SINGAPORE: After turning down the only job offer she received since she began applying in February, one local jobseeker has taken to Reddit to ask if she had been “a fool for rejecting it.”
Posting on the ‘r/askSingapore’ forum on Sunday (Apr 5), she explained that she rejected the role because it did not align with her long-term goals. More importantly, she said the interview itself raised more than a few eyebrows. “I noticed some red flags about the company during the interview,” she noted.
One moment in particular stuck with her. When the hiring manager learned where she had previously worked, he asked whether her former boss would contact her after hours or over the weekend. When she said no, he replied that in his company, if an idea came up on a weekend, “he would ask her to execute it.”
He also made it clear that overtime during events would be expected. From what she gathered, this was unlikely to be the occasional late night and more of a regular occurrence. Not exactly a glowing endorsement of work-life balance.
The entire experience left her uneasy. “The whole interview gave me bad vibes,” she wrote, adding that the stress of potentially starting the job even made her physically unwell. “I got a fever, and my gut feeling told me not to start.”
Beyond that, she had practical concerns. Accepting a fully onsite role would make it difficult to attend Zoom interviews for other opportunities. She also checked reviews online, which, according to her, did little to ease her doubts and instead seemed to confirm them.
Still, with the job market looking increasingly bleak, she admitted she has started to second-guess herself. “Looking at the recent posts about the horrible job market, I’m starting to second-guess myself if turning it down was the right decision without another offer,” she said.
While she has enough savings to last four to five months and remains confident in her abilities, the uncertainty is clearly weighing on her. “Perhaps the point of writing this post is not to change any decisions,” she added. “I’ve already rejected the offer, but I just want to vent because I feel so alone in this. I’ve got interviews with 7 companies so far. There are also recruiters who reached out, but no interview yet. I will be applying for more jobs.”
“Trust your decision.”
Many took to the comments section to let the jobseeker know that she made the right call.
“I think you’re very brave for this! Instead of just blindly accepting just for the sake of a job, you trusted yourself to know what is best for you and rejected it,” one user said.
“Since you have savings enough to last and it doesn’t match your vision, just keep applying until you find one that fits you!”
Another shared, “I felt the same way and accepted a job, ignoring the red flags I noticed during interviews. I’ve already left but am still paying for not trusting my instincts. Brave of you to stick with your values!”
Others, meanwhile, assured her that a better job offer will come along. “You’ve only been applying for 2 months and already got 7 interviews. I think you should be fine and will be able to find a better job soon. Anyway, you’ve already turned it down, so there’s no point in regretting it. Trust your decision. Wishing you all the best,” one wrote.
Another added, “Always trust your instinct. You will definitely find a better one!”
In other news, a Singaporean daughter has confessed she is reaching her breaking point after years of being the sole breadwinner for both her unemployed parents.
She revealed in an online post that this has been her reality since 2020, when she was still in her third year at the National University of Singapore.
Read more: Daughter says she is at breaking point as sole breadwinner for unemployed parents
