Happy Monday!

Thank you for your patience. This issue took some time - work has gotten me really busy lately with a project I’ve been working for past 9 months finally coming into fruition - and also my family welcomed our second child, the latest member in late February.

Just when I thought I’m gonna enjoy the last days of my paternity leave, I caught Covid-19. I am writing to you from my parents’ place - under ‘quarantine’. Kudos to my wife for holding the fort at home.

A big hello and welcome to our new subscribers Dylan, J.morgan, Jakob, Ryan, Barry, Saj, Aaron, Elson, Justin, Jeff, Min Fei, Daron, Xinyi, Leroy and Gabriel.

Best,

John Lim

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Layoffs in Singapore more than doubled in last quarter of 2022

If 2021 was the year of The Great Resignation, then 2022 was the year of The Great Layoffs. In Singapore, retrenchments in Singapore more than doubled in the fourth quarter of last year from the preceding quarter. Even Google Singapore was not immune. If you were laid off from the tech sector, chances are you’re probably facing a long stressful job search.

I personally know a couple of folks who were let go (you may be reading this newsletter right now). It really is NOT your fault to be let go. Do not take this personally. If you have been affected and are having a difficult time, click Reply and reach out. Let me know how I can help. In most cases, allowing yourself to fully express your emotions first will help you to process and come into terms with the situation. Before you can move on to do an internal reflection which will give you better clarity in the hunt for your next (ideal) role.

Always stay prepared - Are you making the most of LinkedIn?

Did you know All Star profiles on LinkedIn are 40X more likely to be contacted by recruiters and 18X more likely to show up in hiring managers’ search results?

How to get LinkedIn All-Star status? It includes having a high quality profile picture and cover photo, having keywords in LinkedIn About section and adding 5 skills correctly to your profile etc. This short 8-min video below will show you how.

From Podcast Episode 14: Building Product at StashAway, Career Optionalities, Frameworks for Career Switch and Hiring with Yaohong Ch’ng

Yaohong Ch’ng is the Head of Data and Engineering at January Capital, a venture capital (VC) firm based in Singapore. He is responsible for building data-driven solutions that will complement January Capital’s investment process. Before that, he was the Head of Data at StashAway, a digital wealth manager that has assets of more than USD $1 billion under management. As employee #2, he helped build the company’s flagship product since day one as team lead and later on, as an engineering manager.

In this episode, you will learn how Yaohong transitioned his career from $700 / month to joining a VC, why having transferable skills and being a “cockroach” is important and why you should look at yourself internally first when considering career switch.

Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. Watch on YouTube.

Developing News: Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse (and potentially more?)

These two banks have been on the headlines of business news. And my bet is - we may not hear the end of the woes of the banking sector just yet. If you are keen to find out what triggered the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in a simple easy-to-understand manner, I recommend the video below.

Why should it matter to us in Singapore? Because the economy can be a funny thing - a lot of it is psychology, as explained in the video. The last thing we need now - following massive layoffs in 2022 - is a drop in confidence in the wider economy.

Buckle up and watch this space.

Having said all that, I’d say don’t worry. I’ll end with what will soon to be one of my favourite quotes:

👉👉👉 I have a favour to ask - if you have enjoyed this, would you forward this to three of your friends/family/colleagues? This helps me know which of the newsletter content works so that I can better serve you. Simply click forward on your email browser / app 🙏

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in newsletter and podcast are solely my own and do not represent the opinions of past, current or future organizations that I was, am and will be part of.