Are you one of the fresh graduates who still can’t seem to find a “decent” job?
There are tons of Singaporean grads that are jobless after getting their degree, or perhaps given up and accepted the offer for an underpaid job in this very bad times of economy.
Elizabeth Boon is one of the grads facing similar struggles, and she came up with an unconventional photo-shoot to express the woes of a graduate in Singapore. You would find her photos oh-so-relatable if you’re graduating soon or have recently graduated.
Here are 4 realest reasons why fresh grads in Singapore have difficulties landing their first job.
Lack of experience
Oh, the feels. Welcome to the never-ending cycle of being inexperienced because nobody is willing to give you an opportunity to become experienced.
You would think that employers would hire you since you’re young and possess that “toilet paper,” but applications everywhere are just looking like “requires 2-year experience.” It has even been reported that your companies are cutting down on their hiring, or worse, stopped hiring.
Executive and junior roles would require 2 to 3 years of experience, and those jobs that welcome grads are either “severely underpaid” or simply dodgy.
With a large batch of degree holders entering the workforce yearly, it is also no surprise to your interviewer that you have some experience in “an internship” before. So let’s face the truth: most of your employers might just scrape off your internship experience, even if you’re holding great responsibilities and not simply doing mere photocopying.
No Contacts
Those who were once in or currently in University would understand that pain. Towering projects and essays are always waiting for you, and when you’re finally done with those, it’s not yet a break.
You’ll have to work during the holidays or even when schooling, to just afford the expensive lunch in school. And sometimes you just feel like you need a night’s out because you’ll develop depression soon.
But you’ll regret about not knowing anyone immediately when you’re unemployed and desperate. While mugging to your almost-death for exams or chionging projects may get you a great GPA, this GPA may not get you anywhere in life. You can be knowledgeable, but still stuck at the position of “jobless” if you don’t maximize your job-hunting opportunities.
After all, your network determines your net worth – and when you’ve got no network, you might just be worthless in this dog-eat-dog world.
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Low Pay
Millennials are still not willing to accept the fact that they will be “underpaid.” Grads are commenting on how mediocre their pay is – despite being a degree holder and that they’ve went through so much to get that ridiculously expensive degree. They’ll rather not take the job offers that they deem “indecent” and keep on waiting for a great opportunity to come along.
Graduates now are also turning to freelance work or part-time jobs to feed themselves while continuing their search for a job. Although millennials are often referred to as the strawberry generation (or the spoilt generation in short), they have their fair share of problems to shoulder. When real responsibilities such as study loans and taking care of their not-so-young parents start to cave in, it can be quite a struggle for them.
High expectations
Now, this is something very real and something that can be solved.
Here’s the thing: Because when you live at Tampines, working at Tuas is not an option. Nor is waking up at 6am to go work and squeezing the trains during peak hours.
Degree holders – especially those from prestigious universities, feel or think that they should be getting a high pay with minimum work, or considering factors such as a “convenient work location” or a “big MNC.” Anything below that is a no-go.
So while you’re fussing about little things, your potential employer might also be doing the same of you. Your office position doesn’t matter yet; you should just be considering a factor such as – landing a job and paying your bills.
And getting that two years of experience instead of holding on to your high expectations.