Moving to Singapore on dependent pass and searching for the right job opportunity has been a challenging and, at times, disheartening journey.

Moving to Singapore on dependent pass and searching for the right job opportunity has been a challenging and, at times, disheartening journey.

After months of applying, networking, and doing everything I could to break into the market — I’ve hit a bit of a dead end. Despite consistent effort, responses have been minimal, and I’m currently at a point where I’m unsure what my next step should be.

In the midst of this uncertainty, I chose to focus on something within my control: upskilling in a space I’ve long been passionate about . I enrolled in the Executive Certificate in Sustainability and Green Economics Strategyfrom Singapore Management University, hoping it would help open a few doors.

While the course was incredibly enriching but it hasn’t yet translated into tangible job opportunities. I had hoped it would create more traction in the market, but that hasn't been the case so far.

Any advice will be helpful?

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4 Comments

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  1. Anonymous

    Congrats on completing your certificate! I'd say next stop would be networking and getting connected to folks in the Singapore sustainability/green space. Look for meetups you can attend online and in-person. It also might be good a scan of the top private and non-profit orgs that are connected in the Singa sustainbility community to see if any of them have any in-person events/conferences etc coming up. Getting a day pass to a sustainability conference in Singa might be a good way to network/meet people. Or, look at volunteering at one of these conferences.

    Also consider any paid fellowships too! I hope this helps. Good luck to you!

  2. Somoleena Dev

    Thank you.

  3. Anonymous

    You may need to make much smaller steps in your career pivot to show potential employers that you have transferable skills.

    What was your education and experience prior to this? You may need to go back to this industry you have experience in and see if these jobs have a smaller presence or an emerging sector that you can grow into.

    For instance, I graduated from science and worked in a pharmacy. I went to business school while I worked as a retail pharmacy assistant. While I was in business (I specialized in supply chain), I wanted to go into accounting and I had inventory control and data management skills from my pharmacy job, I got hired into a company to do inventory accounting coordination and accounts receivable. The transferable skills I gained at the pharmacy (inventory and data management) plus my business degree helped me pivot into that role.

    Then, I wanted to do Business Analysis. I ended up getting a role called Operations Analyst (in the logistics and supply chain industry), where I highlighted my operations coordination skills, expert data skills, and the fact I worked closely with logistics/transportation at my previous employer. They asked me if I had experience in Accounts Payable. I did not, but I had overseen AR and done advanced accounting courses. So I got the Analyst job at the Supply Chain Company.

    At my next role, I wanted to do IT Business Analysis. I had spearheaded many projects in my Operations Analyst role and became an internal process improvement advisor. I landed an Process Analyst job in government because they were looking for an analyst who had experience in projects and processes. The role was for a software implementation. After that I became a manager of analysts and project managers in an IT aligned company that had a supply chain division. Then after that I became a Product Manager at an IT company.

    If I told you I have a biological sciences degree and stated as a pharmacy assistant, you probably wouldn't believe me. But my success story is to continuously reinvent yourself and never stop learning.

    All this to say, you have to draw parallels between your current and next position. I found success in making small pivots with my transferable skills every 2-3 years. In today's world, if you are very keen and ambitious, I think you can pivot every 1-2 years to make it to your dream role!

    (Note: throughout my career, I've never once landed a job from networking. I have just been very good at resume writing and interviewing, but I believe in today's world you still have to excel in all 3 methods)

  4. Somoleena Dev

    Thanks for sharing your journey. I appreciate the reminder that aligning past experience with future roles, even in seemingly unrelated fields, can make a big difference.

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