keongzai

2024 started different from the past years.

Last October, I was asked to leave my company due to financial reasons. I served out the remaining quarter and as of 1 January, I was officially unemployed.

In Singapore, 2023’s retrenchment numbers almost doubled compared to the year before. While this means there’s much less stigma around layoffs, it also means that there are more job hunters in the market, coming into the new year.

I can’t change what happened but I can control how I process my situation. While I begin the job search, here’s my plan for the coming months:

1. Be kind to myself and acknowledge that it was a financial decision, not an issue with my performance.
2. Upgrade my existing skills and learn new ones. As a start, I signed up for an iOS & Swift Coding Bootcamp and 100 days of Python last week.
3. Write a business plan for a content strategy consulting company that I can run from home.
4. Spend time with old friends, catching up over lunch or coffee in the middle of the day.
5. Travel. I have Japan and New Zealand lined up in the first half of the year.

No matter what, I don’t want to feel like I need to rush into another job because I need one.

Here’s hoping your 2024 is off to a better start than mine.