What is a “fall-back job”, you ask? Essentially, it’s a secondary career option or “plan B” that serves as a safety net, providing income or alternative work when a primary career faces difficulties or ends, such as during job loss or retrenchment.
Nilay Khandelwal, Senior Managing Director, Michael Page Singapore & India explains it best: “A fall-back job should never be seen as a detour, it’s a stepping stone. The key is to extract the right skills and position them strategically for your next move.”
Here’s more advice from him, and Cindy Lee, Adecco Singapore’s country head, on how to build skills from a fall-back job that can help sell you to your next employer.
Soft and hard skills that fall-back jobs can provide
According to Cindy, some soft skills that future employers will potentially lookout for from your current fall-back job, especially in dynamic, people-oriented fields like marketing, sales, customer success, and operations, include:
Communication skills
- Verbal & written clarity honed from regular customer interactions, writing reports, or team coordination.
- Develop the ability to tailor tone and messaging depending on audience.
Adaptability
- Working in unfamiliar environments or roles teaches you to pivot quickly and learn fast.
- Handling unexpected challenges builds resilience and flexibility – essential in today’s fast-changing job market.
Time management
- Juggling multiple tasks or shifts helps you prioritise and stay organised under pressure.
- Builds efficiency and discipline.
Teamwork & collaboration
- Require working closely with others, fostering empathy, conflict resolution and shared accountability.
- Vital for future roles involving stakeholder management, leadership, or conflict management.
In terms of hard skills, while fall-back jobs are often viewed as temporary or transitional, they can be surprisingly effective in equipping you with hard skills that are valuable and often sought after by employers across industries.
These skills are typically task-specific, measurable, and teachable, and they can give you a competitive edge when transitioning to your next role, Cindy believes.
Some key examples include:
Digital literacy
This includes proficiency in tools like:
- AI tools (Copilot, ChatGPT, etc.)
- Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Sharepoint)
- Google Workspace
- POS systems or CRM platforms
- Basic troubleshooting and tech support skills
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools
- Experience with platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk
- Logging interactions, tracking leads, managing support tickets
Inventory & supply chain basics
- Stock tracking, restocking, and order management
- Use of inventory software (e.g., SAP, Oracle, QuickBooks)
Graphic or content creation
- Creating flyers, social media posts, or product descriptions
- Using tools like Canva, Photoshop, or basic video editors
Cindy added: “Employers value the hard skills gained from fall-back jobs because they demonstrate that a candidate is hands-on and operationally capable, often with experience in fast-paced, real-world environments.”
“These skills can significantly reduce the training time required for new hires, making onboarding smoother and more efficient.”
Additionally, many of these competencies — such as digital literacy, customer service tools, and inventory management — align closely with the requirements of entry-level or support roles in marketing, administration, sales, and operations.
This makes candidates with fall-back job experience not only adaptable but also immediately valuable to teams looking for practical, job-ready talent.
When to leave a fall-back job
Therein lies the rub: The whole point of a fall-back job is that it’s meant to be something that you work on in the here-and-now. But what about your core industry that you’ve spend time and money getting academic credentials for?
Nilay’s opinion is a good time to consider a pivot back would be after a year or two of building relevant transferable skills, as well as after completing upskilling or post-grad certifications that are aligned with your target industry.
Also, do a thoughtful self check-ins, Cindy advises, by considering the following five questions:
- Alignment: Does staying in my fall-back job, or returning to my primary industry, align more with my long-term aspirations?
- Relevance: Have I gained/regained the necessary skills, experience and confidence I need to re-enter my primary industry?
- Market: Is my primary industry currently hiring and showing signs of growth?
- Network: Do I have mentors, peers, or contacts in my primary field who can connect me to opportunities?
- Finances: Am I financially prepared to manage a potential pay cut or period of job searching?
To support a smooth transition, it is often wise to remain in your fall-back role, until a concrete offer in your primary field materialises.
This approach helps to avoid the stress of an extended job search with no income, especially for individuals with families to support, she added.
Explaining fall-back job during an interview
This isn’t something you want to stumble your words about. You took the fall-back job option for good reasons, and it’s time to sell the sizzle.
Nilay suggests:
- Frame your shift to a fall-back job as strategic resilience
“I took on a role in [X industry] to build [specific skills], which I believe are highly relevant to [target role].”
- Highlight measurable achievements accomplished
“Managed client accounts worth $X, improved process efficiency by Y%.”
- Emphasise your ethos of continuous learning and adaptability.
Cindy added: “I would advise framing your experience as a strategic and growth-oriented decision.
“Having the foresight to plan ahead, the courage to grow in a different field, and the strategic timing to move with purpose can reaffirm that you are a candidate with the right skills to succeed in any workplace.”
For example, you might share: “During a transitional period in my career, I took on a fall-back role as a marketing associate that allowed me to stay productive and continue developing professionally. In that time, I gained valuable hard and soft skills — such as customer engagement, time management, and proficiency with digital tools — that are directly applicable to my core field. While I’ve appreciated the opportunity to grow in a different environment, I’m now ready to return to my primary career path, where I can combine these new capabilities with my existing expertise to contribute at a higher level!”
This approach works because you show initiative in staying active and continuously learning, as well as adaptability in thriving amidst different environments.
It also keeps the tone positive, highlighting your journey as one centred on personal growth and value-add, Cindy concluded.
