This is a terrible time to be a graduating student. Since last year I have been sending job applications and to date I estimate that I have sent at least a dozen (yup not a lot, because admittedly I am applying selectively and not a lot of good firms are hiring), but have yielded only one interview.

Statistically, I am an above-average student. I do have some achievements outside of academia, although probably not so outstanding to be considered as a ‘talent’. I did my homework on career development, resume-writing and meticulously drafted my CV and cover letters, doing lots of research on the firms I apply to… all to no avail.

Sometimes I wonder how are the average students faring on the job market if I am already having so much difficulty even in getting selected for interviews.

A sign of the bad times for graduating students – a couple weeks ago there was a career fair in NUS – I estimate that more than half of the recruiting organizations were government entities, with Defence organizations making up a significant proportion. I wonder about the long-term sustainability of the Government creating jobs in the civil service to mitigate the lack of jobs in the private sector – will it eventually become a burden for taxpayers to support so many civil servants, and are all these positions created out of the needs of the hiring organizations, or have they been created just so that the Government can make the unemployment situation look better?

Actually there are some tempting offers out there – First Class Honours graduates are being offered $3,800+/month (with NS) for positions as Prisons or ICA officers. I am somewhat confident of being able to get in… but as most people know, it can be difficult to leave civil service for the private sector later… and I have swore off going into civil service in the first place anyway.

Am I being inflexible and picky? Perhaps some people might think so, but from my perspective, I studied hard for years to get to where I am today – so that I can graduate with a good standing and have more advantages in the job market – so I think I deserve to choose. Well, looking at the bleak situation today, I guess it’s useless to say all these now.

I have also thought about starting my own business – either a tech business that combines my interests with what I learnt in business and in school, or the more conventional trading (buy-sell) business where less technical skills are required. The former would require more time, effort and expertise to start – thus probably requiring me to source for funding… and can also be more profitable. The latter would be easier to start, faster to break even and more scaleable (and also easy to end so that I can move on to a proper career should it not work out)… but might be less rewarding (actually I guess it depends on the product category). Then again, during recession there is the uncertainty about the probability of success in starting up because of the overall slowdown in consumption across all sectors.

I’m feeling quite lost now – on the one hand, I am thinking of being patient and wait for a decent offer from a good firm to come along… while on the other hand I am worried about how long I will have to wait – I want to move on in life, save up for marriage and kids before I get too old, you see.

I guess another option is to further my studies – do a PhD, or Masters. For a PhD, well, I think it might work for me, but it certainly isn’t what I feel like doing. For Masters, I would want to do it overseas as I suspect a local Masters isn’t worth as much on the job market as an overseas one… but of course that’s just wishful thinking because I obviously don’t have the money to go overseas. And surely delaying my career for one year ain’t the best idea, considering the uncertainty about how the economy will be like next year.

Perhaps I ought to put up my CV here in the naive hope that someone will see value in what I can offer?

I’m having mixed feelings about graduating at this time – on the one hand I am very glad that I’m finally through with schooling and can move on in my life… on the other hand I am very afraid about graduating into unemployment.

Any advice or experiences to share, anyone?

No related posts.