Hi, I am currently living in the central district with my mum and dad. My hobbies include cycling, photography, working out in the gym, using the computer and reading. I recently graduated from a local university, and prior to this a polytechnic. I left my job as a support technician – my duties include password resetting, configuration of customers account and troubleshooting connectivity and login issues (like using of calls, emails, and remote troubleshooting.) When I was told to leave at the end of April, I was actively looking for jobs and going to interviews while taking leave of absence at the same time. I used my school job search portal as I was told that it is suitable for people with less than one year of working experience. The problem is that there are too many candidates. There is really a lot of competition out there for jobs. I do not like sites like JobsCentral – because these real estate agent, financial advisor and SAF regular type of jobs. I changed my strategy and switched to recruiter sites like Monsters and JobStreet. I managed to get calls. Why I choose to seek recruiter sites is because they will provide free career advices and will even prepare valuable interviews all for free – as compared to other sites with direct application where applicants may not even get a response. And for some recruiters I may not even get a response after I’ve submitted my transcripts and certificate. Some good ones like HAYS recruitment will send you down for interviews without requiring you to bring any documentation. They will also assign two account managers to you. I did approached CDC for assistance and they provided me valuable insights like how to write a proper resume; cover letter; and interviews skills. I have also been attending their one to one personal consultation to discover my strength and weakness and job suitability. Apart from that, I have been surviving on the pay from my temporary job and my bank savings account. I have study loans to pay off, by the way. I have gone through 11 interviews so far, but to no avail. Some of these interviews were done via phone calls – they asked me about the projects that I have done and whether I had any offers — how am I supposed to answer this? There are also tests like abstract reasoning and logical reasoning. And I was asked to complete them within a time frame of 45 minutes. Some of these interviewers even said that I have no work experience and they are only willing to pay $1,800 to $2,000. If we were to ask about achievement – there is nothing much to say except for work bonus or winning a prize from a contest with 500 people. Upon looking at our job search history, employers will think that we GEN-Y have been job hopping way too often. Or, they might think that we have been receiving low internship pay, so we’re not very willing to revise the payslip. Overall, all positions for the IT sector require many assessment rounds, like showcasing our work portfolio and filling up job application forms. Some even told us to bring work home to finish it. I’ve started going for more job interviews. I would say, do not do a diploma level job – because they will think we, as degree holders, are not willing to accept a diploma level salary while reporting to our boss, also a diploma holder. I went for an interview for a programmer position – recruiters say it is not possible to start with testing because it’s a waste of money. I have mentioned the work-life balance. They said they will work until 1-2pm. On my 28th interview, I told the interviewers that I am a dependent person and good at paraphrasing and rephrasing. I asked the interviewers questions revolving my job scope such as audit work, security, hardware/software and IT infrastructure networking. I asked how I fared against the other candidates and he say most GEN Ys are looking for management associate positions. I know I did well and the recruiters confirmed this. They offered me a job on the second day. For those who want to overcome challenges, I would say name at least four positions that you would like to do (e.g development, tech support, security, IT recruitment for me.) Take time to do well in school and get good transcripts if possible. It is possible to get a higher salary from there because people will first look at our transcripts and ask us questions related to our school. As much as possible, do take up odd-jobs and adhoc jobs – so that employers will know that you are contributing to the country economically. If not, do something like volunteer work or go to schools and community centres for part-time course – something worthy to put in the CV. Melvin Editor’s note: The writer manages to land a job as helpdesk engineer with a salary of $2,300. It’s a one-year contract offer. - See more at: transitioning.org/2014/04/14/25-year-old-fresh-nus-graduate-lands-helpdesk-engineer-position-with-2300-salary/#sthash.kL3xZPWV.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 01:57:08 +0000
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