CareersCompass by MyCareersFuture Podcast
CareersCompass by MyCareersFuture is a podcast channel produced by the Skills & Workforce Development Agency, focusing on career guidance and workforce development. It aims to help listeners navigate the job market, plan their professional paths, and develop relevant skills. The podcast likely features discussions, expert insights, and practical advice for job seekers and working professionals alike.
Episodes
How are Singapore Law Firms Getting AI-ready, and What Skills Do They Need?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a strategic priority across Singapore’s economy, as highlighted by the Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Budget 2026 as a core driver of national missions.
He also announced that efforts to equip white-collar professionals with AI skills will begin with lawyers and accountants—two knowledge-intensive professions under growing manpower strain.
This was followe
PTRG Round-up: Everything You Need to Know That Helps Older Singapore Workers
For years, many senior workers have felt caught between two options: continuing in a full-time role that may no longer be sustainable or retiring earlier than they would like.
In Singapore, this decision is often shaped by practical realities. Rising living costs, conversations around CPF adequacy, and the desire to remain financially independent mean that many seniors want — or need — to continue
Career Guidance for the Middle-Aged: Why Coaching Helps With Motivation
Figuring out what the next right move for your career is only half the battle — the other half is to stay the course, and keep focused on doing the hard work, either by reskilling and upskilling, or by looking at the next job or industry to switch to that will serve your personal and longer-term career goals best.
But staying motivated can be a challenge, and while we have friends and family to be
Master The Art Of Answering Tough Interview Questions If You’re a Jobseeker
Don't get tongue-tied trying to answer tough job interview questions. Listen to some good interview answers in this podcast episode!
We’ve all been there — thinking we made a good impression so far during the interview when we’re suddenly faced with a question that throws us off completely. Don’t fret; we examine 5 common questions at interviews and how we can answer them successfully.
Key highlig
Financial Services and Insurance Outlook: Where are Hiring and Salaries Headed?
In this episode, we speak with Ken Ong, Managing Director at Morgan McKinley, about salary and hiring trends in Singapore's financial services and insurance sectors.
He shares why financial services and insurance jobs are seeing wage growth despite concerns on profitability, the rise of interim/contract roles in the industry, and a growing demand for data and AI-related skills.
Ken also reveals ho
The Modern Realities of Job Hunting: Why AI Makes It Harder to Stand Out
You spent hours perfecting your resume. You ran it through AI tools, aligned it with the job description… and hit submit.
Then… nothing.
No response. No feedback. Just silence.
In this day and age, this isn’t unusual. Job hunting hasn’t just become more competitive. It’s become harder to understand. Because the same tools helping you apply are also changing how you’re being filtered and assessed —
Job Hopping for Better Wages: Is it Really a Good Move Anymore?
The established wisdom for most Singaporean workers who are looking for a pay bump is to change jobs, with a market report from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in 2025 showing that six out of ten job switchers experienced real income increases.
But according to a report by Fortune in 2026, economists have started noticing that this tactic is beginning to show decreased effectiveness.
ADP, a U.S. re
Strategies for Building Workers’ Career Health: What This Singaporean Employer Tried
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Want to Progress In Your Career? Here’s The Secret to Getting Ahead
Many workers still subscribe to the old school notion that career progression should be a straight climb — with no detours, gaps, or pivots.
But according to Wilfrid Foo, Managing Director for Direct Motor Interests at Jardine Cycle & Carriage, such notions of career progression are increasingly outmoded.
The idea that you start at the bottom and eventually rise to the top after years in the s
Stop Looking at Labour as a Cost, but an Asset, says this Singaporean Employer
One of the challenges of considering labour as an asset, not a cost, comes down to how accounting works. The basic principles of accounting that companies must follow require them to treat labour as a cost..
According to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), an asset must meet specific criteria:
It must be a resource controlled or owned by the company.
It must be able to generate futu
COS 2026: Driving Companies and Workers Towards AI Literacy
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said during the Committee of Supply (COS) debates in Parliament the government’s goal is to empower Singapore companies to:
Harness AI end-to-end
Redesign business processes
Embed AI into core operations
Develop proprietary applications
Transform workflows
Upgrade jobs and skills
Of course, workers will also have to get onboa
Stress Spillover: When Work Worries Affect Your Personal Relationships
Let’s run through some common scenarios:
Your partner wants to talk about their problems at work, but you don’t really feel interested to listen, or play therapist
Your partner suddenly decides on a career choice that will involve making less money – without discussing it with you first
You’re on holiday with friends, but their constant checking of emails and messages makes you feel like you’re t
Budget 2026: What's There For Workers, Jobseekers and Employers?
This episode unpacks Singapore's Budget 2026 delivered by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, focusing on preparing the workforce, boosting AI literacy, and supporting fair wages and job growth.
Key measures annouced for workers, jobseekers and employers covered include:
Practical AI training and tool access
Higher local salary thresholds and progressive wage credits
Expanded training allowances and se
Career Rizz: Dating Tips That Apply Well for Professional Networking
With Valentine’s Day not far off on the horizon, this episode is going to touch an interesting crossover topic: Are there similarities between modern dating and hiring?
After all, these days the key catchphrase in workforce circles is “transferrable skills”, so what would count as such when comparing dating and networking skill sets?
We speak to Ryan Lim, QED Changemakers, an Asian leadership plat
What Happens and What to Do When Your Employer Has a Retrenchment or M&A Exercise
Jamie Ong leads the People and Communication function for HAVI Southeast Asia cluster and Freight Management Asia business.
But her two decades in the workforce has not always been so smooth sailing. In fact, Jamie revealed to us that in the course of her career, she’s experienced five merger and acquisitions (M&As)!
These can be fraught with uncertainty, with outcomes ranging from an outright
Trying to Figure Out Gen Z and Younger Workers? Here’s Some Advice From an SME Boss
Let’s face it — there’s a big disconnect between younger workers and employers these days.
How bad can this gap be, you ask?
Well, a recent study by Becoming You Labs , an academic research organisation in New York, asked 2,100 hiring managers to understand what they looked for in candidates. They also reached out to Gen Z employees to learn about their professional priorities.
And here’s what hir
New Collar Jobs: Why Skills-Based Assessments Are So Important
“A quiet revolution is reshaping the global workplace”, according to recent industry reports. It was only apt that industry leaders at the recent Economic Times Future Forward Singapore Chapter 2025 discussed the rise of new-collar jobs, which emphasises skill over traditional qualifications.
Panellists at the event shared the following:
Employers need to move towards a more “purposeful agenda”,
Bridging the Talent Gap in Singapore: What's the HR Leader's Gameplan?
In this day and age, internal mobility matters — employees want the chance to learn new skills and a fresh change of job scope. Because without that, greener pastures and the possibility of a pay bump are very powerful push factors.
Companies that successfully ensure employees can move to different roles within the same organisation, but still maintain promotion and growth prospects, enjoy benefit
Hard Truths for Young Workers Trying to Get Their First Job
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recently acknowledged many younger workers and fresh graduates are worried about jobs and employment, because of the current uncertain economic outlook.
He then revealed the launch of a new and similar traineeship programme, called the GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) Programme.
It aims to offer traineeship opportunities for a period of 3 to 6 months across variou
Why Skills-Based Hiring for Singapore Employers is No Longer an Option, But a Must
Speaking at Workforce Singapore’s Career Health Summit, Joseph Fuller, Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, was unequivocal about how important managing the career health of employees. That, as well as adopting a skills-based approach to hiring, was at a crucial turning point for Singapore employers.
Professor Fuller began his opening keynote on Career Health as Business St
Feeling Stressed About Your Career or Job Search? Here’s How To Calm Down
Dr Christopher Fong, Managing Partner and Lead Consultant at Psych.line Consultants, shares some better ways to better mental health hygiene.
Key highlights to listen to:
(0:36) How's the current state of your mental health?
(0:45) What are the benefits of building resilience?
To listen to the full podcast, head here.
Ready to take charge of your career? Polaris is tailored exclusively for you
Skills-based Hiring: Which Sectors Are Moving Fast to Secure Top Talent?
Is skills-based hiring happening in the Singapore job market, you ask? According to Nilay Khandelwal, Senior Managing Director, Michael Page Singapore and India, the straight answer is “yes”. In our podcast, he shares that:
Skills-based hiring is gaining traction, especially in sectors like tech, logistics, and sustainability.
Employers are rethinking job descriptions and introducing skills-based
Understand How and Why Personality Can Hold Back Professional Success
We all assume we know what our professional skills and strengths are – but what if there's a mismatch with our innate personality? Here’s how Polaris helped this mid-life, mid-career Singaporean.
In this episode of our Listen and Learn series, which covers the most popular content on CareersCompass, Workforce Singapore Principal Manager Kelvin Tan shares his second session with Polaris, a suite o
How This Middle-aged Singaporean Improved His Career Health With Polaris by SWDA
In this podcast, we speak with Malcolm Chen, who recently attended a career guidance programme called Polaris by Skills and Workforce Agency (SWDA).
If you haven’t heard about Polaris, here’s a quick rundown: It’s a suite of personalised career guidance programmes delivered by SWDA and its appointed providers, Ingeus and AKG.
It is designed for those who are:
Exploring career opportunities;
Seeki
COS 2025: Unpacking Why Career Health is Such a Big Deal for Workers and Employers
In this podcast, we round up the key highlights from the Committee of Supply (COS) 2025: What do Singaporean workers and employers have to look forward to and benefit from?
There’s much to unpack, such as the below and more:
Career Health SG, a new nationwide initiative to empower Singaporeans to develop meaningful and resilient careers;
The introduction of a new SkillsFuture Workforce Developmen
Mid-career and Middle-aged, And Worried About Your Career Prospects? This Singaporean Tried Polaris
For many of the industries that we work in, the economic and technological changes in the business landscape will definitely impact our career outlooks.
As such, it is important to roadmap our future career progression, keeping in mind our personal and professional aspirations.
But of course, as the saying goes: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.
In this episode of our Li
The Key Principles to Achieve Better Career Health Each New Year
We're starting another new year, and the key buzzword professionally is career health. It's about being on track for a sustainable career, while also staying relevant and fulfilled in Singapore's fast changing job market.
With industries changing fast from digitalisation, green goals, and global competition, employers' needs are changing, and in this podcast episode we explain a few key aspects t
Design Thinking for Later and Longer Careers: How Should Singaporean Workers Start Planning Ahead?
Whether you’re younger, middle-aged, or senior, career and skills planning to remain competitive to employers is growing in importance, particularly to maintain employability past 50.
As such, our guest for today’s podcast is Simon Siah, an advisor with Courage Chapter, an organisation founded with a mission on changing the narrative around aging in the Singapore workforce.
We’ll discuss how to
Fractional Roles: Why They're Win-win For Singapore's Employers and Workers
Here’s a term you might not have heard of, whether you’re an employer or worker: fractional roles.
To explain simply, they are job positions that aren’t quite full-time positions, but not quite part-time either.
According to Kai Ning, the co-founder of Courage Chapter, an organisation founded with a mission on changing the narrative around aging in the Singapore workforce, some Singaporean compani
Navigating Career Opportunities in Singapore's Hospitality Sector
At an event presented by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and Jobstreet, which was packed with fresh insights, career opportunities, and of course, plenty of chances to network with local hospitality pros, CareersCompass by Workforce Singapore had the opportunity to speak to these veterans on new workplace trends.
We spoke to Jessie Lim, Director of Guest Experience and Sustainability, Pullman Singapore
Year-End Performance Appraisal: What to Expect and How to Ace it
It's that time of the year for appraisals. Are you ready?
In this episode of our Listen and Learn series, which covers the most popular content on CareersCompass, Workforce Singapore Principal Manager Kelvin Tan shares practical tips to prepare for your review, avoid common pitfalls, and engage effectively with your supervisor.
Discover how documenting accomplishments, asking the right questions,
Flexible Work Arrangements: How This Singapore Employer Is Making Work Schedules Win-win
As of December 2024, employers in Singapore must have a process in place for workers to make formal requests for flexi-work.
As such, many employers are making pivots in terms of how employees work schedules are being managed.
In this podcast, CareersCompass speaks to have Sui Huangbo, the Deputy Director of Nursing at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, to share how flexible work arrangements and scheduling
Inter-generational Teams: Why, and Which Employers Want to Hire From All Age Groups
Older workers are a crucial solution to the increasing strain that Singapore employers will face in our labour supply, and a shift towards a more inclusive workforce that recognises intergenerational teams is the new norm is happening.
We speak to Kai Ning, the co-founder of Courage Chapter, an organisation founded with a mission on changing the narrative around aging in the Singapore workforce, t
Resume Tips: What Employers Really Want To See
Zarina Bakar, senior career coach with Skills & Workforce Development Agency (SWDA), shares more about how to prepare your resume when applying for jobs.
Key highlights to listen to:
(1:30) Why fancy email names are a turn-off, not a turn-on
(1:55) Sharing your work experience: what to include and omit
Over 100,000 jobs await. Discover your perfect role on MyCareersFuture today.
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How Career Coaching and the New JS Scheme Can Help This Singaporean Find a Job
In this podcast, Chay, a Singaporean who was recently retrenched from her role as a marketing executive, shares with us how career coaching is helping her find her next job.
She believes that the new SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support (JS) scheme will be good for those who face sudden news of retrenchment and unemployment, as the financial support alleviates the impact from temporary employment loss
Using AI for Your Job Search and Salary Negotiations
In the latest edition of our Listen and Learn format, WSG Principal Manager Kelvin Tan shares a selection of a popular piece on CareersCompass by MyCareersFuture with tips on how artificial-intelligence (AI) tools can give you a competitive edge, helping you craft tailored applications that stand out, and get the job and salary you want.
Key highlights to listen to:
(1:33) What are the latest AI
How to Successfully Request a Salary Increment
In the latest edition of our Listen and Learn format, WSG senior manager Nur Ilham Ismail shares a selection of a popular piece on CareersCompass by MyCareersFuture with tips for mature workers to take the next step in their careers, or shift into an entirely new field.
Key highlights to listen to:
(1:17) When is the best time to ask for a salary raise
(6:50) The key factors in negotiating for t
Reskilling and Upskilling for the Finance Industry: What Matters Now?
The two buzzwords in the finance and asset management industry in Singapore these days: sustainability and digitalisation.
But these two forefronts also need new skills, and some in the industry, or those looking to join it, may find it hard to figure out what's the best way forward in terms of reskilling and upskilling, to stay relevant and employable
Some key questions Singaporean workers have a
Working Mums: How to Balance Motherhood and Career
In the latest edition of our Listen and Learn format, WSG manager Aye Aye Mon shares a selection of a popular piece on CareersCompass by MyCareersFuture with tips for working mums on how to manage the delicate balance between work and family.
Key highlights to listen to:
(2:30) Equality at home is about shared responsibility
(3:38) Don't focus on society's standards, but on your own personal
AI Taking Our Jobs: How Worried Should Singaporeans Really Be?
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), some level of anxiety does exist amongst Singaporean workers, as the technology continues to revolutionise and change both how we work, and the jobs available in the marketplace as well.
Some key questions Singaporean workers have asked include:
What does AI mean for middle-aged and/or middle-income workers and jobseekers?
Does AI mean having to lear
Why Building Career Resilience Should Be Your New Year Resolution
Career resilience has been a hot topic for Singaporean workers that arose in 2023 and will likely still be important for many years to come.
But what exactly is it, and why should Singaporean workers be aspiring to make building career resilience their new year's resolution?
For our latest podcast episode, CareersCompass by MyCareersFuture hosts Jana Dawson, the Head of Content and Learning at the
6 Tips Mature Workers Can Use to Reinvent Their Careers
In the latest edition of our Listen and Learn format, WSG senior manager Annie Teh shares a selection of a popular piece on CareersCompass by MyCareersFuture with tips for mature workers to take the next step in their careers, or shift into an entirely new field.
Key highlights to listen to:
(1:17) Worried about skill gaps? Here's what to do
(4:09) Rebranding yourself- what does that mean, and h
Worried if You Can Reach Your Career Aspirations? Here’s Tips for Singapore’s Broad Middle Workers
While it’s certainly great to be reskilling and upskilling with courses that you think will help towards your career goals and aspirations, there seems to also be a growing trend towards more local workers and jobseekers becoming “cert happy”, according to Shane Yan, the co-founder of Growth Beans, a company that provides growth programmes for Singaporean workers to achieve their personal and prof
Juggling Study With Work Mid-career and Mid-life Can Be Tough - Here’s Some Advice
We speak to Kaylene Wong, a director at John Ethans International, an integrated HR services firm, who shares about how to get back into your learning groove, and what to do when evil friends keep posting Instagram posts of fun times while you're trying to study.
Key highlights to listen to:
(1:16) What cheat app to download when you're trying to speed up learning
(3:35) Social life vs study li
Leveraging your Networks & Professional Relationships for Career Success
It takes an ecosystem & network to develop our careers or even change career paths. But we can be our own obstacles when we connect & build up a network.
Shane Yan & Samantha Yan, co-founders of Growth Beans discuss on connecting with others in professional settings.
Key highlights to listen to:
(2:42) How to get good recommendations from your network
(5:53) What to do when a network
Career Resilience: Staying Strong to ensure Career Success
Shane Yan & Shamantha Yan, co-founders of Growth Beans share three factors of career resilience, and how you can apply it in your career.
Learn about the success stories of those who have applied it, and be inspired to create your own!
Key highlights to listen to:
(0:55) Three ways to be more self-aware, and how it can empower your professional self
Ready to take charge of your career? Pola
Improving Your Interview Demeanor: How To Come Across Better As a Candidate
Thomas Tang, a senior career coach with Workforce Singapore (WSG), shares some growth insights on improving your vibe with potential interviewers.
Key highlights to listen to:
(0:55) Three ways to be more self-aware, and how it can empower your professional self
(6:10) Why your smile could be a gamechanger
Over 100,000 jobs await. Discover your perfect role on MyCareersFuture today.
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Interview 101: Body Language, What You Say, and the Small Details Matter
Lin Peili, a senior career coach with Workforce Singapore (WSG), delves into what matters when prepping for crucial interviews, virtual or real-world.
Key highlights to listen to:
(1:10) What you wear to an interview matters- here's why
(4:55) What research on the company do you need to do?
Over 100,000 jobs await. Discover your perfect role on MyCareersFuture today.
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Read the full
Job Postings: Get To The Most Important Bits To Focus On
Julian Quek, a senior manager at Workforce Singapore, shares some quick tips on how to read a job posting, and figure out what are the most important bits to focus on!
Key highlights to listen to:
(1:00) How do you decide which jobs to apply for?
(1:22) What do hiring managers and HR focus on in job postings?
(5:35) How to tell how much competition there is for a role?
Over 100,000 jobs await.
Are You A Fresh Grad Joining The Workforce? Here’s Some Friendly Advice
Ariele Tan, an intern at Workforce Singapore's (WSG) Corporate Marketing & Communications Division, and Jenny Chiang, a Senior Career Coach from WSG's Career Services Division, talk about the various worries and concerns a fresh grad will have, graduating during the pandemic.
Key highlights to listen to:
(3:09) There are many types of graduates entering the workforce — what are your circumst
Trying To Figure Out Which Job Platforms Are Best For You? Here’s Some Help For Jobseekers
It can be confusing trying to figure out how to go about looking for your next job, and what platforms work best.
Julian Quek, a senior manager at Workforce Singapore, and Tarcicius Wong, currently the centre manager at the Lifelong Learning Institute, take a closer look.
Key highlights to listen to:
(2:05) Spamming employers with generic resumes on random job portals doesn't work
(8:00) The wor
Communicating Your Value: How To Explain A Career Gap For Female Jobseekers
We get it — sometimes a break from your career was necessary, perhaps due to caregiving duties. Here's how to still showcase your best professional self to potential employers.
Key highlights to listen to:
(5:10) What is the mindset of a hiring manager?
(6:50) When was your last role, and how do you explain the gap?
(8:38) Embrace the career gap, not avoid it, and then move the focus to your prof
Learn How And Why A Positive Job Mindset Matters If You’re A Jobseeker!
Shub Faujdar, the head of training and development at Alcott Global, shares how to keep your chin up during a job search.
Key highlights to listen to:
(2:50) Why self belief matters during a job search
(3:47) What determines why one person gets that job and another doesn't?
(7:57) Dealing with frustration during a job search, and why routine matters
Over 100,000 jobs await. Discover your perfec
Deciding On A Mid-Career Switch? Here’s Some Help For Employees and Jobseekers
It can be difficult trying to take the leap on changing industry or career specialties. Dr Christopher Fong (Principal Consultant, Psych. Line) shares his insights.
Key highlights to listen to:
(1:20) Why doing research on the job you want matters
(3:05) Planning for the worst if your career fails: how do you even do that?
(5:13) What's the question in interviews that trips up jobseekers the mos
Why Companies Love To Hire Women Who Want To Return To The Workforce!
Shub Faujdar, the head of training and development at Alcott Global, shares why Singapore companies are keen to give back-to-work-women a chance to return to the workforce, and what they bring to the table.
Key highlights to listen to:
(2:05) Some of the biggest employers in finance, tech, law and engineering are creating "Returnships'
(2:47) Mothers work better in teams and are more productive
How VIPS (Values, Interests, Personality and Skills) Can Affect An Employee’s Career!
The first step when starting a career – to look into our own VIPS. Learn more in this podcast here.
Key highlights to listen to:
(2:46) Knowing what you're interested in, and what you're good at matters
(3:31) VIPS (Values, Interest, Personality and Skills): What it stands for, and why it matters
(10:55) What skills matter to employers more?
Over 100,000 jobs await. Discover your perfect role o
The Potential Of Singapore’s Healthcare Sector, And Why You Should Consider Working In It
Healthcare is a growing industry and a need for many citizens. Learn why it's worth considering for mid-career switchers!
Over 100,000 jobs await. Discover your perfect role on MyCareersFuture today.
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Read the full article here: https://www.content.mycareersfuture.gov.sg/singapore-healthcare-sector-medical-jobs-available
Find out more about SWDA's programmes and services to help you i
Become A Master Negotiator When It Comes To Your Salary Whether You’re An Employee or Jobseeker
Don't shortchange yourself in the pay department by being bad at negotiating- here's how to get what you deserve in this podcast episode.
Over 100,000 jobs await. Discover your perfect role on MyCareersFuture today.
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Read the full article here: https://www.content.mycareersfuture.gov.sg/how-negotiate-higher-salary-2021
Find out more about SWDA's programmes and services to help you in
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