Your Beginner's Guide to Job Hunting

1. JOB SEARCH 101
Your Beginners’ Guide to
Job-Hunting
A PART OF THE CAREER BOUNCEBACK WORKSHOP

2. An Introduction
Looking for a job? You may be just starting off in your job search, or have
been sending job applications for many months now.
Know that you are not alone in this journey. Our team of Career
Coaches are eager to support you in this.
Have you considered that job search goes beyond sending your job
applications? It entails a multi-step process starting with a good
understanding about yourself and the employment landscape.
Want to find out how to search for a job more effectively?
Let’s get started!

3. 01 Know Yourself
02 Explore Your Options
03 Build Job Search Strategies
04
Keep a Positive Spirit05
Overview
Help Is Always Available06
Connect with Employers

4. KNOW
YOURSELF
01
Understand your priorities, strengths
and interests is the first step to
identifying a good-fit career.
Take the self-awareness assessment at
myskillsfuture.sg to find out more

5. Stock take! Reflect on the following:
• What are my priorities for work today? (Values)
Am I looking for high earnings, work-life balance, learning opportunities, or others?
• What do I enjoy doing? (Interests)
Do I like working with people, or working with machines? Do I like working with
data or numbers? Do I like to sell and influence others?
• What is my preferred work style? (Personality)
Do I prefer to work alone or with others? Am I a big picture person or do I
appreciate the finer details?
• What am I good at? (Skills)
What technical skills and soft skills do I possess?
What job might best align with the above?

6. EXPLORE
OPTIONS
02
Now that you know yourself, the next step is to
scan the labour market landscape and explore
the potential jobs that fit you.

7. What are my job options?
1. First, list down potential jobs that suit well with your V.I.P.S
2. Find out which industries/ companies are hiring
3. Gather facts about the jobs available:
• Nature of work
• Skills required
• Company culture
• Benefits
• Progression opportunities
4. Evaluate if the job fits your values, interests, personality and
skills

8. How to gather more facts about the job?
• Read the company’s website
• Look at the job description from job search site
• Talk to an friend in that industry
• Read up news and industry publications

9. STRATEGISE03
Being a successful jobseeker means equipping
yourself with the job search strategies to get
yourself noticed by potential employers

10. Did you know that Employers spend, on average,
only 6 seconds to read your resume?
Ensure that you….
 Put key info on the top third of your resume
 Include a career summary/ objective
 Use the keywords of the job or industry
Craft a well-written resume
(Zety 2019)

11. Work Experience
Company XX,
1989-2017
Project Manager,
• Managed project budget of $300+ million and minimised
risk in buyout processes, reducing costs by 15% a year
Mr/Ms/Mdm/Miss ABC
Email: 123@gmail.com
Contact No: 65 12345678 (Mobile) 65-12345678
(Residential)
Skills & Competencies
• Cost & Capacity planning
• Risk Management
• SAP (ERP system)
Career Summary
Highly accomplished 6 sigma certified Project Manager
with more than 10 years of experience, and a proven track
record in maximising business profitability.
Accomplishments
Successfully led a team of 70 subcontractors to manage
twenty $1m to $10m projects.
• Increased profit margin by 20% (from 10%) through
implementing cost control projects
Education and Credentials
ABC University,
1985
Bachelor in Business Management
What makes a
good resume?
Contact Details
Name
Email Address
Mobile Number
Summary
Your job title,
experience, expertise,
domain knowledge,
desired attributes
Accomplishments
Cite key achievements
backed by numbers
Skills &
Competencies
Skills relevant to the
job role
1 2
4 3

12. Interview Dos and Don’ts
Arrive 15 minutes before
your interview slot
Write a personalised
“Thank You” email to the
interviewers within 24 hours
Speak negatively about
ex-colleagues or bosses
Answer questions with a
simple
“yes” or “no”
Bring up or discuss personal
issues or family problems
Be prepared to ask at
least 1 question to the
interviewer

13. Top tricky interview questions
• Don’t’ share unrelated details like your family background or hobbies
• Focus on sharing about related work experiences, relevant skills, USP, that will contribute
to their organisation
Tell me about yourself
Why did you leave your last job?
• Don’t complain about your former bosses / colleagues
• Focus on the pull factors, what you look forward in working in the new company
What is your greatest weakness?
• Don’t say ‘nothing’
• Don’t say anything that is key to the success of the job role
• Show how you have made attempts to improve in your weakness

14. CONNECT WITH
EMPLOYERS
04
The final stage is to understand where employers
look for candidates, and get yourself connected with
potential employers

15. Where do employers look for talent?
Internal Employee Hiring
Employee Referral
Talent Acquisitions,
Headhunters, Recruiters
Unsolicited
Resumes
Job
ads Jobseekers
Employers
While most jobseekers
turn to job portals & job
ads to look for jobs.. In
reality, employers prefer
to hire through word-of-
mouth and referrals!

16. 3 steps to networking with others
1. Identify and evaluate your network
• Bosses / Supervisors
• Peers & colleagues
• Suppliers / Business partners
• Customers
• Alumni networks
• Professional organisations
• Family & Friends
2. Reach out and connect with
your network over various stages
and platforms to warm-up the
relationship and establish trust
3. Share your career aspirations
and interests to your network
“Your network can alert you about job
openings, advise you about the skills
required, or recommend you to their
contacts who are recruiting.”

17. KEEP A
POSITIVE SPIRIT
05
Job Search can be a long process and the
uncertainty of not knowing when the search will
end can take a toll on our well-being. Take
breaks and look for ways to keep yourself
motivated.

18. Which mindset are you geared towards?

19. We have 60,000
– 80,000
thoughts a day
Learn to reframe your thoughts
When you experience a negative thought, such as “No one
will recruit me because of my age”
Ask yourself:
1. What makes me feel this way?
2. Is it true? Think of possible examples to counter your negative
thoughts.
3. What other ways could I think of?
Eg. My age gives me a wealth of experience. I may have not
sufficiently highlighted my USP and experience to potential
employers
4. How will the new thoughts affect my job search?

20. Focus on things that are in your control
Your time, your energy, your self-worth, who you surround
yourself with
Establish a daily routine
Set aside time to do your job search daily, research on the
company
Work on positive actions
Surround yourself with positive people
Attend networking events, volunteer and do good to others
Get moving
Establish a regular exercise regime and eat healthy foods

21. HELP IS
ALWAYS
AVAILABLE
06
Make full use of the government support
schemes to complement your job search efforts

22. Get acquainted with government schemes
• Re-skill to move into jobs in growth sectors with
the Professional Conversion Programmes
• Assess your job fit in a role that interests you
through a short work stint with Career Trial
• Access jobs with salary & training support with
the Career Support Programme
• Widen your network and opportunity by
participating in Career Preparatory workshops
and Career Events by WSG

23. Speak to a professional
Career Coaching is a collaboration between you and a professionally-
certified Career Coach who will guide you in discovering your strengths
and interests.
Find out more at
mycareersfuture.sg/careercoaching
This is a preview of the Career Bounceback
workshop. Start your job search journey with us
by registering with Careers Connect!
REGISTER HERE