Despite hiring in Singapore declining 34% year-on-year in December 2022 as compared to December 2021* and uncertain economic times ahead, professionals are taking a long term view of their career by investing in their skills as well as proactively seeking opportunities to progress. According to research from LinkedIn**, almost two in three professionals (65%) are considering changing roles in 2023.
According to LinkedIn, the search for a new job seems to be driven by the need for greater financial security as the cost of living soars, with demand for higher salaries as the biggest motivator for employees wanting to leave a current role (46%). Not only is salary the leading factor in driving employees to look for other opportunities, but an increase in salary is the biggest factor (58%) that would influence them to stay. Nearly one in four (24%) also said they feel more confident in their abilities and think they can find a better role.
Despite uncertain economic times ahead, employees are putting their career in the driver seat. Close to half (46%) say they are now more confident in pushing for a promotion or new opportunity in 2023, as compared to the start of last year. To cushion themselves against the challenging economic climate, more than half (54%) of Singaporeans are learning new skills and deepening their knowledge in areas that are in-demand, building their professional brand (41%), and proactively seeking feedback to improve their work performance (38%).
Out of the rest of the workforce, Millennial employees said they have gone into the office more (20%), and over a quarter in this age group also said they are more focused on development in their current role in response to increasing global uncertainty.
LinkedIn has also published its latest Jobs on the Rise list***, which identifies the fastest-growing jobs on LinkedIn in Singapore. The data reveals that the need to drive business growth in an uncertain economic environment, continued focus on digitalisation, disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are creating opportunities for professionals in 2023. It offers a glimpse into emerging trends in the workforce and where companies will compete for top talent.
To support job seekers, LinkedIn is hosting a live session for its Singapore members, offering practical career advice and job seeking tips from voices in the know. LinkedIn is also unlocking free LinkedIn Learning courses to support professionals in their next career move.
Pooja Chhabria, LinkedIn’s Career Expert says: “Despite tough economic conditions, the Singapore workforce is relying on their own abilities to grow their skills and push forward in their careers. Since the pandemic, it’s clear that professionals have built up a bank of resilience and we’re seeing this in their confidence to tackle the year ahead. They are striving for the ideal role that offers the right wage and provides work-life balance.
"Job seekers are also being more intentional in their search, whereas others are taking steps to recession-proof their current roles by learning new skills or brushing up on existing ones. In fact, there has been a 43% year-on-year increase in members worldwide adding skills to their LinkedIn profile - 35 million have been added in the last 12 months. Building transferable skills will help professionals be more versatile and adaptable to different roles which is valuable in an uncertain economic climate.”
Details
Singapore’s fastest-growing jobs**
- Sales Development Representative
- Cloud Engineer
- Enterprise Account Executive
- Healthcare Assistant
- Cyber Security Engineer
- Site Reliability Engineer
- Back-End Developer
- Cyber Security Consultant
- Technical Account Manager
- Customer Success Specialist
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Artificial Intelligence Engineer
- DevOps Engineer
- Investment Associate
- Product Owner
Explore
LinkedIn has also provided some tips on how to invest in your career in 2023:
Create a standout profile
Be sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date to stand out to recruiters. LinkedIn members with a profile photo have 21 times more views and up to nine times more connection requests than members who don’t. Be sure to include a short summary of your background and highlight your key skills. You can also let recruiters and your network know you’re open to new opportunities by enabling the Open to Work feature on your profile.
Look for in-demand roles
Whilst the job market as a whole is tightening, LinkedIn's Jobs on the Rise data shows roles in areas such as cybersecurity, sales and sustainability are among the fastest-growing jobs.
Stay on top of the latest updates
In a shifting, competitive job market, the latest information could give you the advantage you need. LinkedIn’s Get Hired newsletter provides timely job search advice and shows which companies are currently hiring and the top voices to follow to stay in the know.
Get interview-ready
Employers will be looking for the best fit, so before each application, think - why is this role for you? How can you demonstrate that? Why should they hire you over someone else? By using tools like LinkedIn interview prep, you can prepare yourself for any interview.
Invest in yourself
Online courses can bridge the gap when learning new skills or brushing up on existing ones. For job seekers, it's vital to understand the skills that are in demand, what skills you have that are transferable and what skills you need to learn. Over 40% of companies globally rely on skills to identify candidates, so think about the five most relevant skills for the job you want and add them to your profile.
LinkedIn Learning has over 17,000 courses available, for anyone looking to upskill, including free access to Build a Career You Love No Matter the Market, A Career Strategist's Guide to Getting a Job, Mel Robbins on Confidence and A Bold New Approach to Goal Setting with Michael Bungay Stanier to help job seekers prepare for their next career move.
*LinkedIn Economic Graph researchers looked at the year-over-year percentage change in hiring rate, which is a measure of hires in a given time period divided by LinkedIn membership. If the change is less than 0%, this means that hiring activity is lower than it was at the same time in the previous year, and vice versa.
**Research conducted by Censuswide and based on 22,985 workers aged 18+
from the US, UK, Germany, France, India, KSA, Singapore, Netherlands,
Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Japan, UAE, and Sweden
between 9 and 19 December 2022.
***In Singapore, investing in learning and development opportunities to upskill current employees is one of the top two priorities for bosses looking to increase resilience amongst their workforce during times of uncertainty, while 69% admit it’s challenging to attract top talent. LinkedIn commissioned YouGov to survey 2,929 C-level executives across the globe from organisations with 1,000+ employees and annual turnover of £250+ million during 27 September to 19 October 2022. The survey was conducted online.
