‘Still no job?’ — SG jobseeker avoids friends and relatives after a year of unemployment

SINGAPORE: After a year of unemployment, one Singaporean jobseeker has admitted that the experience has completely shattered his confidence, to the point where he now avoids meeting friends and relatives altogether.

In a Reddit post, the man said it feels like everyone around him has moved forward while he remains painfully stuck in the same place. His friends are progressing in their careers, getting promotions, and building their futures, while he continues sending out application after application with nothing to show for it.

What makes things worse, he shared, are the constant questions from relatives whenever they meet.

“Still no job?” they would ask, often with expressions that appeared to hover between “concern and disappointment.”

After months of giving the same explanations about his job search struggles, the man said he gradually began withdrawing from social interactions altogether.

“Life feels bleak,” he wrote. “And the weight of uncertainty just feels unbearable. Anyone in the same boat as me?”

The man stressed that he has not spent the past year doing nothing. According to him, he tried everything he could think of to improve his chances of getting hired. He attended “career fairs, reached out to professionals on LinkedIn, applied for countless openings, and even signed up for upskilling courses.”

But despite all that effort, nothing seemed to work.

Some employers never replied to his applications at all. Others dragged him through multiple interview rounds before suddenly disappearing without an explanation. A few openings, he said, came with requirements that felt impossible to meet.

He pointed out that many so-called “entry-level” jobs were asking for three to five years of experience.

“How do you gain experience when no one gives you a chance?” he questioned.

Now, with his savings slowly drying up and the gap in his resume growing longer by the day, the man admitted that he is beginning to lose hope.

Experts: Don’t isolate yourself

Career experts say that while unemployment can seriously affect confidence and push people into isolation, withdrawing completely tends to make things worse.

According to Vision Counselling’s website, it is essential for job seekers to maintain connections with friends, family, or support groups, as these can provide comfort, reassurance, and a broader perspective.

Experts also advise job seekers to acknowledge their emotions instead of suppressing them. Writing thoughts and feelings down, especially frustrations, sadness, or anger, can help people process what they are going through.

Aside from this, they also urge job seekers to establish a routine since this “counteracts the lack of direction often experienced during unemployment” and to use this period as an opportunity to learn a new skill or take a course.

Read also: ‘This is my home’: Singaporeans say they would not retire in Malaysia despite lower costs