The economy and job market are causing hardship and anxiety for many Singaporeans. December’s statistics from the Ministry of Manpower show that job seekers continue to outnumber job vacancies for the second consecutive quarter.
Having fewer years of experience and achievements compared to our older counterparts, millennials are affected by this negative trend with the unemployment rate among fresh graduates being the highest since 2009.
I spoke to some of my peers regarding their circumstances. One of the complaints they’ve shared is that many job portals are simply like black holes where you submit your application and get no responses.
For instance, Jobs Bank is perceived as a failure by many of my Singaporean friends. JobStreet, which is pretty popular with the older generation, hasn’t really evolved much over the years to meet the expectations of the new millennial worker.
To help my friends, I’ve decided to write this entry to share some of the platforms which I found really useful and good. I hope that they would help you in your job search too.
1) LinkedIn Jobs
LinkedIn jobs has got to be my favourite job portal in Singapore and I’ve had a few successful interviews from there.
I currently use the basic free account on LinkedIn. Here are some ways which I feel they would benefit job seekers.
Firstly, you will be able to estimate your chances of being called for an interview by knowing how many people applied for the job. This number along with the date it was posted will also give you a good indicator of how selective and popular this company is based on how many people applied for this position.
Another great feature would be information such as who posted the job application so that you can contact the recruiter directly to ask questions and follow up on your application.
You would also be able to see the profiles of other people who work there to find out more about your future team mates and identify the companies they came from and skill sets which they have to gauge your chances.
This could be useful for important for private university graduates as it can be a good indicator as to whether the company discriminates against them.
If you like, you can also get the premium version because:
- Your job application will appear above job applications from non-Premium members, increasing your chances of having it viewed.
- You can also see how you stack up against other applicants or a company’s current employees, based on your LinkedIn profile.
Unfortunately, salary data is only available for available for jobs in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia.
Personally, I feel that the basic version is enough and at this stage, it is more important for me to get LinkedIn Sales Navigator. However, if you are actively hunting now, you can activate the premium version for one free month. 🙂
Besides looking for a job, LinkedIn can also be useful for personal branding and exploring the different pathways which you career can take you. Find out more in my previous post about Why LinkedIn is so important for young adults in Singapore.
2) Glassdoor
Glassdoor is also another one of my big favourites. Back in 2014 when I graduated, they didn’t have much information about Singapore companies but when my friends.
However, when I was job hunting in Q2 2015, I found a lot more local information about the companies which I was keen to apply to. I also felt that their blog was pretty useful with good career advice.
Here are the benefits which Glassdoor has that would give you a lot more insight into the company you’re applying for and also the interview process.
- Type of questions they were being asked during an interview
- Reviews of the companies which are rather frank due to the anonymity provided
- Ratings of the company (from 1 to 5 stars) in the eyes of employees and you can even sort the jobs you’re looking for based on the ratings
- CEO ratings
- Benefits provided and average salaries of the people who work there in a specific country and specific position
Here is the caveat. In order to access this information, you will have to provide information about companies you’ve worked for previously such as reviews; ratings; salary and what steps were involved in the interview process.
Also, take reviews with a pinch of salt especially if they come from startups because the culture and processes can change really quickly based on who is leading the team.
Do take this opportunity to ask your prospective employer about what is written on Glassdoor during the interview. If they get defensive, then you know there is a big problem they are trying to cover up.
3) Wanted.jobs
Did you know that an applicant with a referral is 8 times more likely to be hired compared to an applicant without one?
Wanted is Asia’s first referral-based job platform. Founded in Korea, the portal is now live in Singapore with attractive jobs from companies like Carousell, Ninja Van and UOB.
The best part about this job portal? Well, if you successfully refer your friends for a job, you get to earn money! On Wanted, anyone can refer friends and earn cash rewards (up to $1,000) upon a successful hire.
Currently, over 2,000 companies such as Accenture, Microsoft and BCG have been using the Wanted platform to recruit the best talent in Asia.
Check out the list of jobs here to find out if any are suitable for you or your friends 🙂
4) Indeed.com.sg
Indeed.com.sg is the job portal I used when I was still in university and found my first job using the platform. I still feel that it is relevant today despite it not having the benefits of the jobs portals I’ve recommended above.
What Indeed.com.sg does is that it basically pulls in jobs posted on various websites including job boards, staffing firms, associations, and company career pages. Hence, when you type in a keyword like the company name or job title, you get to browse a huge database of companies.
You can also sign up for alerts to get job updates delivered to your email.
However, you can’t use it in place of the jobs portals which I listed above because for some reason, Indeed doesn’t seem to pull in data from these websites.
5) Glints
I’ve never used Glints but my good friends – Qin En (Teddy), Oswald and Ying Cong – founded it. Glints specializes in internships and entry level jobs with a huge proportion from the technology/startup space.
The differentiating factor of Glints according to Teddy is that they prioritize talents over companies. They have a full-time team member to understand each talent’s profile, career preferences, and recommend them the relevant opportunities. Even if Glints doesn’t have the right opportunity, they actually search for the right opportunities on other job platforms and recommend these opportunities to them.
What impresses me about Glints is their dedication to creating opportunities for career growth. For instance, in their job description they will specify exactly what you can learn.
This is a huge plus for job seekers because at an entry level, you want to ensure you can learn as much as possible. With this information provided by employers, you can ensure that the internship you get is really one you can get something out of and not simply a guise for companies to get work done cheaply.
Glints also doesn’t allow certain companies such as MLM and door-to-door marketing companies to advertise on their platform or post jobs. They also only take on a select few financial consulting companies, because they know not all of them offer the same kind of growth opportunities.
I was recently featured on Glints where I shared tips on how one can transition from university to working life, check it out here.
6) InternSG
For internships, I’ve personally used InternSG and have also shared my experience as an intern in Public Service Division, Prime Ministers’ Office and as a journalist in Hong Kong with their readers.
The jobs posted there are pretty decent with a good mix of MNCs, SMEs and Startups. They’re also popular amongst employers perhaps due to good SEO.
This list is certainly non-exhaustive and there are many other industry specific job portals which I have yet to cover in detail such as: Tech In Asia Jobs Portal; eFinanceCareers and Startup jobs.
While the internet and social media has made it easy to look for opportunities, don’t forget to also invest in networking by attending industry events.
Have you tried any of the job portals which I’ve recommended before? How did they work for you?
If you have any suggestions on what should be added to this list, share your experiences and thoughts with me below!
