‘It’s getting a bit demoralising, honestly’: Computer science graduate, 8 months into job hunting, asks how other jobseekers are coping

SINGAPORE: A computer science graduate has turned to Reddit to crowdsource insights on how other job seekers are coping in today’s job market.

In a post shared on Tuesday (Feb 3), the graduate opened up about his own struggles, saying he has been searching for work for the past eight months. During two of those months, he said he did not receive a single response from employers, describing the experience as “pure radio silence.”

“I’ve been blasting my resume everywhere, LinkedIn, JobStreet, you name it,” he wrote on the r/asksg subreddit. He added that several seniors and friends in his field have also been unemployed for six to eight months, a situation he said has been increasingly discouraging. “It’s getting a bit demoralising, honestly,” he shared.

Hoping to hear from others in a similar position, he asked fellow users how long it took them to secure their first role and how many applications they had sent before finally getting a positive response. 

He also questioned whether any recruitment agencies were actually delivering results, and whether others had experienced ‘the ghost treatment’ from employers. “Please share your stories (or just vent) below,” he said.

“Just apply directly to websites instead of LinkedIn.”

In the Reddit thread, several local users chimed in to share their own experiences.  

One user said their job hunt stretched over seven months before they finally secured a role.

“I had less than 10 interviews in this time period,” they said.  “You just gotta keep your head in the game and keep tailoring and sending out your resume and leveraging your network as well.”

In contrast, another contributor shared a far shorter and smoother experience. They said they began interviewing during their final semester of university and secured a job offer roughly a month after graduating.

“I applied to fewer than 5–10 [companies], very grateful,” they wrote, adding, “Just apply directly on company websites instead of LinkedIn—my friends have shared that there are mostly ghost roles on there too…”

Meanwhile, several commenters shared practical advice with the post author. “You should try applying through SGInnovate if you haven’t. They try to push fresh grads into employment as much as they can,” one suggested. 

“You can do a traineeship that can last three to six months, depending on the company, and the stipend is about $3,000, I think. It might be lower than your expected salary, but it will give you a chance to convert to full-time.”

Another added, “Use your Uni network and career counsellor to screen through and help improve your resume and interview skills. Use your network to scope for potential openings. I fear the CS job market is ultra-saturated, but hang in there.”

In other news, a domestic helper has shared a heartbreaking account of her first month in a new household, saying she lost a staggering 10 kilograms because she was not given proper meals. 

In a Facebook post shared in a helper support group, she explained that her struggle with hunger began almost as soon as she arrived.

Read more: Maid loses 10 kg in a month after being denied proper meals, says she sometimes ‘ate pasta with just salt’