I interviewed at 2 telcos, 1 bank, 1 AI startup.

the hiring managers at both telcos commented that IMDA has worsened significantly compared to 3-4 years due to talent drain and they are not confident that my learning and exposure here is good enough

the bank one said that even MAS had more and better tech people than IMDA and the fact that i was working with/reporting to generalist pen pushers was a concern

the startup was the only one that offered me but with a pay cut as they viewed my experience in IMDA as only tech lite. The HR even said that IMDA has to resort to paying more because hardly anyone wants to join them, so don't percieve my current salary as my market value. I've yet to decide if I should take a pay cut but I do know I got to escape from here asap. The branding is bad + the culture is toxic.