‘I can’t even get an interview’: Fresh grad turns to Reddit after 4 months of job hunting

SINGAPORE: After months of tirelessly sending out job applications and hearing nothing back, a fresh biomedical science graduate is now asking the internet what more she can do.

Posting on Reddit’s r/askSingapore forum on Wednesday (July 16), the graduate, who completed her degree at a private university after doing a diploma in the same field at Republic Polytechnic, shared that it has been four months since she started job hunting, but she has yet to receive a single interview.

“All my friends already managed to get a job, but I can’t seem to even get an interview,” she shared. “I only have a small group of uni friends, but compared to them, I have previous experience in this field as I started working after my diploma.”

She added that she’s already updated her resume and carefully personalises each cover letter, but despite all the effort, she still hasn’t gotten a single reply.

“Honestly, this is getting really tiring because I have been applying every single day on almost all platforms,” she wrote. “I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.”

She ended her post by asking if anyone had any tips or suggestions that might help her get her foot in the door.

“If you are not getting interview, then it’s your CV.”

Fellow Redditors responded with a range of practical suggestions. Some recommended reaching out to friends and asking them to “pass her resume to their company’s HR departments,” noting that even securing an interview for practice could be beneficial.

Others encouraged her to reconnect with “former colleagues or employers” from her previous work experiences in the field. A number of users also suggested contacting hiring managers or HR professionals directly via LinkedIn with a sincere and tailored message, as this approach has proven effective for many.

A few commenters also speculated that the issue could lie with her resume. One user bluntly stated, “If you are not getting interviews, then it’s your CV.”

Another added, “Resume has to be neat, readable. No small fonts and fanciful colours all over the place. And please don’t include your NRIC (Only saying this because I’ve seen so many people doing it.)”

“It is also a numbers game. As ridiculous as it is, it is also luck. If there’s way too many candidates, they will skip a few depending on the soft skills, etc needed.”

In other news, a diner took to social media to vent his frustration after being charged $5 for a simple bowl of lontong at Bishan Interchange Food Centre.

In a post on the ‘Complaint Singapore’ Facebook page on Tuesday (July 16), the man shared that his breakfast, which was listed at S$3, ended up costing S$5 after a piece of begedil was added to the dish.

Read more: Diner upset his lontong meal cost S$5 after adding begedil, but netizens say it’s still ‘cheap’

Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)