Be strategic in your job search! 🕵🏻♀️
🕰️ Tip 1: Timing of hiring cycles
I completed my studies in November 2025 and had to wait till February 2026 to receive my official degree certificate, so I decided it would be better to wait till after the new year to start really applying for jobs. Also considering that it was the holiday period, most people will be away anyways. Furthermore, applying at that time in the beginning of the year coincides with budget reviews, bonus payouts, etc. I wanted to maximise my chances the best I could, and it worked! Timing when to aggressively apply is the first tip I have, look up the hiring cycles of the companies/industries you’re interested in.
🎯 Tip 2: Goal setting
The next tip I have is to set your standards/criterias for the job you’re looking for. Personally for me it was 2 days WFH and a salary of over $4k, which in the end I managed to receive.
I didn’t really bother about job titles and responsibilities, if I thought 75% of the job description was aligned to my interests and skills I would just apply. I applied to a variety of jobs and industries, although I would like to pivot away from design and towards policy and strategy, that gap is quite huge so I thought to apply to a bunch and see firstly who got back to me. Some portals I searched on were LinkedIn, Career@gov, and MyCareersFuture. I wasn’t really on Indeed or JobStreet.
📑 Tip 3: Resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn profile
- I had a template resume that I would edit slightly for each job application. For example, the objective is easily editable to fit the roles you’re applying for. Personally I used “Resourceful and adaptable professional with a background in sociology, communications and design. Proficient in [key skills relevant to role], seeking a full-time opportunity as [job title] at [organisation name].”
- I am not too sure how common it is, but I made sure my resume was ATS/AI friendly. I have the assumption companies were using tools to do the first round of filtering, so I made sure my resume had the relevant key words in reference to the job listing. The format is also important, I did not use columns so that the text can be extracted properly, and kept to black and white.
- For cover letters, I used AI to help draft and iterate per application. I would give it my resume and feed it the job listing, prompt it clearly to develop an accurate cover letter that highlights your skills and experiences relevant to the job. Please use AI consciously, be mindful of the environmental impacts and reduce the number of prompts/iterations. Afterwards, make sure the facts of your experience are accurate, AI has the tendency to hallucinate and over inflate situations.
- Lastly, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, recruiters do look at it. Personally the content in my resume and the description under the professional experience section on LinkedIn is different. On LinkedIn it is more detailed and descriptive, I provided context on the environment, my role and team there, and my key achievements and responsibilities. I did it this way because my LinkedIn profile is hyperlinked in my resume, so if recruiters find my LinkedIn through my resume, they can have greater context to the pointers already in my resume.
✍🏼 Tip 4: Track your applications
Track where you’ve applied to in a sheet/excel, include the job listing description and when you applied. For this round of job searching, I submitted about 30 applications and heard back from less than 10 places. 2-3 of them rejected or decided not to continue at different stages of the application process.
The first offer I received was for a marketing role at a charity. I was actually volunteering for them for a few months beforehand. I had a good experience speaking to the interviewers, but I eventually turned it down because of the salary. I knew that the salary would be lower than what I could accept, to be fair it is also tied to their certification requirement being a diploma. I decided to proceed with the application anyway because the job market seems quite bad (I was hearing too many cases of even NUS students being unable to get a job, as someone from a private university obviously I would be worried) and I wanted to consider other benefits. Other than salary, also consider training, progression and such opportunities, which I managed to do during my interview.
At the same time I was waiting to hear back from another charity, the role was for an active ageing centre. Between the two, I was more keen on this one. So when I received the first offer, I went back to this recruiter and expressed that I was more keen to join their organisation but I needed an offer soon as I had to get back to the first offer. In the end I signed with this organisation and started my first day in May 2026! Which was faster than I expected, I was prepared to be job searching for like 6 months.
After starting, I then received a third offer, which I will share more about in my next post!
From my recent job search experience, I found that understanding the hiring cycles of industries really helped me plan my applications strategically. For example, many companies begin new recruitment drives right after budgets are approved, often in January or February. Aligning your job hunt with these peak periods can increase the likelihood of your application being noticed. Setting clear goals about what you want in a job—such as preferred salary, work-from-home days, or company culture—helped streamline my search. Even if the exact job title wasn’t a perfect match, I prioritized roles with responsibilities that matched about 75% of my interests and skills, expanding my opportunities. This flexibility often meant you’re more open to interesting positions that you might overlook otherwise. Crafting resumes that are applicant tracking system (ATS) friendly is a game-changer. Avoiding columns and fancy formatting ensures that keywords from the job description are properly detected. I discovered that tailoring my resume’s objective and key skills for each position, while maintaining a straightforward black-and-white layout, improved my chances. Using AI tools to help draft cover letters saved time, but I made sure to carefully review and adjust them to avoid inaccuracies or exaggerations. Another critical step was keeping my LinkedIn profile detailed and up to date. Unlike my resume’s concise points, my profile included richer descriptions of my roles, team environments, and key achievements. Since my LinkedIn was hyperlinked on my resume, it gave recruiters more context and enhanced my professional image. Lastly, tracking every application in a spreadsheet—listing the job description, submission dates, and follow-ups—helped me stay organized and see which kinds of roles responded best. I applied to roughly 30 jobs but heard back from under 10, which taught me the value of persistence and managing expectations. If you're volunteering or interning, take advantage of that network. I applied for a role where I had volunteered and had positive interview experiences, but I was mindful about salary and benefits before accepting offers. Consider training opportunities and career progression alongside pay. Job hunting can be stressful and unpredictable, but with a strategic approach covering timing, tailored applications, and careful tracking, you can navigate the process more effectively and boost your chances of landing a role that fits your goals.
