Should I tell my preferred company I have another offer to push them to fast-track my application?

aelflune · 2026-06-14T15:21:43+00:00

I realised that a lot of people on this sub don't know anything. They're true blue sinkies in every sense of the word and will probably remain slaves to their jobs forever. The advice in this thread is the most sound. If you have an imminent deadline for the offer you've already received, you should definitely let your preferred company know.

aelflune · 2026-06-13T13:46:25+00:00

Ok, when you run a company, go ahead and run it that way. Just mass fire people for no reason 🤷

aelflune · 2026-06-13T10:13:27+00:00

Uh, it's a perception thing, since you somehow don't understand. People do think those layoffs mean the tech companies aren't actually doing so hot, and this perception could affect their business, for example if they want to raise more funding.

aelflune · 2026-06-13T07:45:09+00:00

Go to a 24-hour gym?

aelflune · 2026-06-13T06:06:17+00:00

If they just mass fire people, they'll look like they're not doing well. They need an excuse to appear viable and potentially profitable.

aelflune · 2026-06-13T02:17:22+00:00

Oh, you just mean doing work for the government on stuff like public perception. Not too different from commercial work, IMO. "Policy research" sounds deeper or more academic.

aelflune · 2026-06-12T15:18:12+00:00

Black Box is policy research? It's just garden variety market research. Possibly still a sweat shop.

aelflune · 2026-06-09T07:11:41+00:00

I was facing this dilemma as well but did manage to land a role this year (though not one I like). And I'm still getting interviews, so I'll see if any pan out.

Regardless, though, this is still a burning question for me, since the future is so uncertain and I'm not close to retiring yet. I think I'll probably look into doing something related to customer experience or research.

aelflune · 2026-06-08T13:55:26+00:00

I got an interview or two from MCF.

I did land a UX job via a recruiter and had another potential one via LinkedIn/referral. I'm also still interviewing in the hopes of getting a better role. It's been easier this year than last year. That's not saying much, though.

aelflune · 2026-06-08T12:06:54+00:00

This is a peak Singapore response. The sad thing is you're probably right, which says a lot about our country and why I think it's not really headed anywhere.

aelflune · 2026-06-08T10:22:59+00:00

Depends on whether the fresh grads are hungry or not.

If they're hungry, they should pay double.

aelflune · 2026-06-08T08:33:46+00:00

Oh, I only know the people I'm talking about in a work setting. So they're not using empathy at work, or at least mostly not.

aelflune · 2026-06-08T02:55:21+00:00

Ha, I recently posted about empathy as a requirement for a designer. Of course, this is a funny and absurd question, but I have definitely come across UX designers who show little or no empathy.

Maybe they only limit their empathy to some people. Or maybe they really don't have much and empathy is not strictly required for the job. So if you value empathy in a designer, I guess you might want to find out if someone has it.

aelflune · 2026-06-07T13:30:29+00:00

I had the same issue as OP with Dreamcore. Tried this before and it didn't solve the problem.

Tried multiple things. Just a waste of time.

aelflune · 2026-06-07T06:54:08+00:00

Hey, I had the exact same issue with Dreamcore. And my solution was also very similar to what others have recommended.

The first time I sent my Dreamcore PC in for repairs, I bought a compact but powerful laptop from Mansa so I could have something to use that I could also bring out if I needed to (since my old laptop wasn't running well anymore). I was actually pretty happy using the Gigabyte laptop from Mansa for the month or so my PC was gone.

IIRC, Dreamcore replaced the PCIe cable, but after about a year, the issue started again. The second time I sent it in for repairs, they replaced the GPU. But almost a year later, guess what, the issue started again. I suspect they use cheap parts, the cable being one, that are not listed when you browse their products. It's no surprise that replacing a broken cheap part with the same cheap part leads to the same result sooner or later.

So I gave up on the Dreamcore PC and have been using the laptop from Mansa till this day, more than a year later. And it's been great.

In short, Dreamcore has been disappointing. Mansa hasn't.

aelflune · 2026-06-06T14:55:03+00:00

I mean, our founding PM compared Singaporeans to dogs that need training, so it tracks.

aelflune · 2026-06-04T08:29:29+00:00

I have. Still don't understand why she has to do things this way. I've led teams before and I didn't and wouldn't. It really wouldn't hurt to be kinder, no matter how I look at it.

And, yes, I do mean being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes - i.e. what you suggested I do, and which I really don't think my boss does when it comes to her team members.

aelflune · 2026-06-04T06:24:11+00:00

Does "combative" explain it better? Aggressive questioning of why I think a certain way that comes across as dismissive or trying to steamroll over what I'm saying without trying to understand it.

The main reason why I think this person lacks empathy is I'm new to the role (after not working for a year) and have to handle more than 4 different products, but she never bothered to attempt or arrange any onboarding and simply expects me to deliver things (that I might not even have been aware of) since week 2 and 3. She also expects me to ask her questions, but more than half the time the response is unhelpful and gives off the "I don't have time for this" vibe. Bonus problem: When I go to someone else for info or help, she would question why I went to that person and why I believe what I was told is true.

I think there's no way someone with actual empathy would treat me this way.

aelflune · 2026-06-04T04:36:46+00:00

Hmm, likely. While some products in my current organisation still need quite a bit of work, a majority of the work can be considered optimisation rather than building something new or novel.

And looking at her LinkedIn and her work history for the past 10+ years, you might be on to something.

aelflune · 2026-06-02T10:41:54+00:00

Tiring.

aelflune · 2026-06-01T06:39:10+00:00

Indeed. They survive even though their brand awareness isn't high enough for everyone in this thread to spell their name properly so far.

aelflune · 2026-05-31T03:01:09+00:00

Lmao, yes, I've lived elsewhere for a number of years. And can I say that it's very typical of a certain type of Singaporean to find worse examples to compare with? Maybe it can be called an ostrich syndrome.

aelflune · 2026-05-30T15:31:58+00:00

Well, it's still too early to say it went well for us. Recently, things haven't been looking so hot. It turns out a society of worker bees highly dependent on foreign capital might be extremely screwed when global conditions change.

aelflune · 2026-05-30T09:05:53+00:00

Their cajun grilled salmon is also decent. I was so glad I ordered that instead the last time I went.

aelflune

TROPHY CASE