Been struggling to find a job for the past 1.5 to 2 months and am getting anxious. What are some initiatives that job seekers like myself can check out if I want to increase my career opportunities?

Here is the article I write on Medium for jobseekers to stand out from other candidates:

How to stand out from other jobseekers in this recession

• Determine clearly what career is right for you

• Prepare skill and experience needed for your future career

• Start searching for jobs and tailor your resume

• Prepare for the interview and nailed it

And here is the article that I curated all the best job portals in Singapore to help you find your career easier: 15 Best Job Portals To Find Jobs In Singapore During COVID-19

1) Resume

You will want to make sure what your resume says is similar to the job description that the employers or recruiters are putting out.

Hence, this means you will have to do some tweaking to your resume for every job you apply.

Having an interview is a battle half-won, so making sure at least you get a call for interview is important, and that comes from how you are presenting yourself to the hirers through your resume.

Resume is your stepping stone into getting that call.

5 years ago when I decided to go back to being an employee, instead of a freelancer, I went for a Resume Writing and Interview Skills Coaching workshop by CaliberLink, a division by WDA. $10 for a 2 full-day 8hr workshop (Singaporean rate, as it's heavily subsidised by the govt.)

I find it very useful, because they teach you tips like S.T.A.R. (Situation, Task, Action, Results) guidelines when writing your resume. We even have mock interviews and the instructors will look through the resume to help you improve.

Although I think CaliberLink is no longer around, you can search MySkillsFuture, WDA or Lifelong Learning Institute websites for similar offerings.

Alternatively, you can pay someone on Fiverr to brush up your resume. However, the downside is the person doing it for you will not know you as better as you do. It is still better to do it yourself.

And you will also get a lot of insights by going to such workshops. It will challenge you to look from an employer's p.o.v.

When you are searching for jobs via online job portals e.g. jobstreet, job central, our instructors mentioned that these are usually like the last resort for companies, and the quality of the position may or may not be as good.

How do you think people recruit?

When you think of cost, then you will start to understand better.

First, companies will want to go through their internal pool of employees, and encourage them to refer. Because the cost of referral is so much lower than if they ask agencies or put out an ad.

If they really can't get a suitable person, then they will try recruitment agencies/headhunters and/or ads next.

Internal referral Recruitment agencies/headhunters Advertisements

So, this brings us to the next question. Where are all these recruitment agencies/headhunters these days?

2) LinkedIn

If you're not on LinkedIn, you will be losing out on a lot of oppportunities. LinkedIn is not just for job search or putting out your resume, it is also a way to expand your network of connections.

A lot of recruitment agencies/headhunters are now on LinkedIn, finding candidates after they see your profile. Over 5 years, I have been approached by many of them. Hence, try to get your profile up to ALL-STARS, it will increase your chances.

In addition, a lot of employers are also on LinkedIn and the packages they pay to LinkedIn are in the 5 figures sum per year.

If they are willing to pay so much, it also means LinkedIn has a quality network of users that they can tap on.

As you can see, finding a job is not just simply sending out a resume and that's it. You need to know how to navigate the landscape and optimise your chances at getting one.

Finding a job is your full-time "job" now.

Ensure you have a weekly job search schedule from Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, plan out what you are going to do every day.

Consistency and perseverance will bring you results.

Wishing you all the best!​​​