November 11, 2024

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Jobseekers’ Diaries: A travel industry veteran, I lost my mum and job in quick succession. Here’s how I start afresh

As employment are a top rated problem for Singaporeans in the Covid-19 disaster, TODAY’s Voices segment is publishing initially-hand accounts from jobseekers in which they replicate on their experiences and what retains them going.

In this instalment of Jobseekers’ Diaries, Pass up Jessie Yeo, 47, recounts how she was dealt a double blow amid the pandemic when her mom died and she shed her journey marketplace job shortly following. Holding a optimistic mindset, Skip Yeo signed up for classes and worked with occupation coaches to update her skills. She eventually uncovered a new position in a different business.

I have labored in the journey sector for 26 decades, commencing with hotels and ultimately transferring to a major electronic travel business as a regional internet marketing supervisor.

During my 8½ yrs there, I was posted to Shanghai and Hong Kong. I also opened its first business in Taiwan prior to relocating back again to Singapore for other roles.

I put in half my time travelling and I enjoyed my task extremely substantially.

In August 2020, my mum (a widow who introduced up her 3 youngsters one-handedly for the previous 28 yrs) handed absent due to kidney failure. A lot less than a thirty day period afterwards, I was produced redundant, at 45 decades previous.

My after fast paced lifetime packed with company trips and shuttling in and out of the hospital visiting my mum quickly became free.

I felt lost for a although, not being aware of what to do with so considerably free of charge time.

I feared that finding a position would be hard for the reason that the business I had been in my total profession was badly hit by Covid-19 and it would be difficult to swap industries owing to my age.

The good news is, the dread didn’t continue to be with me for way too lengthy. I informed myself to preserve an open up thoughts to check out industries exterior my consolation zone.

I signed up for a 6-month SG United Abilities organization analytics course. The S$1,200 monthly allowance in the course of the class was definitely handy.

I also took up a Do the job-Study Certificate system with Ngee Ann Polytechnic. It coated topics these types of as digital marketing and advertising, social media technique, and techniques these as CV crafting.

I worked with two profession coaches. 1 was assigned to me by my previous company beneath its redundancy programme, and the other by Workforce Singapore.

They aided me to critique my CV and put together for interviews. Both coaches gave diverse information, and I took tips from each individual of them to produce my own occupation-searching strategies and interview solutions.

I also took up pursuits which I experienced been wanting to do but did not have the time to. I applied my SkillsFuture credits to sign up for a baking course.

I set ambitions to lose bodyweight, getting up pilates, meditation, hiking, and seeing my eating plan. I managed to drop 10kg.

I also volunteered as a mentor at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, supporting pupils with their personalized and job ambitions by sharing my have encounters and giving tips.

Right after 15 months, 90 career programs and just about 20 interviews, I eventually landed a occupation outside of the journey industry in January 2022 — a 6-thirty day period contract as a advertising manager in a human assets remedies firm.

I am blessed to have satisfied an encouraging recruitment agent and a employing supervisor who was eager to give me a probability irrespective of my deficiency of practical experience.

I have learnt a large amount in the earlier handful of months and hope to be in a position to safe a long-lasting place with the firm.

But if I don’t, I will keep on my position looking — this time with a lot more self-assurance and competencies to offer you.

ABOUT THE Author:

Miss Jessie Yeo Lee Eng, 47, was designed redundant in October 2020 after working in the vacation business for far more than 20 decades. Locating a job exterior of the field was rough for her, but she worked with career coaches and took up courses to continue to be related. She is now a discipline promoting manager in a corporation providing human means methods.

If you are a jobseeker with an practical experience to share or know someone who wishes to contribute to this collection, generate to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your total identify, deal with and cellular phone number.