Career strategy: CVs, interviews and networking in Singapore

Choose a career direction on purpose, then land the roles that fit it with a sharp CV, solid interviews and a working network.

Most people pick a job, not a career, and only think about direction when they feel stuck. Then they rewrite a CV, apply to forty roles and hear nothing back. This course gives you a method instead. You choose a direction you can defend, check it against Singapore salary and hiring data, rebuild your CV and LinkedIn profile, prepare interview stories with the STAR method, and build a network without cold-messaging strangers. You also learn which SkillsFuture and Workforce Singapore programmes help with a career switch. You finish with a five-year plan and a target list of roles.

What you'll be able to do

• Map your skills, interests and the market to name two or three career directions worth testing
• Use MyCareersFuture, MOM's Occupational Wage Tables and salary guides to set a realistic salary range for a target role
• Rewrite your CV so each bullet shows a result and matches the language of the job ad
• Rebuild your LinkedIn headline, About section and experience so recruiters can find you
• Prepare six interview stories in the STAR format and deliver them in under two minutes each
• Hold informational conversations that lead to advice and referrals
• Compare SkillsFuture and Workforce Singapore options for a career switch and choose the right one
• Write a five-year career plan with yearly milestones and a quarterly review

Syllabus

Module 1: Choose a direction you can defend

Map your skills, interests and the market to find two or three career directions, then plan cheap ways to test each before committing.

• 1.1 Skills, interests and market: the three-circle test
• 1.2 Find your skills in what people ask you for
• 1.3 Test a direction before you bet on it
• 1.4 Shortlist your directions

Module 2: Read the Singapore job market and salary data

Use public data and job listings to see who is hiring for your target role, what they ask for and what it pays, so your plan rests on evidence.

• 2.1 Where to find salary data you can trust
• 2.2 Read job ads like a recruiter
• 2.3 Who is hiring, and how to tell if it lasts
• 2.4 Build a market sheet for your target role

Module 3: Write a CV that gets past screening

Rebuild your CV so applicant tracking systems can read it and a busy recruiter sees your results in the first few seconds.

• 3.1 How your CV is read: software first, then a person
• 3.2 Turn duties into results
• 3.3 What to leave off a Singapore CV
• 3.4 Tailor in fifteen minutes, not two hours
• 3.5 Rebuild your CV

Module 4: Make your LinkedIn profile work while you sleep

Set up a LinkedIn profile that recruiters can find through search and that tells the same story as your CV in a more personal voice.

• 4.1 Headline and About: say who you help and how
• 4.2 Experience, skills and recommendations
• 4.3 Be found by recruiters without telling your boss
• 4.4 Rebuild your LinkedIn profile

Module 5: Apply where your odds are best

Spread your effort across direct applications, recruiters and referrals, and track every application so you can see what is working.

• 5.1 Three routes in: apply, recruiter, referral
• 5.2 Work with recruiters well
• 5.3 Ask for a referral without being awkward
• 5.4 Set up your application tracker

Module 6: Prepare interview answers that hold up

Build a bank of true stories in the STAR format, answer the common question types, and ask questions that tell you whether you want the job.

• 6.1 The STAR method for behavioural questions
• 6.2 Build a bank of six stories
• 6.3 Tell me about yourself and other common questions
• 6.4 Questions to ask them
• 6.5 Run a mock interview

Module 7: Build a network without the awkwardness

Grow and keep up a professional network through useful conversations, and turn the people you already know into advice and introductions.

• 7.1 You already have a network
• 7.2 Ask for twenty minutes of advice
• 7.3 Stay in touch without being a pest
• 7.4 Hold three informational conversations

Module 8: Switch careers with SkillsFuture and Workforce Singapore support

Understand the main public programmes for career switchers in Singapore, choose the one that fits your situation, and plan the switch around it.

• 8.1 Training first or hired first
• 8.2 SkillsFuture Credit and how to use it well
• 8.3 Read the fine print before you sign up
• 8.4 Plan your switch

Module 9: Plan your next five years

Turn your direction, market research and network into a five-year plan with yearly milestones and a review routine that keeps it current.

• 9.1 Work back from where you want to be
• 9.2 Milestones you can check
• 9.3 Review every quarter
• 9.4 Write your five-year career plan

Frequently asked questions

How long does the course take?

About eleven hours across nine modules, including exercises. The informational conversations take longer in calendar time, so most people finish in five to seven weeks.

Does it cover salary negotiation?

It shows you how to find a realistic salary range. Negotiating the offer itself is taught in Negotiation: salary, deals and everyday asks.

Will the course tell me whether I qualify for SkillsFuture or WSG programmes?

No. Eligibility rules and funding change, so the course explains what each programme is for and shows you where to check the current rules on the SkillsFuture and Workforce Singapore websites.

I am not in Singapore. Is it still useful?

The CV, LinkedIn, interview and networking modules apply anywhere. The market data and career switch modules use Singapore sources, so you would swap in your own country's equivalents.

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