SINGAPORE: A Singaporean tech professional has applied to over 1,000 positions since he got laid off in January, yet he still hasn’t landed a single offer.
In a post on r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum, he shared that this marks his third retrenchment in the past twelve years ‘due to cost-cutting and changes in employer location strategies’.
In the past, whenever he lost a job, he typically found new opportunities within three to four weeks. However, this time feels different. Vainly looking for a job since being laid off in January, he’s begun to feel a deep sense of worry about the future of the tech industry in Singapore.
“After losing my job, I spent the first 6-7 months applying for jobs without any response,” he said.
“I’ve been applying to two career paths with different resumes aligned to those roles: primarily focusing on technical product/project management roles but also targeting junior positions in cloud and data engineering.”
After seven months, he finally started landing interviews and even made it to the third and fourth rounds for a few positions. One company even went so far as to show him his desk, giving him a glimpse of what it would be like to work there.
However, despite getting that far in the process and feeling confident about his fitness for the role, he ultimately didn’t secure the position.
“After applying to over 1,000 positions, it’s been disheartening to still receive rejection emails or no responses at all. My optimism has nosedived, and I’m struggling to stay positive sometimes,” he lamented.
He has also been looking for jobs outside Singapore, but so far, he hasn’t gained any traction there either.
“At this stage, I am okay to take a significant pay cut and get a job at half my previous paycheck just to regain some structure in life,” he said.
In the meantime, he’s been trying to stay productive. To keep his skills sharp, he’s been visiting the library regularly and upskilling in data analytics and engineering technologies like Databricks, Spark, and Snowflake. Currently, he’s diving into Power BI, eager to enhance his skill set and remain competitive in the job market.
At the end of his post, he reached out to the community for support and guidance, asking other users, “What skills or certifications would you recommend for someone in my position—seeking both tech management or junior cloud/data engineering roles?
“And for those who’ve been through similar setbacks, how do you stay positive, resilient, and productive during a prolonged job search? Any advice or insights would be appreciated.”
“Keep up your good spirits and upskilling.”
In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Redditor said, “At this point the problem doesn’t seem to be a lack of certification or skills on your end, but that the tech industry as a whole is going through a crunch and it’s definitely an employer’s market.
“I have similar qualifications as you and seeing the threads that pop up about tech professionals being out of work for a long period keeps me awake at night.”
Another Redditor encouraged him to keep his spirits up and continue upskilling. He added, “Job opportunities are harder nowadays. Almost every job seeker is trying different means to secure a role.
“I am volunteering in an org helping out residents finding IT job – and it can be a challenge for majority folks. One way is to try to network more. Word of mouth helps. Consider part-time or freelance jobs to tide.”
A third Redditor suggested exploring job opportunities in Malaysia. He noted, “JB has a tech park with several data centres.”
A fourth Redditor expressed scepticism about the notion that the tech market is struggling, mentioning that he and many of his colleagues are still receiving job offers.
He explained, “I think your issue is that you’re too focused on the surface level knowledge and certifications. Knowing many things isn’t appreciated in tech as much as knowing one thing in depth.
“If you can demonstrate that you deliver value, coming across a job shouldn’t be too difficult. But that’s the catch, though. You have to be good at what you do, rather than just being able to do a lot of things.”
A few others advised him not to spend all his waking hours job searching. They recommended that he take up hobbies or interests he enjoys outside of upskilling. This way, he could recharge his energy and maintain a positive mindset.
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