Over 8 in 10 Singaporean fresh grads have difficulty landing their first job: survey

The most coveted industry is finance.

In spite of the tight labor market, only 15% of students and early professionals with less than a year of experience believe that it will take them less than one month to land their first job, a survey by LinkedIn revealed today.

In contrast, professionals with at least 15 years of experience said that their first jobs were fairly easy to land and more than double (31%) found a job within a month of leaving university.

When students and early professionals were asked about their dream industries, Finance took the top spot (15%), followed by Sales, Media & Marketing (10%), while Professional Services and Travel & Transport, tied at the third place at 9%. However, 53% of all professionals consider that they have not ended up in their dream industry.

Students and early professionals in Singapore were among the most ambitious amongst the countries with the majority (32%) of the view that they should be in a current position for two years before getting promoted, compared to 23% in Hong Kong and 22% in Australia.

However, students and early professionals in India displayed the most mettle, with 27% saying that they should be promoted within a year.

The clear ambition of Singaporean students and early professionals is also demonstrated as their careers take centrestage after finishing their education: three-quarters (76%) wanted work experience, 71% would get a job, and 40% would get an internship.

Further, the same group also said that networking face-to-face (35%), taking a break from studying (29%), and showcasing their university work (25%) were other important things to do after getting their degree.

According to students and early professionals in Singapore, the top three attributes of a dream job are happiness at work (58%), money (49%) and good working relationships with their colleagues (44%). Surprisingly, job titles, the ability to work from home and the credibility of the company were towards the lower rung of the ladder.