- Lohanny Santos went viral on TikTok because she struggled to find a job despite having two degrees.
- Santos now has aspirations to become an influencer and TikTok star like Addison Rae.
A Gen Zer who went viral on TikTok because she was struggling to find a job in New York has decided to pursue a career as an influencer, after she got a taste of what it's like to be a social media sensation.
Lohanny Santos, a 26-year-old graduate living in Brooklyn, New York, uploaded a video on TikTok in February in which she breaks down in tears after explaining her struggles to find a job.
In the video, which has racked up over 25 million views, Santos explained that she has found it so hard to find a job that she resorted to going into businesses and handing them her résumé, despite having two degrees in acting and communications.
@lohannysant I got tear stains on my resume #nyc #unemployed ♬ original sound - Lohanny
"This sucks. I just want to be a TikToker if I'm being so for real with you, but I can't be delusional," Santos explained in the video. "I literally need to make money."
The video racked up millions of views in just a couple of hours and Santos' follower count increased from 50,000 to over 160,000 overnight, Santos told Fortune in an interview.
She also received over 2,000 emails, including some job offers from strangers, she told Fortune, adding that she has since secured a role as a social media consultant two days a week and a brand deal with a contraceptive pill company. She has also signed with a talent agency, Missmanaged LA, she said.
She's aiming to become a TikTok star like Addison Rae — a singer who found mega-stardom on TikTok by posting videos of herself doing dances, lip-syncing to songs, and comedy skits.
Rae has over 88 million followers on the platform and is about to star in a movie called Animal Friends alongside Ryan Reynolds.
"Just seeing a regular girl become so well-established in Hollywood or in the social-media space, it makes me wonder: I'm a regular girl, and if TikTok can give people opportunities like that to them, then why can't it happen for me?" Santos told Fortune.
Santos has been trying to make it on TikTok for three years now and posted daily, but she said many of her videos barely got over 200 views. She even deleted her account and started a new one five times because she was convinced something was wrong with her account.
Like Santos, many young TikTokers are struggling to find well-paying corporate jobs in the US despite having degrees. One TikToker with over 10 years of working experience said she had been rejected by over 500 jobs.
Meanwhile, other young people are seeking out alternatives to the 9-to-5 because they find it "soul-crushing" and "depressing."