Options for jobseekers

Last Friday, we posted a poll about how one could improve his/her job search. The catch was, what if you had excellent qualifications and the skills to booth? You'd wonder... has the competition in the Singapore jobs market tightened so much that even 'price-catch' candidates (just to lay out the idea) feel ignored?

So far, we've garnered 12 responses. This number is a little bit short of quota, yes, but we're very grateful for the people who've participated. And so, the results are that most people agree to the option of tapping the hidden jobs market (through networks) and considering temp jobs and contract roles. Both got 33.3% response rates.

Somehow, we expected to end up with this kind of result. The hidden jobs market is a very good place to look into, and this is common knowledge. The advantage is that you'd be applying as a 'referred' person; when it comes to job search in Singapore, a back up is always welcome. On the other hand, with contract jobs, additional experience will be gained and there is the chance of getting absorbed in the company as a regular employee for a job well done.

Garnering a favorable 25% response rate is the option of considering another industry with similar skills demands. People probably know that there is difficulty in this option. Effort must be exerted to market yourself to the top companies in this 'new' industry. Describing your transferable skills can be quite tiring especially if you haven't done this kind of an exercise before.

Perhaps, the reason why the option of returning to school or attending some career seminars didn't get any response is because it comes with a price. Anyway, education is a form of investment no matter what angle you look at it. If you have the budget, then attend training opportunities and career seminars. If not, we don't want you to completely drop the idea, though.

'Try harder and wait' was included as an option because it has been proven many times that having patience pays when looking for a job in Singapore. Not a lot of people, it appears, believes in this though. Do you? We do.

We've decided to leave this survey open until a 100 people has answered it. If you haven't voted for an option yet, do so. Please also incline your friends and acquaintances to share their thoughts with us. Those votes would help a lot.



Alternatively, you may Click here to take survey