‘I can’t help wondering why’: Fresh grad demoralised after 5 months of job applications
A young man sits on steps as office workers walk past.
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean fresh graduate who has spent the past five months looking for work said he is struggling to secure even an interview, despite having prior work experience.
Posting on r/singaporejobs on Tuesday (Oct 6), he said his friends and peers who graduated around the same time had already started working.
“I’m slowly getting very demoralised as my friends and people around me who graduated at the same time as me have already started working. So far, I’ve only received 1 callback from a company for an interview, and that’s all.”
“To be honest, I’m happy that they’ve found jobs, but I can’t help wondering why I’m not even getting an interview opportunity. It doesn’t help when my family and people I meet keep asking how my job search is going.”
The graduate acknowledged that the job market is difficult but said he was unsure what was holding his applications back. He also has work experience from before university, which makes the lack of interview opportunities even more confusing.
“I’m starting to think that I might be doing my resume wrong now or am too picky. Would really appreciate any feedback or advice. I’m so stressed.”
‘The job market is really not good now’
The post drew plenty of sympathy from commenters, with several suggesting that his struggle was less a reflection of his abilities and more a sign of just how unforgiving the current job market has become.
One wrote, “It's not just you. The economy is not healthy.”
Another said, “Brace yourself; me, as experienced, have been looking for a job for 2 years and have yet to find any...Luckily, I still have a job. It's a long fight; do not give up. Don't just focus on job hunting. Try to do something in your profession to build up something that can show your ambition in the interview and grow your knowledge at the same time.”
A third shared, “I was laid off in March this year, and the job market has been extremely bad. I barely got any interviews, and even when I did, I either got ghosted after the first round or heard nothing for months after submitting an assignment. It is definitely demoralising, especially when you see other people getting jobs while you're still stuck and unable to find one.”
Some, meanwhile, offered words of encouragement alongside practical advice.
One user commented, “Take your time to find it. The job market is really not good now. Meanwhile, you can take part-time or temporary work to tide you over first.”
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Another shared, “I think you need to rework your CV. There is a wealth of information online on how to do it. And take heart, there are many who are fairly senior in the corporate world (like myself) and are not spared of this hard market, which doesn't respond in our favour, let alone less experienced folks.”
In other news, a local man has questioned whether “it is common for parents in Singapore” to remain heavily involved in their adult children’s lives after his mother told him he needed his father’s permission before quitting his job.
Sharing his experience on the r/askSingapore forum, the man said he had told his mother that he planned to leave his toxic workplace and move into a different field.