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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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She said, \u201cTechnically, I have a sufficient buffer to tide me through for now. But I\u2019m realising that the psychological erosion of unemployment\u2014the growing sense of worthlessness\u2014is 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She added that this is not her \u201cfirst time between jobs,\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, I was able to get back quickly\u2026but this time feels different and dead silent. I thought I was the only one, but I see people around me\u2014both junior and senior\u2014all feeling the same pinch. It feels like the ground is shifting beneath us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The woman also shared that she feels caught in what she called a \u201cGoldilocks loop\u201d in the job market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She said she is often seen as \u201coverqualified\u201d for junior or mid-level roles, with employers possibly assuming she would be too costly to hire or not \u201cflexible\u201d enough compared to fresh graduates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time, she feels underqualified for senior positions that \u201cdemand hyper-specialised experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She added that even public service roles, which were once viewed as a stable option, have become much more competitive and difficult to enter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis used to be the seemingly \u2018safe\u2019 path, but it has become incredibly demanding and difficult to enter. It\u2019s no longer the \u2018dinosaur era\u2019 where a degree and a good attitude were enough,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve even tried those government support things like career fairs, coaching, and training, and they\u2019ve been proven useless.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Out of desperation, she even considered entering the gig economy as a way to \u201cstay active,\u201d but eventually decided against it after running the numbers and realising the returns would not really make sense.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve looked into PHV or food delivery\u2026but the math simply doesn\u2019t work. Between high rental costs and petrol, you\u2019re essentially working for the leasing company. With AI on the horizon, the future feels even more precarious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m reaching out because I just want to hear from others who are in (or have been in) this same boat. How are you coping, and is there something I can do to solve this? I hope I\u2019m not the only one feeling this way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Providing some context about her background, she added that she\u2019s been in the workforce for almost a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n She explained that she grew up in a low-income household and did not have many advantages early in life.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have things handed to me,\u201d she said. \u201cThis taught me to be financially savvy out of necessity. Halfway through my career, I completed a part-time degree while working full-time just to support myself and my parents.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBecause of that background, I\u2019ve saved and invested religiously. Even when my income grew over the years, I still kept my lifestyle humble\u2014spending like an intern to build a safety net.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The post struck a chord with many Singaporeans, prompting them to open up about their own struggles with unemployment and burnout.<\/span><\/p>\n One individual shared, \u201cSame\u2026 my applications are now nothing but silence. I used to get callbacks from HR at least. It\u2019s super quiet now as time has passed by. As much as I want to worry less, I really want to work. My skills gap would be widened even further at this rate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Another commented, \u201cSame boat, older than you. Unemployed for much longer. Not worried about money yet, but yes, the situation is messing with my head a bit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A third added, \u201cYou\u2019re not alone. Landed a job working for my dad after being unemployed for 8 months. Without him, I would probably be begging on the streets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Others said her description of being stuck in a \u201cGoldilocks loop\u201d felt painfully accurate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to them, many mid-career workers now find themselves trapped in an awkward middle ground, seen as too experienced, too expensive, or too difficult to mould for junior roles, while still not meeting the expectations for senior-level positions.<\/span><\/p>\n One user wrote, \u201cI get how you are feeling. I have been actively looking for more than a year, and the number of interviews I got I can count on one hand. A few years ago, even during Covid, I was still able to get interviews fairly easily.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNow, like you said, I also feel like I am too highly paid for junior roles and do not have enough experience for senior roles. I don\u2019t know how people on my LinkedIn feed can so easily change roles in this market. Really tip my hat to them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In other news, concerns over \u201cquiet firing,\u201d or silent termination, are gaining traction among workers here, after one employee highlighted how ongoing restructuring in her company appears to be pushing staff to leave without formal layoffs.<\/span><\/p>\n In a post on the r\/askSingapore subreddit, she shared that her organisation has been undergoing restructuring since the end of 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n Read more: <\/span>Employee asks, \u2018Is quiet firing\/silent termination becoming common in Singapore?\u2019<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nHer background<\/span><\/h2>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n