What to do when your degree doesn’t match the jobs in the market

About this episode

Dhareeni Shanmugam discusses her experience navigating the job market after graduation and the importance of skills over academic qualifications.

Nearly one in five workers in Singapore is considered overqualified, with many choosing roles that better suit their career goals or preferences. For some graduates, this can mean taking roles outside their field of study. Nat Fetalvero and Gerald Tan speak to international relations graduate Dhareeni Shanmugam, who shares how she navigated a tough post-COVID job market and how shifting focus to skills and non-academic experiences helped her find purpose in a different field.  Editor's note: This episode of Work It has been edited to remove references to the guest's university. She graduated from the University of London, where she completed a programme designed and assessed by the London School of Economics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Nat Fetalvero, Gerald Tan

Guest: Dhareeni Shanmugam

Topics covered

• overqualified workers
• job market
• career goals
• skills development
• post-COVID employment
• non-academic experiences

Keywords

• overqualified
• job market
• career goals
• skills
• non-academic experiences
• Singapore
• post-COVID

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of London, London School of Economics

Places: Singapore

More episodes of Work It

• Are you facing burnout or just in the wrong job? · June 11, 2026 · 11 min
• Returning to the workforce after taking time off to raise children · June 7, 2026 · 34 min
• When good employees are given more work · June 4, 2026 · 13 min
• AI conducting job interviews. Here’s how to ace it · May 31, 2026 · 42 min
• Work Feed: Why school success doesn’t always translate to the workplace · May 24, 2026 · 24 min
• The mental trap of career envy · May 17, 2026 · 14 min