It’s a great initiative by our government.
As part of the latest "Resilience Budget" package roll-out this year due to COVID-19 virus outbreak, local government agencies put together a concerted effort to create more opportunities for job seekers and workers affected by the current COVID-19, as well as to match them to jobs available, including new jobs created.
About 10,000 jobs will be available.
This is known as “SGUnited Jobs”.
It’s a wonderful joint initiative:
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Workforce Singapore (WSG), in collaboration with the Public Service Division (PSD) and various government agencies, have launched the SGUnited Traineeships Programme and SGUnited Jobs Initiative to create about 10,000 jobs over the next one year”
Source: SGUnited Jobs from WSG Singapore website
I can’t think of several other countries that literally help citizens directly gain employment opportunities. We are serious and efficient in rolling this out.
Fast and really quick! My intention here is to make sure each and every one of our fellow peers are notified of the VCF (Virtual Career Fair) organized by Workforce Singapore. Please feel free to notify folks who are affected by COVID-19 virus outbreak and keen to get a job in the immediate term.
To assist Job-Seekers and others who are re-joining the workforce, I have decided to consolidate 4 common questions one may ask after browsing through the VCF organized by Workforce Singapore.
What types of job opportunities are available?
Jobs are classified into three types:
1. Public Service Jobs (less than 1 year) 2. Public Service Jobs (1 year and abvoe) 3. Private Companies
Source: Virtual Career Fair, SGUnited Job Portal
As of now (29 March), the most number of opportunities found are in option 1 - Public Service Jobs (less than 1 year) with 422 jobs.
This is then followed by option 3 – Private Companies @ 161 jobs.
My view is that if one is retrenched or has been told to be on “no-pay leave” but the firm can’t guarantee you the job thereafter – and you have tight financial commitments – the best option is to go for contract-based assignments first (option 1).
It’s still full-time commitment, mostly 5 days’ work week.
At least, you have a monthly income and the potential to be hired as permanent employees, subjective to your performance and the type of firms in public service sectors.
Take this as a stepping stone.
Plus, there are chances for you to build up industry-wide contacts since government bodies do work with the private sector firms.
Contact networking is the new way of getting job leads and growth opportunities.
Let’s look at interesting examples of the type of jobs that are advertised for less than one year in the public sector.
STB = Singapore Tourism Board - Finance Manager - Strategic Planning and Incentive Policy - Travel Agents and Tourist Guides, Assistant Manager - Marketing Partnerships & Planning - Digital Transformation, Data Analyst
Early Childhood Development Agency - Audit Officer - Administrative Support Officer - Parent Engagement Support Staff
Skill Future Singapore
- Senior Manager, Partnership Account
- Senior Manager, Online Learning Content - Executive, Data Administration - Senior Manager / Manager, Human Resource
National Environment Agency (NEA)
- Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications (Video & Content Development) - Research Scientist, (Hydrometeorologist) - Assistant Director, Industry Development and Promotion Department - Senior Engineer - Senior Executive, Customer Service
Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB)
- Outreach & Engagement Efforts (Communications Div) - Artwork Design (Ops Devlopment / Community Engagement Unit)
Home Team - Heritage Records / Collections Digitisation Officer - Leadership Development and Training Executive - Senior Finance Executive
Ministry of Home Affairs
- Marketing & Graphic Designer - Learning & Development Specialist - Business Automation Executive - Training Delivery Executive
Urban Development Authority (URA)
- Graphic Illustrationist - Administrative Executive - Cesium Programmer - Mapping Specialist
Many more for you to browse through – my advice is for you to copy and paste the qualified job positions (to your abilities) into a separate word document. This enables you to keep track and follow through where necessary once you get a call from the Hiring Manager.
How much will I get paid by for these jobs in SGUnited?
Is it really a question to ask first?
While some job positions publicise the monthly remuneration, one shouldn’t be screening opportunities based on this. Many of these are Executive to mid-Manager roles while a handful is in Director positions. Expectation has to be different from private sector jobs.
If you possess a high value that others are willing to pay for, you should be looking at mid-senior to leadership roles via LinkedIn which can be highly competitive. Your contacts will also probably knock at your doors because you have vast experiences.
But the truth is, numerous industries across economies are greatly affected by COVID-19 virus. Therefore, we should face reality.
So if all else fails in your job search plan, if your bargaining power is much lower now, you just have to expand your network and go for public sector jobs.
Come in with an open mind. Drop your ego. Eliminate any negative perception. This is the time for any job-seekers to apply.
Think long-term.
Who knows, you may be offered an excellent position after one year due to your exceptional quality!
Thus, the question you should ask is: “which job positions suit me the best?”
How do I screen and pick the right job positions?
Using an illustration below here:
Source: Virtual Career Fair, SGUnited Jobs Portal
It's a three step process.
First step:
Write a specific statement that truly reflects the job requirements in your own view
A position where the candidate has to be comfortable and good with numbers, especially budgeting, campaign tracking and financial disbursements. Therefore, one has to be meticulous and detail-oriented to ensure numerical accuracy.
Second step:
Identify up to 3 unique skills from this position:
(a) Budgeting (b) Marketing experience – do you know the functions within marketing regarding this role? (c) MS Excel proficiency – may not be elementary level but probably intermediate-advanced
Communication and interpersonal are skills but it’s too common.
Such abilities should only be included if there isn’t any other unique criteria.
Besides, the Interviewer is able to assess if you get a call up or face-to-face if the virus situation has stabilised.
Third step:
Ask yourself if you fit into the picture highlighted in the first step.
Then, look through your resume to assess if you have the relevant skills to match the identification (second step)
Scenario:
Assume if I am trained in Accountancy, have 4 years work experiences in consolidating financial statements, I will be detailed oriented. But I may not have experiences in travel and tourism. I am keen. Do I have a chance for the STB position above?
In theory – yes.
This position needs competent professionals in managing budgets. Therefore, my suggestion is to go ahead and apply.
Using these 3 ways are effective in ensuring you get the right fit.
Mass-sending will seriously takes up unnecessary efforts which ultimately result in you getting depressed.
What are the differences between SGUnited Jobs in VCF and MyCareersFuture?
Both are platforms for job searches. Both are organized by WSG Singapore. Probably the big difference is that SGUnitedJobs are mainly driven by public sector jobs.
I have also noticed that the application process is smoother, simpler and easier to apply for SGUnitedJobs.
For example, in some jobs for Career Connect, you may need to go through page-after-page to indicate your education background, job experiences for every job even though your resume has been uploaded. Do this 10 times and you’ll definitely get jaded.
For SGUnitedJobs, it’s just one pop up, insert your details and resume (make sure it’s tailor fit to the role) and click on the “apply” button. It’s that direct!
Conclusion
I hope the 4 common questions offer a sweeping overview of the VCF (Virtual Career Fairs) under the SGUnited Jobs program.
The onus is on you to adopt a positive mindset, design effective resumes to send across to qualified job opportunities.
I’ll wish you all the best and please, stay strong and safe during these uncertain times.
Keep me posted if you need any assistance.