That’s too much: Excessive salary demands leaving Singaporeans jobless

Jobseekers should stop focusing on salary hikes.

Singapore’s job market remains robust, but inflated salary expectations are keeping a number of Singaporeans from securing their next jobs.

According to the latest Hays Quarterly Report, jobseekers should focus on long-term career development over short-term salary hikes.

“Singapore’s jobs market is positive and employers are hiring, but while there is a shortage of high-level skills employers will only increase salaries so far to secure their ideal candidate,” says Chris Mead, Regional Director of Hays in Singapore.

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Project Accountants, Quantity Surveyors and Transport Planners are just some of the professionals in high demand, but inflated salary expectations are pricing some Singaporeans out of securing their next job, says recruiting experts Hays.

“Many professionals spent the last quarter holding out for their bonuses and are now preparing to enter the jobs market. We advise them to focus on securing a job with greater responsibility and regional exposure which will provide long-term benefits to your career, rather than solely focusing on financial rewards.”

According to Hays, many departments are seeing jobs growth. “Accountancy teams are growing in size and the banking sector is adding both temporary and permanent staff,” says Chris. “There are technical skills shortages across engineering, IT, insurance, procurement and oil & gas, to name a few. HR is also an active area for jobs as organisations expand, restructure or up-skill existing workers.”