Headhunter: Hi! We heard back from the client. They felt that you do have relevant experience but they didn’t find you as motivated as other candidates they see and they would like to close this chapter and they thank you for your time.

Me: Thank you for the feedback.

Six months since the cv was dropped in search of a new job and only one interview. Funny thing is, this role was not even published and advertised to the public.

One call, one interview, 100 percent failure rate. Motivated? All right, no hard feelings. Back to the job portal.

I did not think much of it until a friend told me it is a way of telling me they prefer someone younger.

Oh gosh! The reality.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. So I guess I am the old dog now.

What is my motivation in the current job hunt?

I am trying to figure this out to get a clearer picture as well.

More money and growth. My pay needs to grow and it is not growing fast enough with the current company. Plus, I don’t feel like I can achieve anything in the current role.

At 41, the reality is, people don’t pay you more to groom you. You get bypassed for opportunities due to unconscious bias.

Once again, I was tempted to apply for contract roles but I remembered not to because it made me look like a job hopper on my cv.

I was tempted to apply for roles I am overqualified but I remembered how difficult it was to get to where I am now. Up is the direction. Not down.

Maybe I should sign up for another Masters degree. Zzzz

Maybe I should sign up for a professional certification. Ok, let me see if I can utilise my skills future credits.

Maybe I should sign up with professional associations and get accredited. I found three potential ones and I am still not signed up due to their cost.

E-ni-mi-ni-my-ni-moe…

I am still being polite to insurance agencies asking if I am keen to switch to something with better work life balanced. No thanks. If I want to do sales, I would have continued real estate full time.

I have not renewed with my current real estate agency to keep my license and I am entertaining calls from other companies asking me to switch because they are a “family”. I don’t need a family with social activities. I want more money.

Actually, I just want to lie down and scroll my phone the whole day and still get paid. I’m really not motivated. HELP.

Read more on my other posts on Job Search in SG.