Lifestylememory (for illustration purposes only)
Photo: Freepik / Lifestylememory (for illustration purposes only)
‘Crazy grinding’: Fresh graduate fires off 1,000 job applications in just 8 to 9 months amid hiring squeeze
SINGAPORE: It has somewhat become normal these days to send as many job applications as one can, given how competitive the job market has become. But one Singaporean fresh grad has revealed that he sent out a staggering 1,000 applications last year!
Sharing his experience on the r/askSingapore forum on Friday (Jan 30), the man, who holds a computer science degree, said that all 1,000 applications were sent over a span of eight to nine months.
Though some people may immediately think that he was merely shooting in the dark, this was not the case. He explained that his applications were focused specifically on tech-related entry-level roles, as well as positions that were not directly technical but were open to candidates with a tech background.
“These contribute to the high numbers,” he said. “I did not apply to any random posting. I read all the job descriptions; it was highly targeted, and I'd leave 20% for the maybes. SMEs, MNCs, and startups—all of them. I applied even to listings up to a month old. I had no real SWE experience and in tech.”
After months of persistent effort, the man eventually managed to secure two job offers, although he noted that neither role was directly related to his degree. Still, he saw this as a win after such a long and demanding job search.
“It took crazy grinding,” he said, reflecting on his experience. “I see people giving up after 150, and I think it’s crazy. It’s not hard to send applications.”
“Anyways, please don’t take this as a complaint, I just found my experience through this process pretty interesting and wondered if anyone sent so much too, all is well!” he added.
“No, the job market isn’t bad, your strategy just sucks.”
The post drew mixed reactions in the comments section. While many Singaporean Redditors sympathised with the man and shared that they too had sent out hundreds, or even thousands, of job applications with little success, others were far less forgiving. Some commenters criticised his approach outright, arguing that the sheer number of applications was less a reflection of a bad job market and more a sign of a weak strategy. One bluntly wrote, “I’m sick and tired of hearing people complain about ‘oh I sent out xx applications’ like it’s some bloody badge of honour about how bad the job market is. No, the job market isn’t bad, your strategy just sucks.” “Spraying and praying so many applications is just immediate proof that you have no idea what you want, no specialised skill area, just want a job for the sake of a job, and recruiters can easily sniff that out.” Another pointed out to him, “So your interview rate is 1 out of 500 applications that are sent out? That's pretty bad. That's like a 0.002% hit rate. Most people would try to strive for a 5 to 10%+ hit rate.” A third explained, “The reason why people are spamming only around 100s is that they are going for jobs that are 'related' to their studies. Do you think there are 1000 jobs that are available that are related to your studies? But good for you for landing a job in this uncertainty.” Amid the criticism, some users offered practical advice. One suggested that the post author spend more time refining and testing different versions of his résumé and tailoring it specifically to each role instead of relying on a generic version. “Have you considered trying to spend the time to do A/B testing on your resumé and even adjusting your resumé for the job?” they said. “Rather than do a generic resume that can spam jobs, how about looking at it from the HR perspective and asking yourself if I am HR, what do I want to see from this person in this job?” In other news, a husband took to social media to share that he feels “disrespected” by his wife, as she frequently belittles him in front of her friends and family. In a post on the r/SingaporeR forum, he said that during group conversations, his wife often shuts him down with remarks such as “what are you talking about?”, “are you sure?”, or “how can this be?”, which he feels reflects a lack of respect toward him. Read more: ‘Am I being too sensitive?’: Husband feels ‘disrespected’ as wife belittles him in front of friends and familyNewsletter
Get updates straight to your inbox
Loading next article…