After graduation, Jost worked as a reporter and copy editor for the
Staten Island Advance. He was then hired as a writer for a short-lived Nickelodeon animated show,
Kappa Mikey. After that job, he sent in a writing packet to
NBC's
Saturday Night Live, which landed him a writing position in 2005. During the summer hiatus following the 2012–2013 season, executive producer
Lorne Michaels asked Jost if he could do the
Weekend Update feature Jost broke Meyers' record for being the longest-serving anchor in the history of the segment with the October 23, 2021, episode hosted by
Jason Sudeikis. Jost has named
Norm Macdonald as a primary influence for his
Update anchor work, citing Macdonald's tone as the one he grew up with in high school. He has also named
Tina Fey as an influence. He later portrayed his friend
Pete Buttigieg during the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and
Roger Goodell during the
2021 NFL season. In 2025 he portrayed
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Jost has performed as a stand-up comedian, appearing on
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,
TBS, and
HBO. He was selected as a "New Face" at the
Montréal Just for Laughs festival in 2009, and has since appeared at the
Chicago Just for Laughs festival in 2011 and 2012 and the Montréal festival again in 2010 and 2012. Jost has published four "Shouts and Murmurs" pieces in
The New Yorker magazine and has also contributed to
The New York Times Magazine,
The Huffington Post,
The Staten Island Advance and
Radar. He wrote the screenplay of and played a minor role in the 2015 comedy film
Staten Island Summer, and he also had a minor role as Paul in the 2016
romantic comedy feature
How to Be Single. In January 2016, Jost opened for comedian Liam McEneaney's album recording at
The Bell House in
Brooklyn. In late 2018, Jost and
Green Bay Packers quarterback
Aaron Rodgers appeared in an advertising campaign for
Izod. In September 2018, Jost cohosted the
Primetime Emmy Awards, along with Michael Che. Jost, along with
Michael Che, appeared on the March 4, 2019, episode of
WWE's
Monday Night Raw, where both were announced as special correspondents for
WrestleMania 35. In the March 4 episode, they got involved in a storyline with wrestler
Braun Strowman, which resulted in both Jost and Che becoming participants in the
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania. At the event, Jost and Che went under the ring for the majority of the match and then tried to eliminate Strowman while he was trying to do the same to
the Hardy Boyz. Jost attempted to calm the situation by using his therapist, but Strowman chokeslammed him and eliminated the two comedians in quick succession, winning the battle royal. In July 2020, Jost released a memoir,
A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir. The book was well received and appeared on the
New York Times Bestseller List. On April 27, 2024, Jost hosted the
White House Correspondents' Dinner, an annual gathering of reporters usually entertained by the president and a comedian. In his 20-minute monologue, Jost roasted
Trump and
Biden, offered support of Biden's "decency", joked about his married life with Scarlett Johansson, and celebrated the free press. Jost made a cameo in the 2024 film
Fly Me to the Moon, which starred his wife
Scarlett Johansson. On July 31, 2024, it was announced that Jost would be the host of the game show
Pop Culture Jeopardy! on
Amazon Prime Video. ==Personal life==