Robin left behind a four-year career in Japan to be a machine learning engineer at a startup finance company. Like anyone starting a new job, he was excited to embark on new challenges. “It was a big shift for me, starting in an entirely new environment and job that I wasn’t familiar with,” the 47-year-old remarked.
But little did he know that after only 1.5 months into the job, he would be put on a performance improvement programme (PIP) during his probation period. Unfortunately, his progress wasn’t enough to keep him, and his company ultimately made the decision to let him go.
Taking job loss as an opportunity to grow
Surprisingly, Robin didn’t feel the usual weight of disappointment after leaving the company. In fact, he experienced a sense of relief. “I realised that I wasn’t fully prepared for the role, and the stress was taking a toll,” he said.
The moment he was let go was difficult, but it provided him with a chance to pause and review his career with fresh eyes. For the first time in months, he felt the freedom to reassess what he truly wanted from his professional journey.
Rather than rushing into another job search, Robin chose to use the time as an opportunity for self-reflection. Being put on the PIP was a wake-up call to the fact that he wasn’t fully prepared to do his job well despite being a Doctor of Engineering in Computational Intelligence and Systems Science.
Robin realised that what he lacked was experience, and the necessary skills required to pursue a career in machine learning engineering. If he wanted to succeed in this field, then he needed to reevaluate his qualifications.
Feedback from his mentor at his last job mentioned a lack of advanced knowledge in software engineering. This led Robin on an internet search journey for upskilling courses that could fill that gap in knowledge.
He eventually chanced upon an Advanced Professional Certificate in Software Engineering held by Nanyang Technological University Academy for Professional and Continuing Education (NTU PACE). The course covered what he needed — in-depth training in DevOps, as well as software programmes like React JS, Java Spring Boot, and React Native.
More importantly, the certification was under the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme (SCTP), which the government subsidises up to 90% of the course fee. While Robin didn’t have any dependents to financially take care of, he was about to collect the keys to his new Build-To-Order (BTO) flat just as he lost his job. With a mortgage to deal with, Robin knew that if there was any opportunity to save a penny, he would do so.
Not just upskilling on technical know-hows, but soft skilling too
Robin decisively signed up for the course, eager to upskill so that he could quickly get back into the job market. He found himself back in school, dedicating three hours each day, six days a week for six months to master these new skills.
While the course was designed to be part-time for those employed, Robin soon discovered a hidden blessing in his situation — the luxury of full-time study. “Having the time to fully immerse myself in my learning was a game-changer,” Robin shared. He knew that the extra hours would help him not only catch up, but push ahead.
Even with this opportunity, it wasn’t always easy — every day was a challenge, as he juggled the stress of learning with the weight of his past failure. To push past this personal hurdle, Robin attended career coaching sessions, which were provided to him by NTU PACE as part of SCTP.
He met with career consultant Jennifer Du to learn more about hiring processes. Under her guidance, he came to understand that an extensive resume listing every single one of his achievements wasn’t all that hiring managers were looking for. Instead, he learned how to trim his pages-long one-size-fits-all CV into a neat two-pager tailored for the jobs he was applying for.
Something new he had also picked up from career coaching was building his personal brand. Robin revealed that he “never really used LinkedIn before [his] termination”, but it has since become a useful tool for him to list details of all his accomplishments. He continually takes the initiative to connect with ex-colleagues and course trainers to ask for personal testimonies that are displayed on his page.
Another useful takeaway was learning how to sit for an interview. “I learnt that sometimes I wasn’t answering the interviewer’s questions to the point, so it wasn’t what they were looking for,” reflected Robin on his experience.
Staying motivated with the Jobseeker Support scheme
Resilience isn’t built in a day, but a habit that requires constant, daily practice. For Robin, who faced unemployment and an unknown future, he knew how easy it would have been to give up, but he chose to stay positive and used extrinsic factors to motivate himself to stay on course throughout his job hunt.
One of which was the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme (JS scheme), which he learned about through a group chat. The scheme offers monetary support through the participation of job search activities for those who’ve been retrenched or terminated from their job.
Since Robin was already doing that, he applied for the scheme to tide him through this cash-strapped period. While he had savings to fall back on to help pay for his BTO mortgage, it was nice to have extra cash flow to help with daily expenses.
Besides financial aid, Robin found the scheme to be a great motivator in holding himself accountable in his job hunt. The scheme required Robin to complete various activities, such as registering with an employment agency, attending career coaching or advisory services, and updating his resume in an online job portal.
Re-entering the workforce with rebuilt confidence
Armed with newly acquired hard and soft skills, Robin felt that he was ready to start looking for a job again. But acquiring new skills didn’t mean immediate offers, even after applying for over 170 different positions.
Nevertheless, resilient Robin persisted in his job hunt. “I knew the job market in Singapore isn’t easy, so I took my time to refine my resume and cover letters while waiting to hear back from companies that I had applied to,” he said. Robin kept track of all the jobs he applied for on an Excel spreadsheet, highlighting key information in job descriptions, so he would be better prepared for interviews.
His hard work paid off when he sat for interviews from 10 companies. After each one, Robin would reflect on the process and make notes on what he should bring up in future interviews. He felt the most confident in his tenth interview, which was also the only company that gave him an offer that he readily accepted.
It’s this positive attitude and willingness to improve himself that Jennifer said were the keys to his success. “Robin put in consistent effort to practise what he learned, and had faith in the process and persevered, despite challenges in the employment market,” she commented.
Next steps and beyond
While Robin has now successfully secured a position as a computer vision engineer — and recently completed his three-month probation — he remains proactive and focused on continually improving himself, never taking his job security for granted.
“I still keep in touch with my course trainers and career coach to update them on progress of my employment,” he said.
He added that the relationships are part of his effort to grow his professional network in Singapore. “My network in Singapore is very small — actually zero — because most of my career was spent in Japan,” he explained.
Robin also has plans to enrol in more courses to continue staying relevant within his industry. So far, he has enrolled in a WSG-subsidised course, Statistical Fundamentals for Beginners, to aid him in his work with AI. “I’ve also planned to sign up for a course in data analytics using Python, as well as deep learning courses by the end of the year,” he shared enthusiastically.
Advice to those who’ve lost their jobs
Robin’s story of getting terminated may not be unique, but he has shown that it is not the end of the road for those going through the same experience. It is important to approach such situations with perseverance and resilience, as he has proven through his own journey.
Beyond having a positive mindset, Robin ascertains there are resources that people can tap into. “There is so much support nowadays, but you have to learn how to utilise them for jobseeking,” he advised. “Even if the job market is bad, the chance of securing a job is still high. Just don’t give up and learn from your mistakes.”
For career guidance, WSG has a wealth of information concerning career health and development as well as career matching and guidance services for those unsure of their next steps.
And if you are a retrenched or terminated jobseeker in need of help staying motivated during your job search, the JS scheme offers monetary payouts for completing job-seeking activities each month.
