Is CDC really sincere in helping jobless Singaporeans?

Is CDC really sincere in helping jobless Singaporeans?

 December 25th, 2011 |  Author: Contributions

I would like to highlight my own terrible experiences at South West CDC not long ago. I have been jobless since last Nov and have difficulties in finding another job. I approached South West CDC for help in assistance on 15 Sep 2011 after months of searching.

The office-in-charge of my case is Thomas Tang. I had truthfully related my problems and sincerely hope that I could secure a job with the help with CDC. With his advices, I re-do my resume and send to him the very day. Unfortunately, he had reservist and for 3 weeks and only send me some job opening in mid Oct which yield no positive outcome. Meanwhile, I still continue to send job applications after applications. I still did not receive any call for interviews.

It is tough to survive without any income and I was desperate and frustrated. On 1 Dec, I send him an email asking:

“Is there ANY company who is willing to employ me for ANY job? Looking at the news about the employment hits a new high, I can’t help feeling that it is making mockery of me. With constant news of companies making noises that they cannot find Singaporean workers and statstics showing more Singaporean getting employed, why am I being left out?”

I got a call from Thomas on 5 Dec. I quote some dialogue between us:

Thomas: “…I understand my frustration and anger”

I retorted: ” how do you understand how I feel? Have you been jobless for a year?”

Thomas: ” you don’t have to be sacrastic, you don’t make things difficult for me to help you”

He later did admit that he cannot understand as he had not been in the same situation as me. Am I sacrastic? Does he think I enjoy being jobless with no income? Does he think I am enjoying my life? I am frustrated and angry!

I agree to another face-to-face meeting on 7 Dec. During the meeting, he had once again say he understand my frustration and angry and his analysis that I still do not receive any calls for interviews is because of the resume not able to capture attentions. He even mentioned that I should voice out my frustration and could even vent on
him.

Does he need to take more than 2 months for him to realise that my resume is not good enough and I have to further improve? I rebutted him on his analysis that the resume might not be the root causes.

1) Some job portal, like Career@gov, job Central, do not require me to send my own copy of resume for job application. Instead I had previously keyed in the information in their system and the application simply took a few clicks.

2) Companies have easy access to foreign workers is also a reason. For point 2, he asked me if I had any evidence to show that? Does he think that I will be able to produce statistics to backup my point? Of course not! However, it is true that there are many foreign workers/talents taking up jobs which Singaporean can perform.

After a few more exchange, he became frustrated due to our different views and claimed that I am just too negative. How positive do you expect me to be?

Thomas: “if you continue to be like this, then we can stop and you can leave” (what happened to his ” I can voice out my frustration and can even vent on him”?)

I retorted: “Fine! you just have to wait a few more months and I will not able be around in this world”

Thomas: “Are you threatening me?”

What I say is the truth, does he think I can survive for another year without income? In what way is that a threat??? Whether through phone, face-to-face, emails, I had never verbally/physically insulted him in anyway because I also know he is just doing his job as an employee.

However, I am also irratated that he keeps claiming he understand my situation when he, in fact, doesn’t understand at all. He is simply saying things for the sake of saying!

Later, we did talk more about the resume writing and I decided to give up giving my views. I then got another around of lecture on my negativity about I keep frowning and even if I secure an interview, it will reflect during the interview – hinting the interview will fail. I had almost got into a row with him earlier on and does he expect me to be positive and smiling???

Is CDC really sincere in helping Singaporeans?

Regards.

.

Jobless

* Editor: A quick check on the Net revealed that there is a Thomas Tang in South West CDC: http://www.facebook.com/southwestcdc