S1E77: New year, new job? What’s in store for job seekers in 2026?

Finding a new job may be on your resolution list this year, but will it be the right move in 2026?Much of the job market in 2025 was dominated by uncertainty and mixed signals.Fresh university graduates shared – and documented on social media – their struggles landing interviews and jobs, despite sending out multiple resumes. Retrenchments climbed in the third quarter of 2025 after dipping in the previous two quarters, while job vacancies continued to fall, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s third-quarter labour report. There were 69,200 job openings in September, down from 76,900 in June, the report said. Meanwhile, the workforce was constantly cautioned about how artificial intelligence could reshape – and potentially displace – many roles.Will it be more of the same in 2026, or will the market turn in favour of job seekers?In this episode of The Usual Place, I want to find out how job seekers can navigate the market and what kind of upskilling we need to make career changes. Joining me on the podcast are: Ms Serla Rusli, a LinkedIn career expert who advises job seekers on career matters based on hiring and job market trends, and Ms Joyce Bijl, business development director for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at ManpowerGroup, a global company that deals with workforce solutions. We’ll also discuss whether more employees will continue with “quiet quitting” or “job hugging”.Highlights (click/tap above):1:50 Why companies are ‘cautious’ with hiring despite better GDP growth 6:36 Use existing network instead of mass applying for jobs  12:44 How to use LinkedIn to gauge the job market  18:04 How to future-proof your job against the AI disruption 35:03 Trending in 2026 - move over “quiet quitting,” here comes “quiet cracking”  Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/theusualplacepodcast Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN Filmed by: Studio+65 Edited by: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh and Chen Junyi Executive producer: Danson Cheong  Editorial producers: Elizabeth Law & Lynda Hong Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday: Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast Feedback to: [email protected] SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX -- #tup #tuptrSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.