UK graduate says she has sent over 100 job applications but still cannot land marketing role in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Has the market become brutally overcrowded for marketing graduates?

Recently, one Singaporean who graduated from a “well-known” university in the United Kingdom revealed online that despite sending out more than 100 job applications since December 2025, she is still unable to secure a full-time role.

In a post shared on a local forum on Friday (May 22), the graduate said she returned to Singapore believing her qualifications and experience would give her a decent shot at landing work. She graduated with upper second-class honours, completed a full year of marketing internship experience in Singapore, and stressed that she had approached her job hunt seriously from the very beginning.

Unlike applicants who mass-send generic applications, she said she spent hours carefully tailoring her CV and responses for nearly every role she applied for in hopes of standing out in an increasingly saturated market.

For positions she was especially interested in, she would even go a step further and prepare personalised cover letters.

“I mostly only applied to openings that I’m interested in, and those are performance marketing/paid media/market research roles, but I’d also apply to general digital marketing roles from time to time as long as they’re not creative-based,” she explained.

Wanting to make sure she was not unknowingly sabotaging her own chances, she also reached out to her university’s career service for feedback on her CV and applications. According to her, the advice she received was largely reassuring.

“They said I’m doing great, I’m in the right direction, etc,” she shared. “[But] I’ve applied to 100+ jobs and only received around 5-6 interview opportunities. I did make it to the final rounds for 2 of those interviews but got rejected, unfortunately.”

She also confessed, “I’m not going to lie, it has taken a toll on my mental health. I’m feeling really helpless and getting so much anxiety over this. Worst of all, people at home aren’t supportive in the tiniest bit. I get [constantly blamed by my] mum because she thinks it’s my issue and it’s MY problem that I’m unemployed.”

Hoping for reassurance or at least some perspective, she asked fellow Singaporeans how long it had taken them to secure their first full-time role after graduating.

“How long did it take you guys to secure your first full-time job? I’m feeling super lost and hopeless as days pass by,” she wrote.

“I have been applying everywhere as well, and so far, nothing.”

Her post resonated with many online, with several people pointing out just how overcrowded and unstable the job market has become in recent years.

One Redditor said, “Just too many graduates. I know many senior marketing people [who have been] jobless for 6 months to 2 years. Got a job and also lost it in less than a year. Not sure why, but marketing markets don’t seem well these years.”

Another individual shared, “I’m in a similar position as you; I graduated in Aug 2025 from an Australian university and job hunted for 5 months, landing a contract job in Feb 2026 for 6 months. Now that my contract is ending in 3 months, I have been applying everywhere as well, and so far, nothing. The company I’m working in has told me they’re not going to convert me to full-time due to market needs.”

Others, meanwhile, offered practical advice. One said, “The economy is bad now, and it is affecting the job market. You’re applying for cost centre jobs and companies aren’t exactly keen on taking on more salary expense. You can consider revenue-generating jobs (business development/sales/etc) because every company will need this even during bad times.”

Another suggested, “Have you tried working in the UK instead? I think it might be better for you since you have a UK certificate. Context: I’m an NUS grad that had a 6-month student exchange at the Uni of Glasgow. Talked to some Singaporeans; most work in the UK after they graduate from a UK university. Pay is better on average by a significant margin, and there is no pesky CPF to pay (unlike us locals).”

In other news, a jobseeker was left shocked after what he thought was an interview for an admin position allegedly turned into a recruitment pitch for an insurance role and ended with the interviewer scolding him for not being “driven” enough.

Sharing his experience on the r/singaporejobs subreddit, the man said he had originally applied for an “admin and operations” executive position through JobStreet.

Read more: ‘Younger generations have no drive’: Interviewer lashes out after jobseeker rejects insurance role