It Only Took Nearly Two Years ....

..... but I've finally managed to get myself a job here!  The good news too is that I'm enjoying it (thank goodness) and only now realize how much I actually missed working, even if it does mean I don't have quite as much free time to devote to exploring Singapore.  I can't, of course, say it was all bad being here and not working either.  It meant I could do what I needed to whenever it suited me rather than fitting it in around work.  That I could meet friends whenever I wanted and explore this island as much as I liked.  Having a job though has given me another dimension to my life here, gives me financial independence again (hooray) and something else to talk about with my husband and those close to me.

There were times when I wondered if I'd ever manage to get a job here and worried that I was ultimately going to end up pretty much unemployable.  I envied friends back home who had careers that were going from strength to strength as much as they probably envied my work free life.  It certainly has not been easy to find work here as a 'trailing spouse' and I would never kid anybody moving here in my position that it was going to be a breeze.  For all the people I know who have succeeded in finding a job there are many who are in exactly the same position as I was, applying for countless jobs and hearing nothing at all, being rejected or hitting some form of red tape in the process.  In the end my new job came about completely out of the blue and all happened very quickly once I had submitted my CV.  This time I got the lucky break everyone needs sometimes and my new employers were prepared to give me the chance.

This is where you can find me on work days now

I have actually taken a total departure from what I had previously been doing in the UK, though my degree did touch upon the subject I'm now involved in and I had some very long ago brief experience of it.  I can remember how confident I was when I first arrived that I'd secure a job in my previous field.  This being despite a few warnings from others (and my own research on the matter) that it wasn't always easy for the person arriving without the job to get one.  With no previous Asia experience in my former field or a degree specifically for that career (despite nine years actual work experience) it soon became apparent it didn't seem likely to happen and I was not going to get a job as easily as I'd assumed I would.  During the course of my job search here, and as time went by, I more-or-less decided that I'd be happy to do something else if I could and if it meant securing a job.

I haven't been job hunting continuously, I took a break from it when organizing our wedding in the UK, as with a couple of longer trips back planned it was easier not to be working.  Even with that break though I have spent the biggest part of my time here hunting and once I returned after our honeymoon I knew I needed to up that search again.  It was no easy task to get back into that job hunting frame of mind after that break though and was a worrying time too as I was fast approaching two years of unemployment with no valid reason (apart from a move to another country) for it.

My new job is part time (though I work varying hours every week and at various times of the day), which suits me.  Going back to work full time after that two year gap seemed a little daunting.  Though actually as soon as I got back into working again it felt like I'd never not been so I'm sure a full time role would have been fine.  However this does also mean I still do have time for all the mundane stuff that needs doing and for enjoying Singapore, meeting up with friends and so on.  My job is also one with a company with centres all over the world, and the work I'm doing means that (hopefully) if/when we move elsewhere as expats (and if I can't get anything else) hopefully I can do the same thing as I'm doing now in the new country.

I can't tell you how pleased and relieved I am to finally be working again!  Though I hope you'll forgive me if I fall even further behind on blogging and posting as a result.

Comments

  1. I'm really happy for you and thanks so much for this post from the heart :)

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    1. Thank you and I hope, if nothing else, I can reassure others in my position that it may take time but not to give up.

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  2. Congrats for getting a job! I was in the same boat as you when it came to applying for jobs while living in Singapore. I applied at so many jobs, followed so many leads, and I only got one email back from a potential employer telling me "thanks, we got your CV." I ended up just quitting the job search and enjoying the fact that I had the awesome opportunity of not working.

    Now I'm back and need to find a job, too. It's taking a while over here, but I think for different reasons than in Singapore. But anyway, best of luck and I'm happy for you!

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    1. Thanks Flora and good luck with your job hunting - hope something comes up for you soon!

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  3. What are you going to be doing? There's not much part time work out there, so welldone :). Once we start paying astronomical international school fees, I'll probably have to go back to work fulltime!

    @mummytweets x

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  4. Thanks, I'm teaching English to foreign students and really enjoying it. I hope when you need to that you find something suitable for you too.

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