The interview seems to be going well,” William* thought to himself as he sat across the hiring manager. This is his 10^th interview and William was hopeful that the bespectacled employer, who held the powers to hire or reject his job application, seems positive about his 15 years of in-depth experience as an analyst at a reputable banking company.

“You are 45 years old this year?” asked the manager. William replied positively but the hiring manager seem to have his reservations. He then thanked William for coming down and promise to call back if he is shortlisted.

But that call never came. William was all too familiar with this. It was a real struggle having to stay unemployed after being retrenched from his previous job due to the weakening economy. William heard about e2i centres and decided to book an appointment with one of the career coaches to seek for help. There he met e2i Career Coach Celina Koh.

Celina shares, “William was feeling very lost when he first came to e2i. He was worried and even asked what kind of industries he could cross into.” Celina did a short exercise with him on his resume and the job ads that are out in the market. The activity enlighten him that he resume was too generic and knew that he needed to customised his resume. She added, “He was open to attend some programmes and training e2i offers while he is looking out for jobs. More importantly I reminded him to look at the things he can change and not focus on the things he can’t.”

Positive Thinking

William made it a point to think positively and used his free time to improve on and enhance his employability. He attended an employability workshop specifically tailored by e2i for Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMETs), followed by a job portal training to widen their job search. Armed with new knowledge and an improved resume, he attended a banking career fair to network with potential employers there.

William’s positive attitude and efforts to improve his employability quotient paid off. Through the job fair, one of the banks in Singapore offered him a position as a specialist with an increase in salary! William was glad he was able to secure employment 2 months after being retrenched.

Celina reminds us, “In today’s evolving job market, it is important to remain open, resilient and relevant. This includes Learning, Unlearning and Relearning to stay employable.”

Meet our Career Coaches to help steer you to improve your employability today!