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SINGAPORE: Communications professional Lim Tsu Ern has watched many of his peers in the industry move to a new agency every two to three years.
The 33-year-old therefore considers his own career experience an anomaly.
He has worked at Omnicom Public Relations Group for nine years, starting out as an intern and rising up the ranks to become an account director.
“I’m not averse to leaving or changing jobs, but the question I ask myself is whether I would have the same kind of belief in what the next company does or the impact it makes,” said Lim, whose clients include banks and multinational corporations.
Staying at the company has helped him build deeper relationships with these clients, some of whom he has worked with since his intern days, he said.
It also gives him opportunities to mentor younger colleagues and help the agency secure new business.
“Once you change jobs you have to prove your mettle,” he said, when asked about the biggest risks that come with changing companies.
“You also have to consider whether you’ll be able to gel with new colleagues and fit in with the culture there.”
Job-hopping was in the spotlight when the Covid-19 pandemic caused people to re-evaluate their career choices and resulted in talent shortages that put power in employees’ hands to change jobs, and even to do so frequently.
But things are changing, as the labour market cools amid economic uncertainty from global headwinds.
Latest data showed dips in recruitment and resignation rates over several quarters, reflecting less movement of workers between jobs.
The recruitment rate fell from 2.6% in the third quarter of 2022 to 2.5% in the fourth, and then to 2.3% in the first quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, the resignation rate declined from 1.7% in the second quarter of 2022, dipping to 1.6% the following quarter, and then to 1.5% in the fourth and in the first quarter of 2023.
OCBC Bank chief economist Selena Ling said workers’ sentiment might be affected by negative news about China’s slowdown, weaker growth in the external environment and expectations that the labour market is likely to cool in the coming months.
“They might therefore be slightly more cautious about switching jobs in case of ‘last in, first out’,” she added.
“That said, the overall labour market remains generally tight. Hiring intentions and wage growth going out from here may be less aggressive,” she said.
Internal mobility is king, said employees in their 20s and 30s who have worked at the same company for several years.
Angela Ng, 29, who has been with the Australian real estate company Lendlease for almost seven years, said she has gained experience in various aspects of construction and development through internal rotations.
“As a developer, we have to acquire funding from investors, buy land, think about what to build, and construct and manage it. I’ve had the opportunity here to understand the entire real estate chain,” said Ng, who is part of a team working on the redevelopment of Singtel Comcentre.
She started as a civil engineer and took on other roles, including a three-year stint as an executive adviser in the Asia chief executive’s office.
Ng said: “It’s important to understand that what works for me might not work for someone else.
“There are those who have risen through the ranks because they stayed at one company, while others are highly valued because they have worked in various industries and markets. Ultimately, it’s a matter of fit.”
Luo Sha, 35, head of life valuation at Etiqa Insurance Singapore, said she would look at her career prospects with a company in three to five years’ time as a guide to changing jobs.
She joined Etiqa in 2018, four years after its life insurance business was launched.
She started out as manager of the life actuarial team, before advancing to team lead and finally her current role, where she oversees a team of more than 10 people. — The Straits Times/ANN
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