SINGAPORE: A 30-year-old woman who has been unemployed for six months said she has realised just how frustrating and draining joblessness can be.
In a post on a local forum, she wrote that while she still has enough savings to get by for now, the experience has been far more difficult than she expected.
She said, “Technically, I have a sufficient buffer to tide me through for now. But I’m realising that the psychological erosion of unemployment—the growing sense of worthlessness—is something no amount of savings can prepare you for. I know by right we should not let our job or anything define us, but it is hard.”
She added that this is not her “first time between jobs,” but it is the first time she has struggled to recover emotionally and mentally. In previous transitions, she said she was able to secure roles quickly and even received better offers.
“In the past, I was able to get back quickly…but this time feels different and dead silent. I thought I was the only one, but I see people around me—both junior and senior—all feeling the same pinch. It feels like the ground is shifting beneath us.”
The woman also shared that she feels caught in what she called a “Goldilocks loop” in the job market.
She said she is often seen as “overqualified” for junior or mid-level roles, with employers possibly assuming she would be too costly to hire or not “flexible” enough compared to fresh graduates.
At the same time, she feels underqualified for senior positions that “demand hyper-specialised experience.”
She added that even public service roles, which were once viewed as a stable option, have become much more competitive and difficult to enter.
“This used to be the seemingly ‘safe’ path, but it has become incredibly demanding and difficult to enter. It’s no longer the ‘dinosaur era’ where a degree and a good attitude were enough,” she said. “I’ve even tried those government support things like career fairs, coaching, and training, and they’ve been proven useless.”
