SINGAPORE: A local employee who joined the workforce around 12 years ago was left stunned after finding out that some of the newly hired fresh graduates in his office had to send out more than 100 job applications before finally securing a position.
In a post shared on r/SingaporeRaw on Sunday (Nov 2), the man said he initially thought his younger colleagues were exaggerating when they mentioned the number of applications they had to submit. But out of curiosity, he decided to check his own records to compare what the job hunt was like back when he started working.
He went through his old Dropbox folder and searched for copies of his cover letters and resumes. To his surprise, he found only ten.
“This means, I applied for 10 jobs in 2013, and I got accepted by 1 company,” he wrote. “My question is… Have times changed? Or was I damn lucky? In 2013, I could find a job with 10 applications. 10 leh!!! Actually only 9. The last one I applied for 3 months after I started working.”
He went on to compare his experience with the current job market, noting that things seem to have become much tougher for fresh graduates. “Ten years later… in 2024/2025, one needs 100+ or 200+ applications, and some of my colleagues’ friends end up doing internship instead of getting full-time jobs.”
“10 years ago, how many foreign talents were there?”
In the comments, one person suggested that the employee make a “fake résumé” and send out job applications to test if he could still secure a position after just 10 tries. “Try applying to at least 10,” they said. “It’s not a good idea, but it’s a better reality check.”
Another chimed in, “It is true that entry-level roles are especially tough right now. But yes, there are still people who already got offers before graduating. Or even for experienced hire, a few companies can already. Very normal.”
A third individual pointed out that the job market has indeed become more competitive because of the influx of foreign talents. “10 years ago, how many foreign talents were there? How many are there now? Every year, there are fresh graduates, and 10 years ago, was there even AI?” they wrote.
“Now, every year there are fresh graduates from Johor aiming for Singapore too because of the exchange rate. What do you think? Or maybe they’ll work a few years in Johor first, then come here to fight for your job.”
In other news, a frustrated fresh grad took to social media to rant that after breaking his back to land a “prestigious” job at one of the Big Four firms, he ended up dealing with bosses who seemed more obsessed with his outfit choices than the actual work he was doing.
In an anonymous confession on the NUSWhispers Facebook page on Friday (Oct 31), the fresh grad said his bosses, whom he described as “toxic as hell”, had reprimanded him for wearing a plain T-shirt on a Friday, even though there were no client meetings or important events scheduled.
