EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGES AND ISSUES FOR 2017 IN SINGAPORE

EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGES AND ISSUES FOR 2017 IN SINGAPORE

A fresh new year is once again upon us. What is the employment scenario like for Singapore in 2017? What are the employers’ hiring intentions for the year? Will there be better days for those seeking decent paying jobs? Will the economic downturn experienced in 2016 be worse in 2017 and thus causing upheavals in the job market?

2016 Employment Market Overview

Unemployment rate and lay-offs hit a 7-year high. An estimated 68 300 residents – of whom 60 300 are citizens were out of work. Over 12 100 employees were retrenched for the period Jan to Sep 2016. More lay-offs are expected in the last quarter 2016.

Companies in the oil and gas, marine and the financial services sectors, bearing the brunt of the economic downturn, slashed the most number of jobs. HRM Asia cited banks like Standard Chartered, Barclays, Royal bank of Scotland, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank exercised mass layoffs. Marine industry giant, Keppel, revealed it retrenched some 660 employees between June and September. Maersk shed 4000 jobs worldwide. Hospitality and casino operator, Resort World Sentosa, axed 400 jobs in June. Inchcape, Toyota and Suzuki distributors, joined the fray and released 120 staff including its CEO for South Asia.

Other big boys reducing headcounts included Yahoo, Rakuten, Goldman Sachs and the list goes on.

Retrenchment and unemployment figures released by the Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) confirmed the labour market is at its worst since 2009 in the 3^rd quarter of 2016. The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate rose from 1.9% in March 2016 to 2.1% in June 2016. The MOM has not released the statistics for the last quarter.

Economic Outlook for 2017

Will Singapore face a gloom and doom front in 2017? Not quite. Judging from the assessment by the IMF (Article 4 assessment), Singapore’s economy will not shrink and is expected to grow by 1.7% in 2017, supported by accommodative fiscal and monetary policies. Low energy prices and the ongoing global recovery can also help. In the near term, however, risks are skewed to the downside. Slower global and regional growth, global financial volatility and growth of political populism are hindrances to growth.

2017 Employment Market Landscape

According to survey polls, recruiting consultants and employers are cautiously optimistic about employee hiring plans in 2017. A survey among 620 employers found that 15% intended to hire and increase headcount, 7% planned to decrease and 71% expected no change. Another survey by a leading recruiting firm found that 36% of Singapore companies were planning to increase headcount in 2017.

The hiring outlook for 2017 is likely to be buoyant, partly, because the Government is proactively investing in three key industries – digital, information technology and healthcare. Hence, employers across these three sectors are likely to continue actively hiring to fill newly-created positions.

It is also noted that though employers are still hiring, they are more precise, discerning and cautious in their hiring practices. They seek out potential employees with specific talent who can add value and contribute aggressively to their bottom line. The focus is hiring the right talent.

Rather than fighting for a small pool of specialised talent in the open market, employers prefer spending money and resources equipping their existing workforce with the necessary tools and skills. Employers have lamented frequently about Singapore’s small talent pool.

On the wage front, recent salary forecast surveys indicate that more than 75% of employers are likely to implement salary increments in the new year, albeit moderately.

Whole New World for Job Seekers and Career Changers

For starters, brace yourself for some tough, challenging times ahead. If you are out of work for some time or fresh out of polytechnic or university, you need to try understand yourself better and what you have to offer to the world of work.

The job market has changed dramatically. Jobs don’t last very long and job security is more of a myth. Full time jobs are getting harder and harder to find. There have been a dramatic increase in the number of part-time, temp or contract jobs

Job hunting has become part of one’s job and is increasingly becoming a repetitive activity for the majority of job seekers.

You have to adapt to an ever evolving job hunting methodology. Job hunting has moved more and more online. Networking and social media have become a fantastic source of career information and job opportunities.

Next, you need to deal with any handicap that you may have. Lack of specific technical skills is one such handicap. The Singapore Government regularly reminds Singaporeans about the importance of   upgrading their skillsets through state-driven initiatives such as the Skills Future Credit Scheme. So, take advantage of such offerings. Another problem with Singaporean job seekers is their prejudice against small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Many are still unwilling to take up jobs in SMEs thinking that these firms offer little career prospects, lower pay and perks.

Finally, survey findings including media releases from MOM about hiring intentions can be dizzying. You may not find comfort though 2017 holds a brighter and more promising future. The real challenge when you are out job hunting is moderating your expectations. The onus is now on you – only you can make that difference.

Successful Resumes Singapore

Career Management Institute

www.successfulresumessingapore.com

         

          

NEW YEAR GREETINGS FROM SUCCESSFUL RESUMES SINGAPORE

RESUME WRITING - LONG WAIT FOR A JOB

LONG WAIT FOR A JOB

Put your CV or resume aside and use a GOOGLE RESUME instead if you want to land that dream job ahead of others in the long snaky job queue.

The Sunday Times (Singapore) in its feature article on its INSIGHT Page on Sunday, 25 Sep 2016 highlighted updating one’s CV as this might help in speeding up getting an interview invite. Whilst this is true and correct, there is more than this during this dry job spell.

You need more than a CV or resume. A Google Resume is what you need including a strategically-crafted and professionally-designed personal branding profile – a marketing tool to sell the most important asset that you have and that is YOU, YOURSELF. If you are up against a fierce wave right in front of you that is beyond your control, you need to look for what you can control and drive it to your advantage.

What, you may ask, are Google Resumes and Personal Branding Profiles?

To know more, log onto www.successfulresumessingapore.com

Successful Resumes Singapore and Career Management Institute

RESUME WRITING: GETTING THAT JOB THAT I REALLY WANT

RESUME WRITING: GETTING THAT JOB THAT I REALLY WANT

The employment scenario isn’t getting any rosier. It may have gotten worse. The Straits Times reported that Barclays is cutting about 100 IT jobs in Singapore (see pic). This won’t be the last and salaried men and women should keep a close watch on their jobs. Be fully prepared just,in case you are told at 4pm to surrender your passes and files and that you have been locked out of the company’s ICT system. This can happen to anyone.

If you are back job hunting, be prepared for tough times ahead of you. Job hunting is hard – very hard for most people. More so for those who have been laid off and have not been on the job hunting trail for one or two decades. The pool of job hunters is growing faster than ever before. It is estimated that there are up to 250 applications for any given vacancy.

In the US, after 2008, 22% to 30% of all unemployed are spending more than a year looking for work. Any person who has been out of gainful employment for three months can be termed as having fallen into a chronic state. The fear is that if one is experiencing a state of chronic unemployment, one may join the next group termed as “The People Who Will Never Work Again.” The American print and social media have even headlined “The Long-Term Unemployed Are Doomed” when referring to chronic unemployment.

When it comes to hiring, employers have changed but job hunters didn’t. In good times, employers hunt one way and in bad times, they hunt another way. They adapt to the times and the environment. What about you – the job hunters? How do you hunt? Are you hunting the same way you did 10, 5 years ago in 2016?

Our professionals at Successful Resumes Singapore and Career Management Institute can help lessen that burden. We get great results. We have been doing this for over 20 years, and the fact that we have expanded and grown to six countries around the world is a testament to our success. We work closely with our clients to develop a unique and holistic approach to their career development.

Pick up your phone and call or email us now!

Web: successfulresumessingapore.com

Email: info@successfulresumessingapore.com  Phone: +65 6469 7100

WRITING YOUR RESUME: USING YOUR VOICE DURING YOUR JOB INTERVIEW

RESUME WRITING: DOES YOUR RESUME TELL OR SELL?

DOES YOUR RESUME TELL OR SELL?

HOW AN AMAZING RESUME CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Written by John Little, Managing Director, Successful Resumes Group International

An amazing resume will bring you results for years to come. Not only is it a priceless tool that will help you climb the career ladder, earn more money or enter the industry you’ve always wanted to work in, but it can also open up new opportunities you may not have even thought about. Having a well-written resume that highlights your best skills and experience is something that you can’t really afford to risk going without, particularly these days when competition for each advertised job is high.

How to entice…

Given your resume is one of the first pieces of information a prospective employer receives, it’s important to get it right. It’s their way of meeting you before they really meet you, so help them come to the right conclusion about what a perfect fit you are! Call them to action and make sure they call you to schedule an interview. Make your resume so tempting an employer will have no choice but to hire you! Or at least meet you in the flesh face to face, the actual hiring part is mostly about how well you’re able to perform once you make it to the interview.

Inspire the readers of your resume to want to meet you and want to get to know you better. Think of a resume as part of an elimination process. Prospective employers will scroll through hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes and will shortlist just a few. Having a unique and well-crafted resume will ensure you make the shortlist, and that means you’ve achieved half of your job seeking goal right there. Once you make the shortlist, then you’re in with a real chance at the job

Increase your success rate

Think of your resume as a reflection of how you’d like to be remembered. Does it highlight your assets and downplay your challenges? Does it definitely cover all your skills and attributes in enough detail as well as list and explain your employment history? This piece of paper works as your very best marketing tool, so make every sentence counts. Hiring a professional to do the job for you will make an enormous difference to your rate of success. Hiring Managers can generally tell the difference between those who have gone out of their way to developing a professionally written resume, and those who crammed the information together at the last minute themselves.

Contact for assistance

If you’d like assistance in crafting an impressive resume that will be hard for employers to refuse, please contact us to make an appointment.

Successful Resumes Singapore and Career Management Institute

INSPIRE • TRANSFORM • LEAD

Web: www.successfulresumessingapore.com

Email: info@successfulresumessingapore.com

STAY AT HOME PARENTS RETURNING TO THE WORKFORCE - HOW TO CRAFT AND DESIGN YOUR RESUME

STAY AT HOME PARENTS RETURNING TO THE WORKFORCE

HOW TO CRAFT AND DESIGN YOUR RESUME

Published May 4, 2016 | By John Little

Working at home as a stay at home parent can be tricky to explain on your resume. The biggest challenge you’ll face with returning to the workforce is how to sell yourself to prospective employers.  Should you mention your ‘Stay At Home Parent’ status or should you leave a gap in your resume?

Skills, skills and more skills!

Believe it or not, you’ve probably got even more to offer than a childless employee. You’ve now gained a multitude of life experience under your belt and have spent the past year or possibly longer fine-tuning your ability to multi-task, prioritise, communicate and no doubt you’ve also developed an incredible ability to stay organised. Why? Because you had to! You’ve likely also honed your exposure to logistical arrangements, your ability to run on time to a clockwork routine and your ability to work within a specific budget.

No gaps

A good resume should always be gap-less regardless of the scenario and it’s good practice to label your time raising your children as ‘parental leave’ regardless of whether you were paid or not. It’s also wise to label your time off as parental leave no matter if you were employed during that time or not. Rather than listing all the tasks of a stay at home parent on your resume, simply list ‘Parental Leave’, include the dates, and leave it at that.

Demonstrate currency

Pair your period of parental leave with relevant study in your field.  Clearly highlight on your resume how you’ve kept your skills up to date and the ways in which you’ve remained abreast of changes in technology or legislation that are likely to affect your work.  Study can include a lengthy qualification but also any variety of short course so long as it was run by an accredited training provider. Also include any voluntary or part-time work you completed during your time off.  Don’t disregard this experience simply because you weren’t paid or weren’t working in an office for example.

Use your squad!

Another trick is to network, network, network!  Leverage people in your network to source leads on positions. Some positions are never formally advertised. Others may be advertised but you may not get a look-in unless someone is able to put in a good word. Competition is high but employers may be keen to meet you if they hear about your brilliant work experience from a colleague or another person within your network.

Last but not least, celebrate! Landing the perfect position when making your return isn’t easy and it can take time. But just like for every other parent who’s been there before you, it will happen. So give your resume and job search the time and energy it deserves, and enjoy your success when the time comes.

CONTACT US. If you need assistance on how to craft and design your resume, cover letter, Linkedin profile or branding profile, please log onto www.successfulresumessingapore.com or email infor@successfulresumessingapore.com

Phone: +65 6469 7100