‘Open to work is really scary’: Unemployed architect wears LinkedIn’s Open to Work badge on Halloween

UNITED KINGDOM: While everyone is on the streets in their spooky Halloween costumes, Ella Hui, an architect who recently finished her Master of Architecture at the University of Westminster, decided to show up not to spook but to grab the opportunity while everyone is out and about to network.

On her Instagram, @ella.alwayseat shared a video of herself roaming the streets of London in a headpiece with LinkedIn’s Open to Work badge matched with a white top with a print of her resume on the front and an Instagram QR code of her food content account on the back.

Ella has been sharing cooking videos on Instagram because she said “it makes her happy” amid the “bad job market” and how she doesn’t want to give up on life.

Her video on Halloween was posted with a caption: “Open to work is really scary😭 I had a great night networking with all the career fields but still can’t find any architects🥲🙏🏻 @linkedin"

In the video, people celebrating Halloween can be seen approaching her, taking photos with her, calling her costume “amazing,” with some content creators including her in their own videos telling others she’s looking for work.

As of writing, the video already has 3.4 million views, has about 277,000 likes, more than 162,000 shares, nearly 1,000 comments, and over 6,700 reposts.

Just like people on the streets commending her costume and showering her with encouragement, her Instagram's comment section was the same.

One commenter said, “Good use of free will.  Innovative and creative 👏👏👏”

Other architects in the comments said they hope she could finally find a job soon, with one saying, “I relate to this so hard (as an unemployed architect) proof pain creates the best art”

A fourth shared a story of another person she knew who had a similar idea to get a job, saying, “That was so creative 🔥🙌 bravo to you. A Finnish contact of mine went around her neighbourhood putting postcard-turned-cv and it worked. Creativity rules! Good luck.”

Several others asked if Ella’s creative idea to network already worked, but she said she didn’t find anyone in the architecture field yet.

A separate photo of her in her Halloween costume with an overlay text that read “Job market 2026 is the scariest thing” also amassed 258,000 views.

Some commenters praised how creative and genius her costume idea was, while others found it the most relatable thing they’ve seen lately.

She also shared her Halloween costume photos on her LinkedIn profile, saying, “I’m thrilled to announce that the 2026 job market has officially driven me to network on Halloween.🙌🏻 I’m currently looking for a Part 2 Architectural Assistant role and would love to connect with practices and professionals in the industry!”

A founder of a talent acquisition company for tech companies commented, “Halloween is over; I hope you never have to wear this costume again. Good luck!” /TISG

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