Career Advice Needed

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am the poster of post 16.
According to what my manager says, there is no cap. 'Whatever works' was exactly what he says.
When i heard that my heart sank. If dip can promote faster just because he performs better, then what is the point of my degree?

Nah pretty sure there is a cap for diploma. You check your manager's education background. From what i know , in the long run, there is a need for degree or masters.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Nah pretty sure there is a cap for diploma. You check your manager's education background. From what i know , in the long run, there is a need for degree or masters.

I'm the poster from post 16
I know because i checked. My manager has a deg. But i know another manager from another department only has a Dip. There is really no cap, confirmed with HR. Will ask again duing exit interview, they just look at the performance, results and i heard there is this stupid BSC. I heard about them talking about value add and all that makes me feel helpless. Mnc have such weird msnagement styles.

Originally Posted by HalpMe

Hi all,

I am a 29F, local uni grad seeking career advice from all. I currently work at a public-associated firm as a contract staff, with my contract ending soon this November and I wouldn't be re-contracting. Reasons being:

1. No opportunities to recontract in current firm
2. Not very interested to continue my current role (I didn't hate the job scope, but also didn't like it very much)
3. No career progression.

I have been considering to switch to the private sector in hopes to find a permanent job and hopefully higher pay, however it hasn't been easy (7 months on-off application), because I think my current skill sets in this job isn't very relevant to other sectors.

I have been offered a role at a small firm, in which I would be doing similar things as what I am doing now, in a different industry. I am on the fence as to whether to accept the offer or not because:

a. Lower expected annual pay (no bonus + increment according to reviews despite stating performance bonus)
b. Not sure if this is what I want to do for life, or am I just seeking the easier way out to look for something that is related. Although I am quite sure it is going to help me look for better jobs in private sector in the future (but also related to this field)
c. Interviewers seemed to have a bad impression of me (I am really not sure why they offered me )

Should I go for the job? Or should I wait for another opportunity? I was also considering doing a switch to tech and took a course in that, and it piqued my interest but I realized I am still really far away from being employable. Considering taking courses for a mid-career switch as well.

Would really appreciate serious advice! Thank you

I am going to give you some hard truths.

There is no such thing as a 100% job. Every job you undertake in future, there will be an aspect of it that you won't like or doesn't sit well with you. The goal is to find a job you like about 60% of the time... the reaminder 40%? you just tahan, like everything in life.

Most govt or govt related jobs will re-contract after 2 years. I would inquire further into why i wasn't offered a re-contract and take that feedback with an open mind.

Many people in govt (and who have only worked in govt) think that the jump to private sector will be easier with much higher pay and more work-life balance and blah blah blah. The fact is that most high performing MNCs are not "easier" than govt roles. No such thing as iron rice bowl in private sector. In fact, right now, a lot of people in private sector are worried about retrenchment. With most economies worldwide predicting a recession in 2023, life in private sector is going to get very ugly very fast for at least the next 2 years.

You say you have been applying for jobs on-off for 7 months and it's difficult. I acknowledge that this is not a great economy to be job-hunting. I do not envy you.

However, in a country where paper qualification is pretty much the end all and be all of hiring when it comes to junior workers (which you are all things considered), i find it quite strange that you haven't gotten any positive replies. Instead of anyhow hantam-ing job applications, i would instead decrease the number of applications sent out but increase the quality of each application.

The govt has been very good in setting up clinics like i2e, where they provide free job counselling for people in your predicament. Part of this free job counselling will be exploring your interests and matching them with appropriate jobs. They will also recommend courses you can undertake to re-train into your desired profession. Of course, they also offer advice on your CV/cover letter.

If there is a will, there is a way.

The most important thing is not to lose hope.

Originally Posted by HalpMe

Hi all,

I am a 29F, local uni grad seeking career advice from all. I currently work at a public-associated firm as a contract staff, with my contract ending soon this November and I wouldn't be re-contracting. Reasons being:

1. No opportunities to recontract in current firm
2. Not very interested to continue my current role (I didn't hate the job scope, but also didn't like it very much)
3. No career progression.

I have been considering to switch to the private sector in hopes to find a permanent job and hopefully higher pay, however it hasn't been easy (7 months on-off application), because I think my current skill sets in this job isn't very relevant to other sectors.

I have been offered a role at a small firm, in which I would be doing similar things as what I am doing now, in a different industry. I am on the fence as to whether to accept the offer or not because:

a. Lower expected annual pay (no bonus + increment according to reviews despite stating performance bonus)
b. Not sure if this is what I want to do for life, or am I just seeking the easier way out to look for something that is related. Although I am quite sure it is going to help me look for better jobs in private sector in the future (but also related to this field)
c. Interviewers seemed to have a bad impression of me (I am really not sure why they offered me )

Should I go for the job? Or should I wait for another opportunity? I was also considering doing a switch to tech and took a course in that, and it piqued my interest but I realized I am still really far away from being employable. Considering taking courses for a mid-career switch as well.

Would really appreciate serious advice! Thank you

This job offer you got does not sound great. You should never accept a lower pay, unless a new job offers a great learning opportunity, or you are financially desperate. If you accept it, it might give a reason to your next potential employer to lowball you again.

7 months of job searching is quite long. You need to ask yourself, what are you doing wrongly? And how you can improve. if the response rate to CVs you send is low, you need to work on this part. Read guidelines on CV writing. There are even companies offering a free feedback for your CV. Personally, I saw a great differrence after rewriting my Cv to be more results-oriented.

If you fail mostly at the interview stage, is it becausr you have knowledge/skill gaps? If yes, work on them. If not, you can drastically improve your interview performance by going through interview prep materials. Plenty of stuff available online. Every interview is a game, you need to know how to play it. What to accentuate, what to avoid, how long your answers should be, etc.

One more thing to add - reember about the value of networkin

GL

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am going to give you some hard truths.

There is no such thing as a 100% job. Every job you undertake in future, there will be an aspect of it that you won't like or doesn't sit well with you. The goal is to find a job you like about 60% of the time... the reaminder 40%? you just tahan, like everything in life.

Most govt or govt related jobs will re-contract after 2 years. I would inquire further into why i wasn't offered a re-contract and take that feedback with an open mind.

Many people in govt (and who have only worked in govt) think that the jump to private sector will be easier with much higher pay and more work-life balance and blah blah blah. The fact is that most high performing MNCs are not "easier" than govt roles. No such thing as iron rice bowl in private sector. In fact, right now, a lot of people in private sector are worried about retrenchment. With most economies worldwide predicting a recession in 2023, life in private sector is going to get very ugly very fast for at least the next 2 years.

You say you have been applying for jobs on-off for 7 months and it's difficult. I acknowledge that this is not a great economy to be job-hunting. I do not envy you.

However, in a country where paper qualification is pretty much the end all and be all of hiring when it comes to junior workers (which you are all things considered), i find it quite strange that you haven't gotten any positive replies. Instead of anyhow hantam-ing job applications, i would instead decrease the number of applications sent out but increase the quality of each application.

The govt has been very good in setting up clinics like i2e, where they provide free job counselling for people in your predicament. Part of this free job counselling will be exploring your interests and matching them with appropriate jobs. They will also recommend courses you can undertake to re-train into your desired profession. Of course, they also offer advice on your CV/cover letter.

If there is a will, there is a way.

The most important thing is not to lose hope.

Tried a school counsellor. End up only ask me to go back into engineering after i want to switch career.. Doubt these counsellors will be able to help much. Only can advice you.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Tried a school counsellor. End up only ask me to go back into engineering after i want to switch career.. Doubt these counsellors will be able to help much. Only can advice you.

Please try e2i.
It is very much differetn from e2i. And free.
What is the harm? If it is really useless, you know you've tried everything.
It's certainly better than sitting around and complaining without doing anything right?

Please try e2i.
It is very much differetn from your school counsellors**. And free.
What is the harm? If it is really useless, you know you've tried everything.
It's certainly better than sitting around and complaining without doing anything right?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Please try e2i.
It is very much differetn from your school counsellors**. And free.
What is the harm? If it is really useless, you know you've tried everything.
It's certainly better than sitting around and complaining without doing anything right?

I am the poster from post 16.
Can they help me? This time i really burn bridge. I argue with the HR just now.
How can there be no cap? How can promotion and bonus be tagged to performance and KPI and not paper qualifications?
Then why did i take my degree for?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am the poster from post 16.
Can they help me? This time i really burn bridge. I argue with the HR just now.
How can there be no cap? How can promotion and bonus be tagged to performance and KPI and not paper qualifications?
Then why did i take my degree for?

Should not have done that. Whatever reason the HR gives you, you just take it and say thanks. Then quiet quitting till you job hop.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Should not have done that. Whatever reason the HR gives you, you just take it and say thanks. Then quiet quitting till you job hop.

I am the same poster for post 16.
The mnc culture is really not for me. How can promotions be related to KPI met or revenue?
It should be related to paper qualifications first. If 2 person with the same paper qualification fighting for the same promotion, then the work performance can come in to compare.
I cannot sit by and watch these mnc promote someone with only a diploma regardless of his performance over me. But now i think no point talking about this anymore. Bridge burned. Career in this mnc gone.