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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published April 17, 2010
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Job-jumping cohort makes up for lost time
Class of 2009 ditches starter jobs as economy picks up
By JOYCE HOOI
AS the economy emerges from the debris of the financial crisis and banks ramp up hiring, the Class of 2009 has been redefining the concept of job-hopping. A distinctive pattern is emerging on the CVs of 2009's graduates - in less than six months, a lot of them are already into their second jobs, having discarded the starter jobs they settled for in 2009's dismal market.
Clara, a 24-year-old who graduated last year with a communications degree, left her first job as a recruitment consultant after four months in October.
'I was quite desperate when I was looking for a job last year so I took anything I could get, but I didn't really like it there,' she said. She has since moved on to a higher-paying job in asset management.
Her story of reaching the promised land of finance and banking after trekking through 2009's job desert is echoed across the central business district (CBD).
Jenny, who is 23 and who graduated six months ago, left her job as an executive in the property sales industry after receiving an offer for her dream job in banking.
'I left after less than six months because the scope and pay offered by the new job was better. It paid 30-40 per cent more,' she said.
How the tables have turned
This time last year, the Class of 2009 was fruitlessly pounding Robinson Road, CVs in hand and nervous handshakes at the ready.
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, dreams of $10,000 signing-on bonuses and fat starting salaries had evaporated as banks and other CBD bastions of employment stopped hiring.
Twelve months later, the Oxford loafer is on the other foot. 'Since November last year, many organisations have started hiring aggressively - especially financial institutions,' said Tim Hird, managing director of Robert Half Singapore.
UBS Singapore, for example, has increased its graduate intake 60 per cent this year, according to its chief operating officer Teo Lay-Sie.
Over on Collyer Quay, an HSBC spokesperson told BT: 'We have increased hiring this year to cater to our growth and expansion plans. We are recruiting for more customer-facing positions across all our business groups.'
Across town, OCBC has been adding to its headcount, too. 'We have stepped up our recruitment activities for different divisions in the bank in line with our identified areas of growth,' said its head of HR planning and employee communications Jacinta Low.
2007 all over again
Fanning the flames of job-hopping for both fresh graduates and seasoned employees, the financial carrot used to lure people away from their current jobs has begun to invoke images of the good times, pre-Lehman Brothers.
'We are starting to see significant increases in compensation offers, such as 15-20 per cent for people with skillsets in demand, sometimes even up to 30 per cent. At pre-crisis levels, we saw 40 per cent increments, so we're fast getting there,' said Mr Hird.
Job prospects in accounting, while having remained steady during the crisis, have also brightened this year. 'In the first quarter of 2010 we noticed a pick-up in the demand for specialised advisory services,' said Philip Lee, head of people, performance and culture at KPMG in Singapore.
Even though the pool of active job candidates has widened and competition for plum jobs remains stiff, the playing field has started tilting in favour of job-seekers.
Last year, the seasonally adjusted job vacancy to unemployed person ratio shot up from 0.31 in March to 0.81 in December, according to data from the Ministry of Manpower.
As hiring freezes thaw in a hurry, employers have been quicker to get candidates to sign on the dotted line this year.
'Last year, hiring took longer because approvals were taking a lot longer to get, but this year companies are making decisions a lot quicker,' said Mr Hird.
'For the back office support area in finance, the interview process for mid-management positions is taking about 7-14 days this year. The industry average is 21-30 days and last year, it took even longer.'
The young and the restless
Hard times and a desperate graduating cohort could have resulted in ill-fitting appointments being made in 2009.
Sarah, who graduated last year, got more than she bargained for when she signed on for a position at a recruitment firm. 'I took the job because the economy was very bad at the time, and I was told during the interview that I would be interviewing job candidates, but it was actually a sales position,' she said.
Five months later, when the economy perked up and hiring freezes were lifted, she left in September for a marketing job that paid her 50 per cent more in take-home pay.
With the post-bonus round of employment musical chairs now in full swing, headhunters have pegged younger employees as more likely to job-hop.
'Generation Y has a more 'me-first' mentality. Coupled with the fact that all their peers seem to do the same, they wind up with the idea that it is okay to job-hop,' said Wendy Heng, a senior consultant at Robert Walters' sales and marketing division.
Exacerbating the post-crisis job-hopping situation is the changing mindset of the younger workforce.
'Historically, school-leavers would have tried a job for at least a year before leaving. But now, the tenure for trying a job has become much shorter. Some leave after just two weeks,' said a public relations professional who has been in the business for more than 10 years. 'They want good money and a good position without having to do so much work.'
=> Are the FAPee TRAITORS any better? They are lagi worse in that they sell out the very people they are supposed to serve!
While that might be true for young workers throughout the ages, the Q1 employment figures to be released at the end of April may also be coloured by the movements of the Class of 2009 - a cohort in search of the good money and good positions they missed last year.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Job-jumping cohort makes up for lost time
Class of 2009 ditches starter jobs as economy picks up
By JOYCE HOOI
AS the economy emerges from the debris of the financial crisis and banks ramp up hiring, the Class of 2009 has been redefining the concept of job-hopping. A distinctive pattern is emerging on the CVs of 2009's graduates - in less than six months, a lot of them are already into their second jobs, having discarded the starter jobs they settled for in 2009's dismal market.
Clara, a 24-year-old who graduated last year with a communications degree, left her first job as a recruitment consultant after four months in October.
'I was quite desperate when I was looking for a job last year so I took anything I could get, but I didn't really like it there,' she said. She has since moved on to a higher-paying job in asset management.
Her story of reaching the promised land of finance and banking after trekking through 2009's job desert is echoed across the central business district (CBD).
Jenny, who is 23 and who graduated six months ago, left her job as an executive in the property sales industry after receiving an offer for her dream job in banking.
'I left after less than six months because the scope and pay offered by the new job was better. It paid 30-40 per cent more,' she said.
How the tables have turned
This time last year, the Class of 2009 was fruitlessly pounding Robinson Road, CVs in hand and nervous handshakes at the ready.
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, dreams of $10,000 signing-on bonuses and fat starting salaries had evaporated as banks and other CBD bastions of employment stopped hiring.
Twelve months later, the Oxford loafer is on the other foot. 'Since November last year, many organisations have started hiring aggressively - especially financial institutions,' said Tim Hird, managing director of Robert Half Singapore.
UBS Singapore, for example, has increased its graduate intake 60 per cent this year, according to its chief operating officer Teo Lay-Sie.
Over on Collyer Quay, an HSBC spokesperson told BT: 'We have increased hiring this year to cater to our growth and expansion plans. We are recruiting for more customer-facing positions across all our business groups.'
Across town, OCBC has been adding to its headcount, too. 'We have stepped up our recruitment activities for different divisions in the bank in line with our identified areas of growth,' said its head of HR planning and employee communications Jacinta Low.
2007 all over again
Fanning the flames of job-hopping for both fresh graduates and seasoned employees, the financial carrot used to lure people away from their current jobs has begun to invoke images of the good times, pre-Lehman Brothers.
'We are starting to see significant increases in compensation offers, such as 15-20 per cent for people with skillsets in demand, sometimes even up to 30 per cent. At pre-crisis levels, we saw 40 per cent increments, so we're fast getting there,' said Mr Hird.
Job prospects in accounting, while having remained steady during the crisis, have also brightened this year. 'In the first quarter of 2010 we noticed a pick-up in the demand for specialised advisory services,' said Philip Lee, head of people, performance and culture at KPMG in Singapore.
Even though the pool of active job candidates has widened and competition for plum jobs remains stiff, the playing field has started tilting in favour of job-seekers.
Last year, the seasonally adjusted job vacancy to unemployed person ratio shot up from 0.31 in March to 0.81 in December, according to data from the Ministry of Manpower.
As hiring freezes thaw in a hurry, employers have been quicker to get candidates to sign on the dotted line this year.
'Last year, hiring took longer because approvals were taking a lot longer to get, but this year companies are making decisions a lot quicker,' said Mr Hird.
'For the back office support area in finance, the interview process for mid-management positions is taking about 7-14 days this year. The industry average is 21-30 days and last year, it took even longer.'
The young and the restless
Hard times and a desperate graduating cohort could have resulted in ill-fitting appointments being made in 2009.
Sarah, who graduated last year, got more than she bargained for when she signed on for a position at a recruitment firm. 'I took the job because the economy was very bad at the time, and I was told during the interview that I would be interviewing job candidates, but it was actually a sales position,' she said.
Five months later, when the economy perked up and hiring freezes were lifted, she left in September for a marketing job that paid her 50 per cent more in take-home pay.
With the post-bonus round of employment musical chairs now in full swing, headhunters have pegged younger employees as more likely to job-hop.
'Generation Y has a more 'me-first' mentality. Coupled with the fact that all their peers seem to do the same, they wind up with the idea that it is okay to job-hop,' said Wendy Heng, a senior consultant at Robert Walters' sales and marketing division.
Exacerbating the post-crisis job-hopping situation is the changing mindset of the younger workforce.
'Historically, school-leavers would have tried a job for at least a year before leaving. But now, the tenure for trying a job has become much shorter. Some leave after just two weeks,' said a public relations professional who has been in the business for more than 10 years. 'They want good money and a good position without having to do so much work.'
=> Are the FAPee TRAITORS any better? They are lagi worse in that they sell out the very people they are supposed to serve!
While that might be true for young workers throughout the ages, the Q1 employment figures to be released at the end of April may also be coloured by the movements of the Class of 2009 - a cohort in search of the good money and good positions they missed last year.
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