SINGAPORE: One month had passed since a Singaporean worker received the news that she would be retrenched, and despite her best efforts, she still hasn’t managed to find a new job.
She shared her experience on the r/askSingapore subreddit on Monday (Nov 24), saying that in just one month, she had sent out around 35 job applications, hoping that at least one would land her an interview.
Unfortunately, she said, not a single company had reached out.
“Not a single one got back to me…. and I’m freaking out,” she expressed. “I’m absolutely terrified of being unemployed in my 30s.”
Looking for guidance, she asked the online community: “Has something like that happened to you, and if so, for how long were you unemployed, what did you do with your time, and how did you find a job after?”
“Stay positive and stay healthy.”
Hoping to be a source of comfort, one Reddit user revealed in the comments that they had once been unemployed for more than five years. “I did freelancing to get by during that period, but it’s probably only doable if you’re not in any kind of debt,” they wrote.
“Now I am in a full-time job that I enjoy, with great work-life balance, bosses, and colleagues. Life is really about waiting for the right opportunity.”
Another user recounted a particularly challenging stretch of unemployment that lasted around nine to ten months.
“I was unemployed for about 9–10 months. Sending out resumes was a full-time job in itself because I went to job portals almost every day (like a 9-to-5 job), including weekends, to the point that I got burnt out.”
A third added, “I was unemployed for a year when I was trying to switch to software engineering as a career. It was a really tough period, especially since I didn’t have much experience in the field. My days were repetitive and exhausting: wake up, apply for jobs, then spend the afternoon until evening upskilling.
“Eventually, I met a hiring manager who took a chance on me… I hope I never have to go through that kind of stretch again. It was demoralising and depressing at times, even though on the outside I tried to look like I was fine.”
Meanwhile, some users offered practical tips to help the woman with her job hunt. They suggested reaching out to any contacts or networks she already has, since referrals can sometimes work better than sending out tons of resumes. Others recommended sprucing up her LinkedIn profile to make it more appealing to recruiters.
One user explained, “Polish your profile there (LinkedIn), and connect to more people. There are lots of recruiters who will reach out to you if your profile is informative enough to raise their awareness and interest. Last and most importantly, stay positive and stay healthy.”
In other news, a fresh graduate who has only been with her company for four months shared on Reddit that she is now caught in a rather stressful standoff with her employer because they refused to let her resign immediately, even though she was fully prepared to pay off her notice period.
Sharing her dilemma on the r/askSingapore on Friday (Nov 21), the fresh grad said that her “dream company” had recently reached out with the role she had been working toward for years.
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