A holiday party in Gowanus offers “cake and fellowship” to un-  and under-employed New Yorkers.

By Nicholas Gordon | news@queensledger.com

As a tumultuous 2025 tumbles to a close, concerns over affordability and unemployment in New York City are more acutely felt by many residents than some political leaders would have us believe. Coupled with the city’s notoriously exorbitant cost of living, the unemployment rate for New Yorkers currently sits at 5.1%, more than a full percentage point higher than the national average of 3.5-4.1%. 

Amidst this hand-to-mouth atmosphere, dozens of job seekers gathered for the first annual ‘No-Company Holiday Party’ at Lowlands Bar in Gowanus on Saturday, December 20. The event was hosted by Rachel Meade Smith, creator of Words of Mouth, a curated newsletter featuring job openings in cross-sector fields including the arts, design, tech, and non-profits.

Billed as “a festive gathering for the un- and under-employed,” the No-Company Holiday Party brought together exactly that—dozens of would-be employees scrambling to make ends meet in the gig economy, while searching doggedly for full-time roles. People with jobs came too, abiding by the “no bragging” request in the email invite. Regardless of one’s employment status, the event delivered on its promise of  “cake, fellowship, holiday bonuses, real humans, and no awkward co-workers.”

Attendee Bill Novak, a 41-year-old creative director and content creator in advertising who’s been freelancing while looking for full-time work for a year and a half, said that the high quality of Words of Mouth spurred him to attend and connect with his job seeking brethren.

“It’s a really good newsletter that connects with good jobs,” said Novak, who heard about the newsletter—true to its name—through a friend. “She pulls together things I didn’t think of as possibilities or see out there. I’m finding jobs that translate to the different kinds of work I’ve done.”

Novak said he prefers curated listings, rather than the overloaded and impersonal feeling of searching on LinkedIn. He also reported an experience echoed by several attendees: sending out hundreds of job applications and hearing little in return.

“I’ve never experienced this much non-responsiveness from potential employers,” Novak said. “And I’ve also never been out of work this consistently.”

Ella Rocker, a 28-year-old who moved to the city five years ago from Michigan to earn her master’s degree in transdisciplinary design at Parsons, reflected on the limits of her advanced degree in helping provide financial security.

“I was fed this idea that if you worked hard and went to good schools then you’d be taken care of,” Rocker said. “But I’m finding that just because you have a good degree it doesn’t guarantee anything.” 

As she navigates the job hunt, Rocker has taught children’s ceramics classes, worked in a fine art framing store and a running specialty store, and volunteered. Rocker has seen the upside of the hustle too, earning such perks as an entry into the Paris marathon to run for charity from one of her volunteering roles.

Even as she juggles multiple part-time roles, Rocker noted that her “full-time job is looking for a job.”

While the mood at the event was hopeful and supportive, some attendees acknowledged the disappointment, loneliness, shame, and anger of their fruitless and seemingly interminable job searches. Others lamented AI dominating the scene, reducing the availability of roles and dehumanizing the hiring process.

“One of the worst parts about prolonged unemployment is how lonely it can be,” Smith said. “I think the turnout at this event encapsulates the ‘new normal’ we’re in when it comes to finding work. It’s harder now than it’s ever been, people are being laid off and struggling to get back into the workforce.”

Recognizing readers’ need and appreciation for “communal infrastructure,” Smith said she thought it’d be fun to bring people together for this holiday gathering—in lieu of a traditional company party—as a reminder that we’re not alone.

“I want people to make connections and to think about what they can contribute beyond what they’ve thought about,” Smith said. “We can learn more about what we can do from the people around us.”

Launched in 2016, Words of Mouth is a donation-based weekly newsletter with over 70,000 subscribers. It shares roughly 30 job openings per week, as well as opportunities for collaboration in art, design, and research. Classified ads, offered on a sliding scale, feature services from career coaches and therapists, and promos by artists and writers.

To mark the newsletter’s 10th anniversary, Smith’s anthology “Search Work” will be published by OR Books in the new year. The collection features stories, essays, quotes, and creative reflections on the job hunting experience from over 50 contributors.

As the party wrapped up, Smith raffled off prizes including gift cards to a bakery, restaurant, and bookstore, tickets to a series of literary events, and a sourdough starter. 

Attendees cheered on the winners, the camaraderie high in this impromptu, new community.

“I know looking for work can be a lot of work, so I want to thank you for your work,” Smith told  the crowd. “I hope this newsletter can make that work a little bit easier, and I hope this party makes it feel a little less lonely.”