‘Big 4 seniors are a dime a dozen’: Singaporeans weigh in on employee’s failed career switch

SINGAPORE: A Big Four employee with around five years of experience has expressed frustration after hearing nothing back despite submitting more than 100 job applications.

In a post on the r/singaporejobs forum, the Singaporean, who is due to be promoted to manager at their current firm, said they have been trying to move from audit into corporate finance, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), or financial reporting because they “no longer see themselves staying in professional services in the long term.”

However, despite their efforts, they have yet to make any headway.

“I’ve submitted over 100 applications in the past few weeks. I’ve had a handful of recruiters reach out (mostly for audit or roles I’m not interested in), but no interviews for the type of corporate finance roles I’m targeting.”

Disheartened by the lack of progress, they admitted, “To be honest, I’m starting to feel quite anxious because every day in my current job feels harder, and I’m worried about how long this transition will take.”

Seeking perspective, they asked fellow Redditors: “Is this normal? How long did your job search take? How many applications did you submit? At what point did interviews start picking up? I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences.”

“You won’t be able to land a good role without a network or referrals”

In the discussion thread, several Singaporean Redditors told the poster that June is traditionally one of the slowest periods for hiring

One user said, “It is both June and summer in the northern hemisphere; hiring tends to be slow these months due to holidays and what not. Honestly, waiting till October to December is your best bet, as companies’ budgeting should be done by then and hiring should pick up. Most roles that are open now are mostly replacement roles.”

Others said that while having one of the Big Four firms on your CV is still an advantage, it no longer carries the same weight it once did in such a crowded job market.

One wrote, “What sets you apart? Big 4 seniors are a dime a dozen. You won’t be able to land a good role without a network or referrals. Also, this area isn’t really hiring since a lot of the workflows are now moved into AI.”

Another added, “The current job market is indeed really slow. Depending which site you use, there is easily 50-100 applicants for each position. To be honest, big 4 experience is quite common and my guess is if there are applicants with similar bg that requires lesser training, they will shortlist those first. My advice if you really want to transition out, either take those papers or apply from bottom again (exec or associate level).”

In other news, an employer took to social media to share that her domestic helper deliberately washed her menstrual underwear together with the family’s laundry before telling her husband that she wanted to return to her home country.

Posting in the “Singapore transfer helper maids direct hire – expat employers” Facebook group, the employer said the helper was a transfer maid who had been working for the family for about two months and had just completed her loan obligations.

Read more: ‘She wants to go home’: Employer upset after maid allegedly mixed menstrual underwear with family laundry