Gen Y Speaks: I quit my job for working honeymoon in NZ. Looking for work on my return to S’pore was a downer

In late 2019, my husband and I decided to take a hiatus from work and go to New Zealand on a working holiday visa. 

We had just been married and combined our honeymoon with the opportunity to gain some overseas work exposure. 

We were both doing well in our respective careers in the hospitality industry — I was doing marketing communications in a hotel and he was a senior catering sales manager — but knew we had to go.

The age limit for the six-month visa was 30 years old and we were 29.

For the first few months, we were enjoying the new aspects of life in a foreign country and everything else the country had to offer — fresh air, scenic road trips and a carefree laid-back lifestyle. 

We took up jobs that would be frowned upon if we were in Singapore. 

I worked in a mussel factory opening mussels while he was a housekeeper at a holiday park, and we moved from the North Island to the South Island with few concrete plans and savoured the freedom.

When Covid-19 hit, the country went into lockdown, but we counted ourselves as lucky that we were working as supermarket assistants in Twizel, a town in the centre of the South Island. 

Deemed as essential workers, our routines were impacted but we could still carry on working to make a living. 

We were glad our six-month visa was extended and we were there for an additional three months before heading back to Singapore.

When we returned, Singapore was in Phase Two of the gradual reopening of the economy. 

While we were thankful to be reunited with our family, friends and loved ones, we were soon hit with the reality of being jobless, and this time in even more stressful circumstances, as we had to compete with a larger pool of talents for a job. 

We also did not qualify for any of the government grants but were glad to have a roof over our heads at our parents’ homes.

We both knew we wanted to return to the hospitality industry, even though it has been ravaged by the crisis. 

Our ex-colleagues were either being seconded to other industries or had been retrenched, and we were advised to try out for different industries. 

I was jobless for nearly six months and the job hunting process was depressing.

It was unlike what I had gone through previously in securing my first three full-time jobs.

When you are desperate for something, minutes feel like hours, days feel like weeks and weeks feel like months. 

I was desperate for a job because I wanted to buy a Build-to-Order flat. 

I applied for jobs that I was confident I could get and was even overqualified for some of them. 

Yet, I didn’t get any offer that I thought I would, not because my salary expectations weren’t lowered.

There simply was no response from many companies.  

It felt like the universe was pitting itself against me. 

I was stressed, and the difficulty of getting a job definitely added to my frustration and mental exhaustion. 

As someone who can hardly sit idle or not do anything productive, I knew I had to make full use of the time I had on my hands.

So I decided to give myself the opportunity to learn something new each day. 

Instead of signing up for online courses which didn’t appeal to me, I started learning things that took little time and could be implemented almost immediately. 

I learnt how to make my own mask chain and coasters, how to fold clothes Marie Kondo style and how to open a Carousell account.

In the same way that simple acts of kindness can go a long way, these modest new skills that I learnt may appear easy to others, but they gave me much comfort and joy. 

What also added to the uncertainty during that time was that my dear father passed away from a heart attack in November 2020 at the age of 63. 

It saddened me immensely but my circumstances meant I was able to be there for my mother as much as I wanted to, which would not have been possible if I had a job. 

I would not have been able to grieve properly either.

The author's husband has still not found a job after returning to Singapore in the middle of 2020. Photo courtesy of Cristabel Chia Wynn Lynn

Fast forward to today.

I am where I want to be, with a job in the hospitality industry.

I found the job opening on JobStreet and went through two rounds of interviews.

How did I succeed after almost six months and some 30 job applications? 

I would say it is thanks to a number of factors, but what played a huge role was all the failed interviews I had. 

Every time I failed, I told myself I will do better next time and give more savvy responses to questions posed by my interviewers. And the next time happened to be then. 

Yes, every rejection stings. It makes you doubt your worth, but it gives you closure.

What I disliked more than rejection was the wait for a response. 

Eventually I reminded myself of what was meant to be will be, and to always reply someone.

It is simple courtesy.

My husband is still looking for a job. His aim remains the same as when we first came back: Sending out at least two resumes a day. 

While he has been going for interviews only to face rejections some time later, his positivity is what I applaud. 

Anyone who has struggled will know this is a difficult thing to do and not something that is ingrained. 

It requires a can-do mindset and that takes work.

My near-term goals — which will also take some work — will be to get our own flat and recreating all the Chinese New Year dishes my dear father used to cook.

My tireless job search has ceased and my experience confirms the advice we often hear: Never give up.

If you are still looking for a job, don’t be disheartened, but carry on as many others would want you to.

Covid-19 has taught me that a job should not be your destination, but your present life should be. It’s all about making the best of what we have.

I have no regrets going for a working honeymoon.

If there is anything my New Zealand experience has taught me, it is this — the laid back life is for me and I hope to retire early. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cristabel Chia Wynn Lynn, 31, works in marketing communications at a hotel.