through more obstacles than a contestant on “American Ninja Warrior” just to get one interview. Followed by six more interviews. Followed by crickets.

With these types of barriers set in place, how is an age group, likely just out of college, with virtually no workplace experience, supposed to stand a chance? And furthermore, how can they not be distraught when their survival is on the line?

This is why a video shared by 26-year-old Lohanny Santos has struck a chord with so many.

In the clip, tears stream down Santos’ face after going around the city with a “stack” of resumes and being rejected by every potential employer she reached out to.

The college grad explained how she had two degrees—one in communications and one in acting—and spoke three languages. Not even this was enough to get her an interview.

“It’s honestly a little bit embarrassing because I’m literally applying for, like, minimum-wage jobs,” she says. “And some of them are being like, ‘We’re not hiring’ and it’s like, ‘What?’ This is not what I expected.”

Far from being entitled, Santos concluded the video by wiping her eyes and saying “ … I'm just going to keep trying."

@lohannysant I got tear stains on my resume 😔😔😔 #nyc #unemployed ♬ original sound - Lohanny

Luckily, this is where the story turns around. After her video went viral, with over 23.4 million views on TikTok, Santos received a wave of support from viewers.

“Never feel embarrassed. You should feel proud that you’re pushing your pride to the side and being realistic,” one person wrote, commenting on the fact that Santos had begun her job search after her aspirations for being a TikTok creator weren’t paying the bills.

“This is precisely how you apply for jobs before the internet. nothing to be embarrassed about as this gives you real world sales experience,” another added.

Some even provided some tips. One person suggested: “Don’t ask if they’re hiring. Just say you want to apply & speak to a hiring manager. Be assertive.”

“GIRL APPLY TO BE A FLIGHT ATTENDANT!!! BARELY AND EXPERIENCE NEEDED AND WITH THREE LANGUAGES THEY WILL WANT YOUU,” another exclaimed.

Not only that, But Santos revealed with Business Insider that her following skyrocketed overnight, that she was being offered opportunities not previously available. In a follow-up video, she even shared that she scored a brand deal.

A brand deal which…..may or may not have taken her out to London? Not a bad gig. And it certainly seems like those TikTok dreams aren’t so unattainable after all.

@lohannysant I woke up like this for real. Brb let me wake up. #nyc #london #travelday ♬ original sound - Lohanny

Most people want to be contributing members of society. But times are tough for a lot of folks out there, regardless of age, background and education. A little compassion, as we see here, does in fact go a long way.

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One very simple thing we can all do to bring jobs back to the United States? Sign me up.

This holiday season, if you're buying gifts for people, you might have to endure, at some point ... ahem. This:

GIF is from "South Park."

Holiday shopping can be a grind. But even though you're busy, there's an admirable reason to stop and think for a moment about what you're buying.

A lot of what you see in the mall or online is made in other countries, often in subpar working conditions. But you have a choice.

If we try to find just a few more American-made items, it can mean so much for people in this country.

Jobs. Employment. Wages for your neighbors.

One of the reasons the recession was so hard to rebound from is that we've lost so many of the good-paying jobs to outsourcing — that is, sending jobs overseas. When that happens, other jobs go with them.

It's not just the widget-makers who lose their jobs. The surrounding communities do, as well.

The local grocer, and hairstylist, and pub, and restaurants, and lawyers, and dentists ... all kinds of jobs disappear when factories close and move overseas.

Many of the white-collar jobs that support manufacturing also go.

Here's a short piece of the video below that illustrates it in the form of a menacing magnet, sucking up all the good jobs. "Magnet-zilla," if you will.

GIFs from Million Jobs Project/YouTube.

I've lived in Michigan for over 25 years, and when auto suppliers or even automakers close their doors, this is exactly the effect.

When jobs move overseas, the surrounding neighborhoods and communities are drained of their economic lifeblood.

Here's an example from Detroit's Southwest side:

Delray neighborhood, Southwest Detroit. In 1930, this area had 23,000 residents. In 2010? 2,300. Womp womp. Image by Notorious4life/Wikimedia Commons.

"OK, smart guy, what do you propose to do about that?"

It turns out it's not that hard to make a difference. It could be as simple as buying one more American-made item for every hundred purchases you make. Just one.

Yes, it really is that simple.

The folks from the Million Jobs Project, an organization trying to raise awareness about this concept, have consulted with economists who say that all it takes to get jobs going again is for each of us to spend 5% more on American-made goods. When you fit that into your holiday shopping, that likely amounts to just one gift.

Where can you find American-made goods?

The website for the Million Jobs Project has a list of goods still made here.

Here's how you can make a difference, as explained in the video:

"Out of 100 purchases you make, maybe 20 of those are already made in the U.S., and all you need to do is buy one more American made thing. That's 5%. Just one more thing."

Not much to it.

I'm in. You?

How a shoe repair shop bouncing back from tragedy can be a model for a new economy.

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Ronda Morrison runs a shoe repair shop in Detroit. It's a family business dating back over 60 years.

And with a name like "House of Morrison Shoe Repair," they obviously want it to stay in the family. That's where Ronda's 25-year-old nephew Keenon came in.

Ronda and Keenon Morrison. Image via New Economy Initiative/Detroit Lives!/Vimeo.

Keenon had worked with Ronda in House of Morrison since he was a kid, learning the ropes to one day run the business, as his grandfather and aunt had done before him.

All GIFs via New Economy Initiative/Detroit Lives!/Vimeo.

But tragedy struck the family, and House of Morrison's future took a turn.

On the July 4, 2014 holiday weekend, Keenon and his 16-year-old brother Kalen died in a car accident. Reeling from the loss, Ronda began to lose her will to keep running the family business.

"My plans went totally down the drain with his death," Ronda told the Detroit Free Press. "When that happened, the House of Morrison's fate was on the chopping block."

Ronda pushed on, deciding that getting back to work might help her cope. And it turned out her timing was perfect.

Before the accident, she'd applied for a $10,000 small business grant with the Detroit New Economy Initiative (NEI). Amid the grief over the loss of her nephews, she had completely forgotten about the application.

But two days after Ronda returned to work, she got a letter.

She took it as a sign that House of Morrison was meant to persevere.

With the money, Ronda can do more than keep the business open. She can help others learn the trade.

The grant gives her a chance to do more of what her father always wanted for House of Morrison. "I'm going to do exactly what my father did," she says. "Open his door to train people out of the community."

Their proposal included launching an apprentice program for members of their community struggling to find work, investing in business software that will help them be more efficient, and opening new locations once they've built up their customer base.

Small businesses like House of Morrison are working to rebuild Detroit through people-centered enterprise.

In 1950, Detroit, a manufacturing powerhouse, was the richest city per capita in the United States. As people flocked to job opportunities in the Motor City, the population swelled to over 1.8 million.

Detroit in 1942. Photo by Arthur Siegel, U.S. Office of War Information/Wikimedia Commons.

But free trade gave companies a way to boost their profits by moving manufacturing operations to countries with cheaper labor and fewer regulations, putting millions of American workers out of work.

And Detroit was in the middle of it all.

The city saw an exodus as the jobless became economic refugees in new cities.

In 2010, the population had shriveled to just over 700,000. And in 2013, Detroit became the largest American city to declare bankruptcy.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

Since then, Detroit has become a canvas for creative ideas to spur urban renewal.

And groups like NEI are helping by funding small businesses, like House of Morrison, that "represent the innovation and ingenuity of Detroit's small business market."

As the country continues to bounce back from the Great Recession, we should look to Detroit for ways to do it that go beyond the conventional economics that brought the city and the country to their knees in the first place.

Watch NEI's profile of House of Morrison:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released employment statistics for October 2015.

37 states added jobs and unemployment rates fell in 40. That's good news, right?

Job seekers wait in line for a chance to apply for a job on a massive urban development project in Miami. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

And if you're a glass-half-full type, here's something else you'll be happy to hear:

25 states have reached pre-recession unemployment rates.

It's been eight years since the recession started. 8.7 million jobs were lost before the recovery began. Now, we're halfway back to where we were before the sh*t hit the fan.

Building a new economy means transforming the world.
And that's the work of optimists.

It's a long-overdue benchmark, though perhaps we should have expected that. This was, after all, the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Click on a state to see its unemployment rate as of October 2015:

Click on a state to see the percent change in its unemployment rate since the beginning of the recession:

The Economic Policy Institute calls this a "bittersweet milestone" because it means we still have a ways to go.

It's important to note that what we've been dealing with isn't just a jobs crisis — it's a plague of inequality that needs more fundamental fixes, says William Greider:

"At some point, it will become obvious that our economy will not truly recover until American capitalism is refashioned, stripped of its self-aggrandizing excesses and made to serve the interests of society rather than the other way around."

Still, with some estimates finding that 7 in 10 Americans feel pretty crappy about the economy, reaching this halfway point is a moment worth lifting up.

President Obama shakes hands with former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor after signing the JOBS Act into law. Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images.

68 consecutive months of job growth — the longest streak on record — ain't nothin' to sneeze at. Plus, the Obama administration has managed to crank up the jobs machine exactly where his opponents say they want it: the private sector.

Politically, that's pretty impressive. But it's been argued that the recovery would be stronger if we put at least as much attention on the public sector. According to EPI:

"Our genuinely pressing spending problem is a decline in spending on public investments relative to our needs, which can reduce future economic growth and contribute to growing inequality."

We were in a deep hole, and we're still digging ourselves out. Steadying the labor market is a big part of that.

When we can peek over the edge, perhaps we'll finally be able to reimagine how things work. In the meanwhile, let's remember to celebrate what wins we can. Building a new economy means transforming the world. And that's the work of optimists.