Over 810 job applications, 36 interviews and 6 months later…

It took me 810 job applications and over 30 interviews before I landed my first job.

I didn't intend to make this rant to be an article and make it sound too serious, but the LinkedIn character limitation forced me to. So... here is an article about how I (desperately) landed my first full-time job ever! :) *insert music intro here*

I was active in many organizations throughout my uni time, hunted for career fairs & workshops, and no, it wasn't because of my bad grades either, though I admit I'm not the brightest in my class.

To give you a little context, I graduated from Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), Bachelors in Business and Management, University of London External Degree program. And just like any other Indonesian UOL graduates, I expected to easily find a job in Singapore (at least that’s what my ancestors a.k.a seniors told me).

As I said earlier, I was pretty active at school. All year round I have always been a member of at least 1 organization, in or outside the campus. And I am quite proud of the colorful resume that I've crafted in around 6 months time (and still counting). I displayed 2 leadership positions, 2 intern experiences, and 2 committee positions.

Judging by the number of job applications that I've applied, indeed it was not an easy process. Initially, I applied for jobs in the same place where I graduated - Singapore. Deep in my heart, I was hoping and praying that I could get a single job offer.

I started applying for jobs in Singapore from December 2018. It gradually increased from only sending 1 application per week to 1 application per day to finally sending 10 applications a day. It increased just as how the pressure to quickly find a job escalated monthly. At the early stage of my job hunting, it was all doing well. I got several numbers of interviews, online assessments, and many others coming in my email daily.

July 2019, I received my first ever job offer. However, due to some document that has yet to be issued by the school, the company decided to wave me goodbye and drop my application.

It was in the same week I got another offer to fill a Marketing Intern position from another tech-multinational company. I was so hopeful that this time, somehow, I could get a work visa. But lo and behold I didn’t. That moment, I just knew that I am not eligible for any of the short term visas as I studied and graduated in Singapore. In other words, I am not allowed to do any internship positions in Singapore and there's no way I could get a short term pass. So yet again I am back to embracing my unemployed life.

The following weeks were a period of frustration and desperation to me. I am surprised how this job hunting journey has lowered my self-esteem. There were these weird voices in my head continuously telling me that I'm not good, smart or “local” enough to work in Singapore. However, I am lucky to have a support system that holds my sanity in place and keeps me positive throughout this period of time--my christian cell group (shoutout to W596! Woo!).

In September, I received another job offer from a startup company in Singapore. This time, I am convinced that this is going to be my real finish line and soon I’m going to change my headline title in my LinkedIn profile. Sadly, the situation said differently. When they applied for my S Pass, it was rejected the following day. The company was good enough that they wanted to try several times to apply for my visa application. And after a good 1 month, it seems like luck is not on my side and my visa application didn’t get through.

I started to lose hope in applying for a job in Singapore and had begun to consider going back to my country for good. Time is ticking and I get even more pressurized daily. And to make it worse, my insecurities successfully dominated me and threw myself into another round of depression.

It was already the 6th month since the day I participated directly in increasing the unemployment rate. After further consideration and counseling with my family and friends, I decided to give it a try sending my resumes in Indonesia.

I am very grateful that the job hunting process in Indonesia is relatively quick. Within 2 weeks of applying and going for interviews, I managed to get my first job in a global advertising agency as I had always dreamed about. Now, I am entering my 2nd month of working in DDB as a Jr. Account Executive. And some of the things I used to worry so much apparently doesn't really matter at all.

I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, and so does my 6-month-long job hunting journey. My entire job hunting period finally ends after what seemed like hundreds of interview sessions, work visa fights and me spilling my heart out to Hiring Managers. I used to beat myself up for not being “good” enough for a full time job in Singapore. And this brings me to the realization that the fact I couldn't get a job in Singapore is not my fault at all. I've tried, and I've done the best I could. Hence, I regret nothing.

E.P. Rose once said, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”. And that is the quote my dad always told me over, starting when I was very young. Obviously, working in Indonesia is “the stars” to me. However, I don’t want to belittle the opportunity to work in my home country just because it was not my first priority. I believe greater things are ahead of me and in fact, I am looking forward to a transforming and life-changing experience. The best is yet to come!

I know that even when I don't and can't see the results yet, it doesn't mean that I'm not going to see it at all. I believe that there is a greater purpose ahead, prepared and tailored just for me.

I am not writing this post to beg for empathy from any of you. Instead, I'd like to encourage my fellow job-seeker friends out there, to never regret your decision in chasing after things that excite you the most. Life's tough. But so are you, right?

#jobhunting #unemployed #freshgradstory #freshgraduates #freshgrad #life #jobsearching #job #firstjob #employed #story #rant #storytime