Axios HR & Career Advisory

24/08/2026

How should we position ourselves as someone who evolves with the role rather than being left behind by the disruption caused by AI?

28/07/2026

Worth discussing why, because many are unaware the reason for long notice period.

The company sought S$36,000, or four months of the man's monthly salary.

24/07/2026

I am getting a little promotion next month.
& the first thing I did?
Update my resume.

Not because I was looking for a new job.
But because it is a beneficial career habit most people overlook.

Here is the thing about resumes: Most people only touch theirs when they desperately need one.
After a retrenchment.
After a resignation.
After something goes wrong.

Usually they end up scrambling to remember what they did, when they did it, and what impact it actually had.
Details get fuzzy.
Achievements get undersold.
Confidence takes a hit.

It does not have to be this way.

A small habit to start today and months down the road:
Update your resume and then make it a habit to update it every 6mths.

Here is why:
It keeps an honest record of your growth.
When you sit down every six months and ask — "what have I actually achieved?"
The projects completed.
The skills gained.
The problems solved.
The people led.

Not only does it give you a little platform to pat yourself on the back, it can help prepare you for company performance evaluations exercise.

When appraisal season comes — and it always does — you already have a curated record of your contributions.
No scrambling.
No underselling.
Just clarity.

It keeps you market-aware.
It keeps you motivated. Seeing your own progress on paper reminds you how far you have come — especially on the days it does not feel like it.
It helps you ask confidently for adjustments that justify your contributions.

Nobody expects retrenchment.
Nobody expects restructuring.
Some people find it hard to "sell themselves"

Having a current resume means you are never caught unprepared.

Easy right?
Twice a year.
Set a reminder.
Block 30 minutes.
Treat it like a financial audit — but for your career.
Because knowing how much you have contributed is your most valuable knowledge asset.
And the best time to maintain it is when you least feel you need to.

When did you last update yours?
Share in the comments — no judgment. 😊

— SJ
IHRP-CP | HR Consultant & Career Advisor
Axios HR & Career Advisory

21/07/2026

Today I walked into a room I did not know I needed.

Microsoft's MPowerHer session — organised in collaboration with Mums@Work, SG Women in Tech, and Code; Without Barriers to bring together women across different life and career stages to talk about AI, digital skills, and what it really takes to re-enter and thrive in today's workforce.

The conversations were honest in a way that corporate panels rarely are.

Nobody pretended AI is not disrupting things.
Nobody gave the usual "just upskill and you will be fine" speech.

Instead — real questions were asked.
And real answers were given.

Has AI made re-entry harder or easier?
What do returning professionals actually need?
How do you handle the dreaded career gap question?

And I asked one thoughtful question:
How open are org in redesigning or creating roles for women, whose profile could go far beyond her resume?

The honest answer — it depends on how well organisations actually talk to each other internally, to consider if a candidate might fit a role they didn't even know they needed to fill. And it tells me most organisations are not quite there yet.

Anyhow, what stayed with me most was the energy in the room.
Women who had stepped away — for caregiving, for family, for health, for a hundred reasons the world rarely acknowledges gracefully — sitting together and saying:

I am not done.
I am not behind.
I am ready.

That energy is not something you manufacture.
It comes from being in a room with people who genuinely understand your journey.

I went as a learner today — not just an observer.
Freshened up on what hiring managers are actually looking for when they see a career gap on a resume.

To the women I met and spoke to today:
Thank you for your openness, your questions, and your courage to keep showing up.

To every honest conversation. To every inspiring story and narratives.
The world needs women to share and talk about them with courage. So that more can be inspired and take steps to find new identity beyond just being a mother or a caregiver.

And sometimes — all it takes is one room, one morning, and one conversation to remember that you were never as far behind as you thought.

— SJ
IHRP-CP | HR Consultant & Career Advisor
Axios HR & Career Advisory

17/07/2026

Has AI made it harder or easier for women returning to the workforce?

Quick answer : both!

Why easier?
Because AI made knowledge more accessible than ever.
You do not need to go back to school to learn a new skill.
You do not need to wait for a course to have a vacancy.
You can upskill at midnight, between school runs, during lunch.
The tools are there.
The resources are there.
The barrier to learning has never been lower.

Why harder?
Because now, the bar and expectations has been raised.

What was impressive two years ago is now expected.
Managers and hiring teams have higher expectations of what a returning professional should know.
The pace of change is relentless — and if you have been away for a few years, the gap between where you left and where things are now can feel overwhelming.

And here is the part nobody says out loud:
Learning is no longer a one-time thing.
It is not "retrain once and you are set."

A theme repeatedly mentioned by the panelist from Mpower Her is this:
Keep experimenting and keep learning.

So what do you actually do with this new insight?
You stop waiting until you feel ready.
Because ready is not a destination — it is a direction.

You identify which tools are relevant to YOUR role.
The ones that matter for your work.
You get access and you start experimenting.

It can be Copilot. Canva. LinkedIn. ChatGPT. SkillsFuture courses.

And the beauty in all these trial and error are - You do not need to be an expert in them.
You just need to be comfortable enough to show some familiarity.

And remember the human centric skills you built during your break —
empathy, patience, managing priorities, navigating conflict,
those are quality that will stay even with AI.

In fact, they are made more valuable now.

So yes, AI raised the bar.
But it also handed you the ladder.

The question is whether you are willing to climb - or remain stuck in self-doubt.

Are you finding re-entry harder, easier or both?
Tell me in the comments.

— SJ
IHRP-CP | HR Consultant & Career Advisor
Axios HR & Career Advisory

17/07/2026

One fresh takeaway shared at Microsoft's MPowerHer session today — and it is too good not to pass it on.

The 3-2-1 framework to answering the dreaded question - "tell me about your career gap".

It is a simple framework I picked up today that changes everything, and it is the clearest way I have seen a career gap reframed — not as something to hide or be apologetic about.

Here goes:
Name 3 skills you owned before your break.
Name skills that you already have and back it with specific examples.

Name 2 tools you are actively learning right now.
This shows the interviewer you did not stop but still keeping yourself current. This shows you are still curious and eager and capable of learning. Whether it is LinkedIn, Canva, Copilot, or a SkillsFuture course — name it. Show the effort.

Form 1 big, strong story.
An impactful example that weaves together your 3 skills and 2 tools into a narrative that answers the real question with your career gap: "Can this person still deliver?"

Your answer would be a show and tell resounding "yes!"

One more thing to add at the end of your gap story:
Inform them that the reason for taking the break is now resolved.

"I took time off to care for my children — they are now teenagers and independent."

"I stepped away to care for an elderly parent — that chapter has concluded."

You are not just explaining the past.
You are removing their future concern.

That one sentence does more work than ten minutes of over-explaining.

Simple. Structured. And it works.

Save this. Share it with someone who needs it.

And if you want help building your own 321 — DM me.
First conversation is always on me.

— SJ
IHRP-CP | HR Consultant & Career Advisor
Axios HR & Career Advisory

17/07/2026

Coffee. Skyline.
And a room full of women learning something new.

Today I am at Microsoft's MPowerHer — upskilling in AI and Copilot so I can better serve the clients who come to me navigating their own career transitions.

Because the best advisors never stop learning.

More to share soon. 🧡

— SJ
Axios HR & Career Advisory

15/07/2026

When even the government restructures — nobody is immune.

GovTech just announced 93 retrenchments today — the first of three phases expected to affect 7 to 9% of its 3,900-strong workforce over the next two years.

The roles most affected?
Traditional project and vendor management.

The reason?
Moving from project delivery to product ownership.

And this line from GovTech's chairman stopped me:
"GovTech is changing shape — not shrinking."
That is the most honest description of what is happening across Singapore's workforce right now.

Not disappearing. Reshaping.
And GovTech handled this well:
— Union was informed early
— Retraining and redeployment offered first
— Enhanced payout beyond TAMEM recommendations
— e2i career coaches on-site immediately
— 300+ tech vacancies already curated for affected staff

This is how restructuring should be done.

But the bigger question for every working professional reading this:
When your role reshapes — and it will — are you ready to reshape with it?

That is not a threat. It is the most important career question of our time.

— SJ
IHRP-CP | HR Consultant & Career Advisor
Axios HR & Career Advisory

Singapore's GovTech agency restructures, affecting 7-9% of roles over two years with 93 staff retrenched. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

14/07/2026

Singapore's Economic Strategy Review 2026 just said something important:

"We should not hold back AI and automation to preserve existing jobs."

That is our government's official position.

So what does this actually mean for you?

Summarising and giving 3 important takeaways from the recent CNA insider interviews (full interview in comments)
P/s: none of them are to "learn to code."

One. People first. AI second. Always.
The companies winning with AI are not replacing people. They are empowering people to use AI well. That starts with you.

Two. Learn to ask better questions — not just use better tools.
AI gives you answers. You still have to know what to ask. That is critical thinking. It always was. AI just made it impossible to ignore.

Three. Your domain expertise is STILL your moat.
AI amplifies expertise. It does not replace it. The deeper you know your field, the more powerful you become with AI tools in your hands.

The report is 32 recommendations long.
But the real message is simple:
The future belongs to people (& shall I also say employers) who know how to think — and know what they are doing.

What are you building in yourself right now?

— SJ
IHRP-CP | HR Consultant & Career Advisor
Axios HR & Career Advisory