SINGAPORE: Unemployed Singaporeans have been sharing how they cope with being out of work for months as many struggle with what they described as a “bad” job market, with some saying the silence from employers has become unusually loud.

Discussion of the matter surfaced online when a 30-year-old worker, who has been working for nearly 10 years, sought advice on r/SingaporeRaw on how to cope with unemployment after being jobless for six months. While she said it’s not the first time she has been between jobs, she admitted it’s the first time she is “truly struggling to bounce back”.

“I am able to get back quickly and even offered more, but this time feels different and dead silence,” she said.

She also shared that while she has enough financial buffer to tide her through unemployment, one thing she was not prepared for was “the psychological erosion of unemployment — the growing sense of worthlessness — is something no amount of savings can prepare you for.”

Explaining why she feels stuck, she said she has been deemed overqualified for junior or mid-level roles, “likely perceived as too expensive or not as ‘malleable’ as a fresh grad”, while also being under-matched for senior positions demanding hyper-specialised experience with salary offers that barely match her previous pay.

“It’s no longer the ‘dinosaur era’ where a degree and a good attitude were enough,” she said, adding that even entering the public service, which used to be the “safe” path, has become increasingly demanding and difficult to enter.

She also shared how becoming a private hire vehicle (PHV) driver or doing food delivery did not make financial sense to her due to high rental and petrol costs. Worker support like career fairs, coaching, and training has also proven useless, she added.

Seeking advice from others facing the same struggles, she wrote: “I’m reaching out because I just want to hear from others who are in (or have been in) this same boat. How are you coping and if there is something I can do to solve this?”

Others going through long-term unemployment said they understood the feeling all too well.

One commenter wrote: “Same… My applications are now nothing but silence. I used to get callbacks from HR at least. It’s super quiet now as time passes by. As much as I want to worry less, I really want to work. My skills gap would widen even further at this rate.”

Some chose not to go into detail about their own experiences, but reassured her that she was not alone.

“I’m in a similar situation. I’m so sian I don’t wanna type my long story. But you’re definitely not alone,” one wrote.

Others instead shared practical ways they have been coping while unemployed, from tweaking resumes and applying for contract roles to exercising more and leaning on friends and family for support.

One commenter, who has also been job-seeking for six months, said he edits his resume based on the versions that receive more callbacks and has started applying for contract roles instead of focusing only on permanent positions.

“Honestly speaking, this market is slower than before. Fewer jobs are being advertised in the market even for my industry,” he said, while encouraging her not to shy away from more senior or difficult roles, as pushing for those roles “will have a better chance”.

Another advised unemployed workers to make use of any remaining medical or dental benefits from their previous jobs, calculate how long their savings could last, and stay connected with friends, former customers and vendors who may be able to help them spot opportunities or pivot into different industries.

He also encouraged keeping active while job hunting, saying exercise helps maintain motivation and mental well-being even when the search becomes discouraging, helping one to stay in top condition for interviews later.

In other news, a mid-career tech professional, who was laid off from a multinational company in February last year, finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel after a short break and 14 months of job search. /TISG

Read also: ‘I’m scared about what comes next’: Fortune 100 worker shares financial worries after being laid off as company shifts hiring to ‘lower-cost countries’

This article (‘It’s super quiet now’: Singaporeans share how they cope with months of unemployment) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.