SINGAPORE: A Singaporean job seeker took to the Reddit forum to ask others if he should accept a job offer that pays less than his previous role or continue holding out for a better opportunity.
Posting on the ‘Ask Singapore’ community on Monday (Jan 6), he provided more details about his situation, writing, “I’m in my late 20s. My previous company promoted me, but I was let go 7 months into the new role due to organizational changes.”
“Now I’m in this awkward position where my last drawn pay is higher than what many companies seem willing to offer,” he added.
He also shared that he’s been actively job hunting for four months but has had no success securing a role that matches his salary expectations and experience level.
“I’ve been facing a lot of lowball offers and long stretches without interviews, and it’s starting to make me doubt my self-worth. I’m not even asking for an increase – I just want to match my previous salary,” he said.
“But at this point, I’m wondering if I should just accept a pay cut because I feel like I don’t deserve what I used to earn any more,” he expressed. In an attempt to get some perspective, he asked other members of the forum:
“Has anyone else been in a similar situation? How did you deal with this feeling of being stuck? Any advice on whether I should stick it out or just take a lower offer for the sake of moving forward?”
“I will just take the pay cut rather than zero salary…”
In the discussion thread, many Singaporean Redditors advised the job seeker to prioritise his survival and accept the pay cut.
One Redditor added, “You can take the pay cut, start working, and continue to job hunt, and who knows, you might meet someone or love your new job/environment. Or you can choose to remain jobless while wasting your time and continue to wait.”
Another commented, “Ask yourself, can you still survive without any salary? For me, I will just take the pay cut rather than zero salary.”
However, there were also Redditors who felt he should hold out for a better offer, suggesting that if he was running low on funds, he could consider taking on part-time work to ease the financial pressure while still actively pursuing a full-time role.
One Redditor said, “Don’t take a pay cut; present yourself with confidence. Don’t listen to taking a lower role or what. You are promoted in your previous org; it shows you have the capability to take on your new role so go interviewing with this mindset.”
In other news, one Singaporean worker was utterly shocked when her friend complained about receiving a 17% raise and a 3-month bonus, saying that “it’s a bad year.”
Posting on r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum, on Saturday (Jan 4), she explained that this wasn’t the first time she’d encountered people expressing disappointment over what seemed like generous increments or bonuses.
Read more: Woman says, “It’s a bad year” for receiving 17% raise and 3 months bonus
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
