Fall-back Jobs: Alternative Career Options for Fresh Grads

In today’s employment landscape, the path to a dream career is rarely linear.

Fewer fresh graduates are securing full-time roles and with a higher unemployment rate in 2024, grades and internships no longer guarantee employability.

Economic shifts, evolving industry needs, and rapid technological change mean that flexibility is no longer just an advantage, it’s essential.

A notable example is how a valedictorian from the National University of Singapore (NUS) secured a full time job nearly a year after graduation, showing how even jobseekers with exceptional resumes are facing difficulties. Considering alternative career options, or ‘fall-back jobs,’ isn’t about settling; it’s about building resilience, gaining valuable experience, and positioning yourself for long-term success.

Fall-back jobs are a practical bridge: they provide income, keep graduates and younger workers employable, and help them build skills that remain relevant across industries.

Nilay Khandelwal, Senior Managing Director at Michael Page Singapore and India, and Cindy Lee, Adecco Singapore’s country head, share more on how fall-back jobs can provide greater career options and future opportunities to Singapore’s younger workers.

Benefits of fall-back jobs, other than short-term income

Cindy believes that fall-back jobs are career laboratories — dynamic environments where young jobseekers can test, learn and refine their skills.

“Often outside familiar territory, these roles challenge individuals to ‘fail fast’, adapt quickly, and iterate upon their experience. In doing so, they cultivate agility, grit, and a growth mindset – essential traits to build career resilience,” she shared.

“While employers are increasingly open to resume gaps, some may still question the relevance of a jobseeker’s skills and experience.”

“In such cases, fall-back jobs can serve as a valuable bridge between graduation and entry into the desired industry, helping candidates stay professionally relevant in the eyes of potential employers.”

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Cindy quoted Sun Tzu mentioning in The Art of War how “opportunities multiply as they are seized”.

For instance, a fresh graduate with a degree in computer science can take on a less technical role as a technical support specialist. This gives them exposure to real-world problems, such as product issues, user behaviour, and internal workflows, as well as networking opportunities.

By remaining proactive — such as automating support tasks or collaborating with engineering teams — they may unlock opportunities to pivot internally, or strengthen their candidacy for future roles that are more aligned with their academic background.

Nilay added: “In today’s evolving job market, flexibility is no longer optional, it’s a career strategy.”

“However, creating a balance with the evolving need to build sustainable businesses amidst economic uncertainty remains critical.”

This needs to be taken into consideration by anyone looking to create an impression on potential employers.

For fresh graduates, considering alternative pathways isn’t about giving up on your ambitions; it’s about building resilience and future-proofing your career.

He also shared three key pointers on what value fall-back jobs add for your resume:

Transferable skills: Roles in customer service (high touch point business), operations, or sales build communication, problem-solving, and adaptability. These are skills that are highly valued across industries.
Industry exposure: Even if not in the primary field, exposure to business processes, client interaction, and digital tools strengthens employability.
Networking opportunities: Many fall-back roles are in growth sectors, offering connections that can lead to future opportunities.

Industries that are hiring young workers

Nilay suggests the following industries to look at for your fall-back job:

Information & Communications: Demand remains strong as companies fast-track digital transformation, cloud migration, and AI adoption, driving steady demand for tech and data talent.
Financial Services: Banks, insurers, and fintech companies continue hiring across compliance, risk, and operations to meet regulatory and operational needs. Front-office and private wealth roles also remain in demand as firms focus on growing revenue and managing high-net-worth portfolios.
Healthcare & Social Services: Healthcare is rapidly expanding on multiple fronts, fuelled by Singapore’s ageing population, major investments in new hospital and community care infrastructure, and a shift towards preventive and community-based care under initiatives like Healthier SG.
Education: Schools, tuition centres, and edtech platforms are growing, sustaining steady hiring of teaching assistants, enrichment staff, and curriculum support roles.
Customer Service & Sales: E-commerce, retail, and hospitality firms are actively recruiting for client-facing roles as consumer demand and competition intensify.

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Cindy suggests the following roles, if you’re graduating from these disciplines:

Arts and social sciences graduates are usually strong in writing, critical thinking and interpersonal skills. These skills are highly versatile and make them suitable for:

Communication– these roles align with the strong writing skills of arts and social sciences graduates, and the sector is robust, landing third in net employment outlook.
Research– fresh graduates may have an established network of professors and researchers, whom they can leverage upon to find research-related roles.
Teaching assistant – teachers and trainers were the most sought-after professionals in 2024. A good idea may be to begin as a teaching assistant, with the long-term vision to potentially obtain a full certificate later.

Business graduates have a plethora of highly versatile skills to help them support functions across logistics, finance, and sales. As such, they should remain open to pursuing opportunities in different areas. Possible fall-back jobs include:

Management associate programmes – many companies offer structured programmes to groom future leaders, and such programmes also give rotations and exposure.
Sales executive/client advisor – sales roles are high on the list of the top 10 most in-demand jobs, and are essential in retail, finance and business-to-business sectors.

Computing graduates face a challenging environment of continuous tech lay-offs and hiring freezes from tech behemoths, making it difficult to land a software developer job in a big tech company. Good fall-back jobs include:

Finance sector – data analytics proficiency and programming capabilities are becoming increasingly sought-after as financial institutions integrate technology and AI into their infrastructure.
Manufacturing sector – the sector is facing a surge in AI demand to optimise and improve existing processes.
Freelance developer – this provides exposure, building the portfolio of graduates while allowing them to direct their expertise to manageable and market-relevant projects.

Design and engineering graduates blend technical and client-facing skills, making them perfect for both specialist and generalist roles. Some examples include:

Project coordinator – entry-level roles in project management are common across construction, telecom and logistics. The transport, logistics and automative industry also landed first in the net employment outlook survey.
Creative/digital content assistant – this entry-level role builds portfolio, client communication, and proficiency in specialised marketing tools.

Health and life sciences graduates may not require fallback jobs due to a positive net employment outlook in healthcare & life sciences. However, if they do, they can apply their specialist knowledge and generalist skills to:

Clinical specialist – landed in the top 10 most in-demand jobs.
Healthcare administrators – while demand for healthcare professionals remain robust, there is an increasing need for non-clinical professionals.

Humanities and interdisciplinary studies graduates value broad-based critical thinking and communication, as well as strong writing skills, making them suitable for:

Public sector – more than 2,000 opportunities available, with writing skills being crucial.
Entry-level sustainability roles – based on the MOM SOL (“Shortage Occupation List”), the green economy is facing a labour shortage. Such cross-functional roles are a strong fit for students with a humanities/interdisciplinary studies background.

Electronics and info-comm graduates face strong demand, especially in logistics and manufacturing. Possible fall-back roles include:

Entry-level UX/UI designer – on the list of most in-demand jobs in Singapore. It allows graduates to apply their skills on-the-job.
IT support/desktop engineer – with digitalisation, companies require more IT support for hardware, software and networks.