Heart to Heart

Leaving home each day, pretending to head out to a job you no longer have, then hanging out in nearby coffee shops searching for a job; sending out nearly a hundred applications only to get three or four responses – the anxiety and helplessness of unemployment is familiar to Mr Lam Kheng Chong because he has experienced it himself. It gave him the resolve to draw from this experience to help others once his own career was back on track. He is now a volunteer at CDAC, assisting jobseekers by sharing his insights and experiences.

Why is it so hard to find a job, even with professional qualifications from a polytechnic? Mr Lam Kheng Chong, who worked for 12 years at the NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute after re-entering the job market, tries to help long-term jobseekers who come forward identify the reasons they have been unsuccessful in job interviews, and guide them towards applying for suitable jobs.

He was set on the path of becoming a volunteer career counsellor by two mentors in his life: one is his grandfather, who taught him from young to share generously and to give back to society; while the other is a well-respected ex-superior at work who unfortunately lost her life to cancer early last year.

This ex-supervisor, both a mentor and friend, was a beacon of positivity both at work and while battling her illness. From her, Mr Lam learnt an important lesson, “We have to seize the day while we’re alive and live in the present; it’s good fortune to be able to share what you have learnt with others.”

As he enters the second half of his life, Mr Lam made a milestone decision in his professional life at the start of last year, choosing to leave a field he is familiar with and join Bizlink Centre which focuses on placing handicapped persons in employment. He hopes to make full use of his strengths to develop broader job opportunities for people with special needs.