Jobless 39-year-old NTU Engineer, nw pt librarian $4/hr

[Raymondism]

Yes. I'm at the age if I ask people got lobang for job they give me that look...

I guess my next job is retiring...

U ask the wrong pple... Tats all

[Turbonetics]

actually, I dont quite agree with "waiting for interview". for COUPLE OF HOURS...

 

I ever get stuck at company for 3 hrs waiting for an interview appointment, I was the only candidates and I have not once but many times, ask the HR where is the interviewer... the final answer is "busy and continue to wait if you can"... and in the end, I took back the application form n left. The Manager came out and ask me why cant I wait and I just replied him that I dont think I want to work for a company hat doesnt care about puntuality.... letting a candidates to wait for hours without any reason is not professional and company with such "practice" will never go far... He LL and stare at me leaving.

 

I know that Manager will sure tell the rest of his colleague that he met an attitude candidates but who cares? For me, dont expect someone to respect you if you dont respect the others from the begining!

 

For me, I never let the candidates waited for more than 15 mins. If Im late, I will appologies to the interviewee even before the conversation starts... If I have last min appt, I will cancel the appointment but if the candidates is on his way, I will get my boss to interview on my behalf.

 

 

i am with you but i wouldn't have waited for 3 hours man.

don't expect to go far working in an inefficient company.

 

[Sosaria]

I was retrenched a couple of years ago. I'm past 50 and it's sure a good time as any to kick you out.

For the next couple of months, I tried very hard to get a job. Success rate for even a getting an interview is like 2%.

 

And when you see data of how many people applying for the same job, it's like 100 vs 1 of you.

Average 50% have higher qualification and ask for lower pay.

 

If you're wondering, I can guess most of these applicants are FTs.

 

It wasn't like this 20 yrs ago, when I could easily get an interview and choose the best suitable job available.

 

For those who think people are lazy or choosy and can't get a job, especially he's older, think again.

 

You may be the lucky guy today and get a good paying job and you think you're very hardworking.

God forbid, if your job is taken away from you, you might think differently.

 

My first job, luckily I left before the sector slowdown and the company (foreign MNC) scaled down and finally close shop several years ago. Then my following jobs, personally, the situation was always short-handed, work like horse and cow - so I'm sure won't be retrenched. In fact, I wanted management to hire more hands

 

But I know it's very difficult to apply for a job once past the prime, e.g. more than a couple of years after graduation from univ.

 

My personal experience is that I tried to arrange an exit from the "horse-and-cow" job unsuccessfully for - believe or not - 3 to 4 years!!! In between I picked up a lot of interview skills and polishing cover letter/story and resume, and picked up more relevant qualification to beef up my case. Finally successful, but it was a hard slog and quite depressing in the beginning before I figured out the mistakes and weaknesses I had to correct... so I kind of understand what it's like to look for another job, especially if switching sectors.

[Tigershark1976]

i am with you but i wouldn't have waited for 3 hours man.

don't expect to go far working in an inefficient company.

 

 

yeah.,... was green and stupid that time... only 20+. If now they let me waited for more than 1hr... i will just turn away.

[Tigershark1976]

Its a recruitment event with more than 100 walk in applicant... Only the first few dun hv to wait cos a few of us conducting interview at same time. For those who dun wait, no chance of getting the job. Simple as that.

 

 

OIC... if walk in, then of course have to wait lah. 1st come 1st serve mah...

[Tigershark1976]

Mind sharing with us the industry which you are in?

 

 

many, you name it... F&B, Customer Service, Estate Mgmt, Waste Mgmt, Logistic, InfoComms & etc .

 

 

[Raymondism]

OIC... if walk in, then of course have to wait lah. 1st come 1st serve mah...

 

precisely... already spent money to travel to job fair location, why not just stay..

[Tungsl]

anybody can confirm if professor is a good teacher

otherwise it seems many universities appear to make decisions on some funny rules

 

 

 

Denial of tenure to NTU associate professor sparks outcry

By Shah Salimat

 

PostsBy Shah Salimat | Yahoo! Newsroom

[Beehive3783]

Firstly, you dig up a 6 month old thread.

 

Next, you post something totally unrelated to the thread.

 

3 letters, KNN.

[TJX]

Firstly, you dig up a 6 month old thread.

 

Next, you post something totally unrelated to the thread.

 

3 letters, KNN.

 

 

Bro, u si beh funny sial.. i laugh until pengzz..... hahaha..But u r absolutely right....

[Joseph22]

Firstly, you dig up a 6 month old thread.

 

Next, you post something totally unrelated to the thread.

 

3 letters, KNN.

he is one of the famous clone lah.

[Wormvirus]

unlike the naive comment upstairs, i find it very useful, knowing what lies in store for us opting to go that route

[Tungsl]

unlike the naive comment upstairs, i find it very useful, knowing what lies in store for us opting to go that route

 

i dont know why people complain about my post

 

earlier today, mod instructed participants NOT to anyhow open new threat

so i good boy look for an old thread to continue

 

both cases involves termination from university of sort

wanting to know how universities decide to termination when a professor is so well loved by student

even going to petition

 

it worries me, because no job is secure even if you do well or well liked by your colleagues

 

for that

someone, perhaps beehives complain about me to mod

and was swiftly rewards with a yellow hand

 

 

strange

 

[Felipe]

seriously i don't know whether to believe or not to believe...everyday on the road..there's more and more BMW and Mercs!!! People are rushing to buy condo!!!

 

miw policies for the past years have benefited the top 10% earners in SG. That's probably a few hundred k ppl, easy to increase merc n bmw sales by many fold. same for property.

 

looks good on gdp, but bad overall.

 

now miw trying to u-turn by reducing low skilled workers, forcing many restaurant owners to close sooner or later. but low skilled workers is what this country needs. It's not looking good for SG cos nothing that miw does seem to work.

[Jim]

I read the first few posts of this 6 month old thread and I feel I have to say a few words.

 

I applied for my current job on a whim - the job requirements was ridiculous high. I didnt qualify for half of them. I applied anyway without much hope of getting it.

 

Somehow I still got past the HR, and during the interview, I was told this: "You are overqualified. You will be bored."

 

Nonetheless, I got the job. I guess I looked excited enough during the interview.

 

I just want to say that the working world is strange.

 

You can be simultaneously underqualified and overqualified, depending on who you are talking to, and yet both of them can veto your hiring. Seriously, I think government tightening foreign hires helped me get past the HR, or my resume may have been buried under a pile of a thousand others and the HR would not have wasted time looking at a "poor fit" candidate.

 

So, to those who are still looking. Dont give up. And dont over-embellish your resume.... in fact, sometimes it may be better if you play down your qualifications, just so you can get around the HR. At least up till recently, HR is so spoilt for choice, they wouldnt bother with anyone who has less than Goldilocks perfect fit.

 

EDIT: I thought I should elaborate on the "dont over-embellish" part. No irrelevent infos, including photographs, NRIC, Date of Birth, NS status, irrelevant work experience, irrelevant qualifications, number of children, religion... most of these will not help you get a job but may sound alarm bells and cause your resume to get ignored.

 

That said, make sure there are no unexplained gaps in your job history, even if you are not working, say something...like taking leave for church work, teaching tuition... dont let HR think you were sick or in prison... but dont make blatant lies that will get you in trouble when they do an intrusive background check, eg claiming to work for a company when you didnt.

 

If you are old like me, you may not need to put in your *entire* job history, just the relevant recent few years, without gaps. Dont mention the year you graduate, or the gap will show up.

 

By the time they ring/email you to ask about these details, you already have their attention and their interest.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Jim

[Tungsl]

good advice thank you

[Jman888]

cannot climb too high?

Highly trained, middle-aged and out of work

Joanna Seow Tee Zhuo The Straits Times Monday, Jul 20, 2015

Dressed in an unassuming polo T-shirt and jeans, it is hard to tell that Mr Desmond Tan was once the head of Asia sales at one of the largest European banks.

Forced to quit shortly after the 2008 financial crisis, he was later turned away from jobs by bank after bank, some even saying he was "over-qualified" for the positions they were offering, given his over two decades of experience.

The 55-year-old, who used to earn more than $25,000 a month, now has to settle for commissions of about $3,000 from his current job as a property agent.

"I used to deal with money that numbered in the millions," Mr Tan said. But now his fees come only in the hundreds.

Mr Tan is not alone in joining the group of highly qualified professionals who have spent years climbing their way up to the top, only to be retrenched.

And when they try to search for a new or similar job, they realise that the fall from the top was a hard one.

Many such job seekers say that the search for a new job takes longer, and sometimes results in them taking up a role outside of their area of expertise and far below their previous pay.

Fifty-seven per cent of Singaporeans and permanent residents who lose their jobs are able to find a job within six months, according to the Manpower Ministry. For professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), however, the proportion was below average at 49 per cent for the same time period.

Workers aged 40 and above also fared worse than younger groups, with a re-entry rate of 53 per cent.

Here, however, it is unclear if those who managed to find jobs actually reached a level similar to that which they used to hold.

The Central Provident Fund Board, which provides data for re-employment rates, said it does not track the difference in wages for the new jobs.

But it seems hard for out-of-work PMETs who held senior management positions to find new jobs that are commensurate with their skill levels and pay expectations.

"A rough 40 per cent are fortunate enough to get back into a job that is similar in grade and salary, 60 per cent have to reinvent themselves or do something totally different," noted Mr Paul Heng, managing director of NeXT Career Consulting Group.

Human resource experts and economists said factors such as economic restructuring and rising competition could explain why it is so difficult for older PMETs to regain their positions at the top of the company food chain.

"Some jobs aren't available in Singapore any longer because regional positions may have moved out or are replaced by enlarged roles of other people," said Singapore Human Resources Institute president Erman Tan.

This hits long-serving PMETs hard because many of these workers have had to pick up employer-specific administrative and managerial skills. These are not easily transferrable to other companies or industries, said Nanyang Technological University assistant professor Walter Theseira.

Experts also note that there is generally a rigid pyramid-like structure in many industries. With a rising number of better-qualified people in the workforce, there is more competition for limited senior positions at the top of the pyramid of jobs.

"You're facing competition not only from people who are already in that position, but also from people who are striving to reach that position," said Quantum Leap Career Consultancy managing director Alvin Ang.

And once someone at the top leaves a post, whether voluntarily or not, it will be hard for that person to find another similar position.

Some older PMETs continue to try to search and wait for the right opportunity. Sometimes, these openings turn up and the worker can resume his former career path.

Often, the only route available for such workers is to switch careers by picking up new skills in an industry with prospects.

Observers said older PMETs can help themselves by continuing to network and update their skills.

"(They must) build value for themselves so that they add value wherever they go and can then command the salaries they want," said labour MP Patrick Tay, who heads the National Trades Union Congress' PME Unit.

Those in urgent need of a job may have to lower their expectations.

Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah said that she helps match employers with job seekers among her residents, and "normally those who are flexible in the distance from workplace, salary and working hours get jobs easily".

The Government is moving on several fronts to tackle this.

One is SkillsFuture, a national initiative which aims to equip workers with skills that future industries require. This will make it easier for workers to make the switch easily to new growth industries.

But this is a move that will take time to root.

The other, more immediate, solution is a new wage subsidy scheme that will support wages of older professionals, managers and executives by up to 40 per cent, capped at $7,000 a month for a year.

Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say announced this earlier this month and said: "After the one year, hopefully most of them will find that the adaptation is an effective one."

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy economist Hui Weng Tat said the programme could help by reducing the risk on the part of the employer and increasing the incentive for workers to take up the job.

For now at least, such news is cold comfort for workers like Mr Long Khin Keong.

A former general manager in the oil and gas industry, he used to draw a salary of about $15,000 a month. These days, Mr Long, 58, takes eight months to earn that much as a taxi driver.

He got behind the wheel about a year ago after struggling for six years to find a suitable job.

"Hopefully somebody 'up there' reads this and improves the predicament of many like myself.

"I'm not asking to become a GM again, I just want to be somewhere I can contribute with my experience," he said.

 

 

[Watwheels]

Just dun mention your age when you hit 50. When you go for job interview lie about your age and act less experienced. It's weird isn't it?