SINGAPORE: A 35-year-old man who had been unemployed for seven months took to social media asking others to advise on his job-hunting strategy. In an anonymous post to popular confessions page NUSWhispers, the man said he was not a Singaporean. He wrote: “I dedicated numerous hours every day to job applications. The time spent editing my resume and writing cover letters was incredibly extensive. I even recorded my applications in an Excel sheet, totalling just over 200. Despite holding a PhD in life sciences from a local university and having 3 years of work experience, I found it deeply disheartening not to receive a single job offer in about six months”.

He added that out of more than 200 applications, he was called only for five job interviews, “all of which I believe I performed extremely well in. The challenges arose due to factors such as retrenchment, the closure of biotech start-ups, switch in government’s plan for the nation, and funding cuts across research institutes. Moreover, there have been restrictions on hiring foreigners over the past 6-7 months, as observed from my foreign friends who also struggled to find jobs in Singapore”, he wrote.

The man added that after three months of job hunting, he broadened his search to include “opportunities slightly outside my expertise, including non-research roles. About three months later, I progressed through two rounds of interviews for a position I’m not particularly interested in. I decided to accept it to sustain myself financially, planning to explore better opportunities in research later on. I couldn’t afford to stay unemployed any longer, so I opted for this job that could provide income, even if it wasn’t my ideal choice”.

Because of this choice, the man said that some of his friends criticised him for taking a job meant for more qualified candidates. “They argued that these candidates might be more passionate and productive, thus it would be better for the company to hire them instead. Others questioned why I would settle for a job unsuited to my interests, implying that it would lead me back to square one if I quit after a few months. They also questioned the value of learning new skills if I wouldn’t use them in the long run when I returned to research”.

After hearing his friends out, the man wrote that he understood where they were coming from but asked if he was wrong for taking a job out of necessity. “I underwent tertiary education, spent months applying for jobs, put extensive effort into interview preparations, and went through the formal hiring process like any other candidate. Why am I wrong for securing a job that isn’t my primary interest? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated”, the man wrote.

One netizen gave him a detailed response and said: “In workplace hiring, there is a term we used this term sometimes, which is “overqualified”. Not many hiring managers would hire a PhD for a job meant for just degree holders, or any overqualified candidate for the simple reason of “threat”. These hiring managers felt threatened esp if they always fear their position is not secure. So I am not at all surprised by the lack of interviews. Second pt is, yes u r right, the foreigner quota is an issue. BUT it is not something new. So it could be a supply demand issue where more candidates are available now. So between a foreigner and a local, companies have to consciously leave the quota for positions which are lack of local talent. Third pt, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you taking the job. You do need to feed yourself. N having a CV with a big unemployment gap is nt something desirable in the job market. BUT here is the catch, u might hv to endure the current lower pay for a period of 4-5 years, assuming you could not find something back to your previous salary. Well, at least you can feed yourself. Lastly, I think you might want to consider asking ard your BioTech/life science industry friends and see where the research institutes (or jobs meant for PhDs) have moved to, becos it sounds like those establishments could be moving out of Singapore. If so,it would be better for you to follow suit in order to pursue a similar path. If u insist in staying in Singapore, your current might be the viable path”.  /TISG