SINGAPORE: A Singaporean took to social media to share that his series of short employment stints, which included two retrenchments followed by a termination from his most recent role, has made it difficult for him to secure new employment in the finance industry.
In his post on the r/singaporefi subreddit, he explained that he has been job hunting for “more than a year” and has been trying almost every approach he could think of in order to secure something stable.
“I have tried to reach out to many recruiters, but most have either ignored me or mentioned that the issue with termination and short stints would make it difficult for them to help me,” he wrote. “I have also tried to cold network with past colleagues and did cold outreach on LinkedIn, but to no avail. “
Providing more context, the man said that in the first two start-up companies he previously worked at, where he stayed for about a year and a year and a half respectively, he was retrenched because of “company restructuring.”
Regarding his third role, he mentioned that he was terminated for performance-related reasons, though he attributed this to the personal tragedies he was facing at the time as well as a toxic work environment that made it difficult for him to function effectively.
He said, “Two of my close family members passed away during that period—one from stage 4 cancer and another from an extremely rare illness.”
“And the team [I was working with] was very toxic and has over a 70% annual turnover rate, with many being placed on Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) and then pressured to resign or face termination. I won’t go into details, but some team members have become suicidal, crying in the office, etc.”
Unsure whether he should continue to bring up these circumstances during interviews, he asked the online community, “Should I disclose my termination in interviews, background checks, or applications? What kind of explanation should I provide if potential employers inquire about my short tenures and the reasons for my departures if I choose to reveal my termination? And what rationale should I give if I don’t have to disclose that I was terminated?”
“Take a step back and try another industry or lower your expectations.”
In the discussion thread, several Singaporean Redditors chimed in with their thoughts and suggestions.
One commenter recommended keeping explanations simple. “The best reason you can give is saying, ‘Due to company layoffs.’ It’s very common, especially now with AI. Lots of companies are making rash decisions to replace people with AI only to rehire them when the firing leads to other people unrelated resigning due to fear.”
Another said, “It is very unfortunate, but high finance is often more unforgiving. Especially in this job market, your resume might not land you an interview easily. If your finances allow you, you might consider taking an MBA or master’s to fill up the gap now and make the pivot, as that might be your best chance to return to the high finance roles or adjacent industries. Another way is to take a step back and try another industry or lower your expectations. All the best.”
A third assured him, “Just a little gap in your life, enjoy your unemployed time, bro. You stay in Singapore, you will work for a long time.”
In other news, a local worker shared on Reddit that he’s stuck in a “broken” company where he’s overworked, underpaid, and mentally exhausted.
Posting on the r/askSingapore forum, he wrote that even though it’s already 2025, his company still insists everyone show up at the office five days a week, with zero flexibility for remote work.
Read more: No WFH, overworked, and underpaid — Singapore worker says he’s stuck in a ‘broken’ company
