The Adrian Tan Show

Hosted by Adrian Tan

BusinessInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

186

Latest episode

Nov 2026

Language

About the show

A Singaporean take on work, life and the news—through candid commentary, personal stories and occasional guest conversations. www.adriantan.com.sg

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 1, 202615 min

I Used to Screen Out 50-Year-Olds

In 2005, a client gave me a job brief with three lines on it: Chinese. Male. Below 35. I filled it without asking a single question. I ran a recruitment firm for about ten years. In this video, I go through why hiring managers in Singapore still filter out 50-somethings (habit, money and fear), the traps retrenched workers fall into, and the one rule that shows what the system thinks a 52-year-old is worth. Then I share what I think would actually fix it. Tell me in the comments: should Singapore fund paid trial hires for retrenched 50-somethings? Yes or no, and why. If you're over 50 and job hunting, tell me the coded line you keep seeing in job ads. Some might end up in a follow-up video. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:01 The news in 60 seconds 2:30 Why we're ageist (habit, money, fear) 6:37 The traps, and how to get around them 10:08 Is it just us? 10:59 The fix 14:24 Two people Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

October 18, 202617 min

The Haze Is Back. The Pattern Is Too.

The haze is back, and Singapore is once again reaching for N95s, shelter rooms and PSI updates.But after nearly three decades of the same headlines, why does it keep happening? I look at the fires, peatland, palm oil, the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. And publicly, no company has paid a fine under it.This is not about blaming Indonesia. It is about why a problem everyone understands still proves so hard to solve, and who bears the cost while we wait for clear skies.Would you pay more for genuinely haze-free products? Tell me in the comments.Timestamps:00:00 Haze Hits Unhealthy01:06 Singapore Response Measures02:41 Why Haze Happens04:28 El Niño and Timing05:06 Timeline And New Law05:55 Why The Act Hasn't Worked06:56 Has Anyone Fixed Smoke08:26 Why Indonesia Struggles09:31 Help Politics And Japan11:10 Peat Restoration Progress12:17 Consumer Pressure Levers13:59 Worker Safety In Haze15:20 Who Can Escape Haze16:43 What Would Change Next🤝 CONNECT WITH ME🌐 Website: https://adriantan.com.sg 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriantanck/ 📸 Instagram: @tanadrian18🎵 TikTok: @tanadrian18 Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

October 9, 202621 min

FirstDate: 42 Years of Government Cupid

GovTech just launched FirstDate, a dating app only for public officers aged 21 to 35. I joked about it on LinkedIn. Then I found out it's basically been done before, in 1984. In this video, I look at FirstDate the way a recruiter would: every scheme, every agency, every campaign the Singapore government has tried to get us married. What it did, how it ended, and whether this one is any different. As an ex-headhunter of 10 years, my verdict: FirstDate is a great sourcing tool. But Singapore's marriage problem was never at sourcing. It's at the offer. ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 The press release they were too shy to send 2:53 What FirstDate actually is 6:01 42 years of government cupid 6:12 Era 1: The U-turn (1966–1987) 7:51 Era 2: The matchmaker state (1984–2009) 9:23 Era 3: The chequebook (2001–2023) 10:54 Era 4: The reset (2026) 11:42 Why the government keeps doing this 13:44 Will this time be different? 17:19 My verdict 20:22 Closing 💬 Single? Would you sign up for FirstDate? Married? How did you actually meet? Tell me in the comments. I read all of them. 🤝 CONNECT WITH ME 🌐 Website: https://adriantan.com.sg 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriantanck/ 📸 Instagram: @tanadrian18 🎵 TikTok: @tanadrian18 📚 SOURCES - FirstDate (GovTech pilot): https://firstdate.sandbox.gov.sg/ - Mothership (4 Oct 2026): Govt staff from the same agency won't be matched on FirstDate - Mothership (3 May 2026): Govt explored a dating site for singles aged 35 and below - CNBC (4 Oct 2026): Singapore debuts a state-backed dating app for young government workers - The Straits Times via The Star (10 Jul 2026): Marriages in Singapore fall further in 2025 - Malay Mail (28 Jul 2026): Tokyo govt dating app leads to 265 marriages - Singstat, Population Trends 2026 The "Office of Leadership Supply" press release at the start is satire. It is not a real government office or statement. #Singapore #FirstDate #GovTech #BirthRate #Dating Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

October 4, 202613 min

Job Search Is a Sales Job

Job search isn't just a full-time job. It's a SALES job, and you only have one product to sell: you.Singapore just saw 4,000+ workers retrenched in a single quarter, the highest since end-2020, and about 8 in 10 were PMETs. Fewer people are back in a job within six months, and many come back at a big pay cut. In sales terms, you closed the deal… but sold at a huge discount.I spent a decade on the buyer side running a recruitment firm, and co-wrote "Everything You Wish to Ask a Headhunter." In this video, I break down the 6-step sales playbook for job seekers:1️⃣ Pick your territory – sell where the money is flowing (hint: AI and everything around it)2️⃣ Prospect for advice, not jobs – and why content brings leads to you3️⃣ Fix your pitch deck – beat the ATS, then win the human4️⃣ Work warm leads – why referrals are a small share of applicants but a big share of hires5️⃣ Manage your pipeline – most jobs are lost in the follow-up6️⃣ Close at the right price – and never stop sellingYou don't need 400 applications. You need ONE employer to say yes.⏱️ Chapters00:00 Job search is a sales job00:30 Retrenchment reality check01:40 Why listen to me02:10 Stop spamming applications02:45 #1 Pick your territory05:00 #2 Prospecting for advice07:15 #3 Fix your resume (pitch deck)08:20 #4 Warm leads & referrals11:00 #5 Manage your pipeline11:45 #6 Close the deal and keep selling🔗 Resources mentionedSingapore layoff tracker: https://layoffsg.com Jobscan: https://www.jobscan.co/ Teal: https://www.tealhq.com/ ApplyLah: https://applylah.com/ Happenstance: https://happenstance.ai/ Huntr: https://huntr.co/ 📬 Subscribe to my newsletter "Will That Work?": https://adriantan.com.sg 📖 My book "No More Bosses": https://amzn.asia/d/0hrNilbu #JobSearch #Retrenchment #Singapore #CareerAdvice #JobHunting #PMET Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

September 20, 202615 min

I ran the numbers on my $70,000 child bonus. I was wrong.

When the government announced that every Singaporean child gets almost $70,000 from birth to 17, my first reaction was simple: I have four kids, so that’s $280,000 for my family. Hosay liao. Then I actually sat down and did the maths properly. I was completely off the mark. My oldest just missed the new baby gift and child credits by age cutoffs. My two middle kids get a partial run of child credits plus a PSEA top-up. Only my youngest, at 10, gets close to the full package. Add it all up across all four kids, spread over the next seven years, and my real total comes to roughly $63,000. A fraction of the $280,000. I go through the full breakdown, kid by kid, in the video below, along with a few things I think are worth talking about: * Why the $70K figure doesn’t hold its value * What’s conspicuously missing from the package * How Singapore’s incentives stack up against Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong * Whether this was ever really a money problem to begin with * Why I had four kids myself, and one slightly ridiculous idea for how Singapore could make big families genuinely aspirational Doing this exercise humbled me a bit. I went in expecting to feel shortchanged by the government but I left convinced that the number was never really the point. Would a bigger cheque actually change your mind about having kids? Or is it the other stuffs that money can’t touch? Let me know in the comments. Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

September 6, 202623 min

My 2018 Nanning Trip: How I Almost Joined a Money Game (and Why I’m Speaking Up Now)

My face is all over the news right now. Here’s why I’m okay with that. Eight years ago I flew to Nanning , sat through five days of the world’s most elaborate sales pitch, and walked away from what turned out to be a pyramid scheme. I wrote about it once and filed a police report but nobody really followed up. Then 52 Singaporeans got detained in China over a suspected pyramid scheme, my old article resurfaced, and suddenly my face was in the news. The question I’ve gotten the most since: how the hell did you not realize it was a scam? Fair question. So instead of answering it piecemeal in comments, I sat down and answered everything. What actually happened in Nanning . Who I met (a Singaporean of the Year finalist, a former MP). Why I still won’t name them. When it clicked that something was off, and why I put money in anyway even after it did. I could’ve stayed quiet about all this. A lot of people in my position do, because nobody wants to be known as the guy who almost fell for it. But I don’t think that’s the right instinct. The people running these schemes get to operate in public. I don’t see why the people who got pitched to should have to hide. Full video’s below Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

August 2, 20269 min

Your First Job Might Never Exist

Is AI really replacing jobs? Or is something even more dangerous happening? Everyone is asking whether AI will take our jobs. I think we’re asking the wrong question. The real disruption isn’t that experienced professionals are being replaced. It’s that the first step of the career ladder is quietly disappearing. In this video, I explore: * Why AI helps junior employees more than senior ones * Why companies are hiring fewer entry-level workers * What happens when AI takes over the work people used to learn from * Why today’s graduates face a very different job market * The hidden risk businesses are creating for themselves * What leaders, managers, parents and young professionals should do next Using research from MIT, Stanford, Harvard and real-world examples (including the ATM revolution, factory electrification, and the Air Canada chatbot case), I explain why the biggest AI problem may not be automation, but the disappearance of apprenticeship. Whether you’re a CEO, manager, HR professional, student or parent, this is a conversation we need to have before it’s too late. 👇 I’d love to hear your thoughts. Is your company still hiring junior talent? Or has the entry door quietly started closing? Leave a comment below. If you enjoy thoughtful discussions about AI, work, leadership and the future of careers, consider subscribing. New videos every week. Timestamps: 00:00 AI Hiring Paradox 00:22 Homework Without Struggle 01:05 ATM Story Misleads 01:55 AI Levels Skills 02:39 Entry Jobs Vanish 03:48 Apprenticeship Gets Cut 04:36 Where Seniors Come From 05:34 Why AI Pilots Fail 06:54 Redesign Workflows 08:08 Trust and Accountability 09:05 Protect the Bottom Rung Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

July 12, 202610 min

I've Lost My Job Six Times.

Someone is going to get retrenched today — and they have no idea. After 11 years inside recruitment and hundreds of conversations with blindsided professionals, I can tell you retrenchment is almost never actually a surprise. The signals show up weeks or months early. Most people just don't know what they're looking for. This video names all 9 — and the 4 quiet moves to make before you ever need them. 🔎 Track live layoffs in Singapore → https://layoffsg.com ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Someone gets retrenched today (they don't know yet) 0:17 – Why it feels like a surprise (but almost never is) 1:11 – Two things to understand first 1:16 – Why the people who know aren't allowed to tell you 1:43 – Companies retrench roles, not people 2:22 – The signals are structural, not personal 2:37 – Signal 1: The hiring freeze 3:15 – Signal 2: External consultants arrive 4:01 – Signal 3: Communication becomes careful 4:44 – Signal 4: Your manager's behaviour changes 5:32 – Signal 5: You're asked to document your processes 6:21 – Signal 6: Budget quietly disappears 6:48 – Signal 7: A reorg or "strategic review" of your function 7:23 – Signal 8: New leadership with no history with your team 8:08 – Signal 9: Your scope quietly shrinks 8:54 – The two wrong responses (denial vs. panic) 9:20 – Move 1: Update your resume now 9:34 – Move 2: Activate your network quietly 9:49 – Move 3: Build visibility outside your company 10:08 – Move 4: Know what you're entitled to 10:28 – LayoffSG.com — the layoff tracker I built 10:53 – Final thought Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

June 28, 202615 min

The Iron Rice Bowl Was Never Yours to Hold

I'm an introvert. Small talk drains me, and walking into a room of strangers is the last thing I want to do — so for years my "networking strategy" was finding the food table and looking busy with my coffee. And yet people still walk up to me at events (and once, at a night market) already knowing who I am. That's not luck. It's reputation infrastructure — 8 specific moves that put your name into the world before you ever show up in a room, so trust is already built by the time someone reaches out. I used these moves while running my career coaching practice, and I'm using them again now as I build my fractional career. In this video, I break down all 8: 00:00 Intro 03:52 Move 1: Write a Book 05:57 Move 2: Speak at Events 07:21 Move 3: Academic Affiliation 08:14 Move 4: Win Awards 09:03 Move 5: Join Industry Bodies 09:57 Move 6: Get Board Positions 11:17 Move 7: Media Bylines 12:24 Move 8: Podcasting None of this works in 30 days. But if you're moving into fractional work or self-employment, this is the difference between chasing clients and having them come find you. Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe

June 16, 20266 min

The Side Hustle Rule Your Boss Breaks Every Single Day

My former CEO stood in front of the whole team and said: no side hustles. Too distracting. The company needs your full commitment. He had three board directorships, two committee seats, and multiple rental properties. He wasn’t lying to be cruel. He was protecting what he’d built — and hoping you wouldn’t notice the gap between what he said and what he did. I noticed too late. I went all-in on one company for a decade. $5M revenue, 30 staff, everything I had in one place. Then the partners changed, the investors pulled out, and I spent three months not knowing what to do with myself at 9 am on a Monday. Then I drove Grab. This video is what I learned from that — and what your boss already knows that nobody taught you. What is covered: 00:00 Side Hustle Hypocrisy 00:27 Leaders Diversify Quietly 01:41 The Loyalty Deal Died 02:18 All In Then Burnout 03:04 Uber And Identity Loss 03:21 Diversify Without Seniority 03:49 Build Assets Under Your Name 04:03 Writing Builds Reputation 04:30 Fractional Work And Niches 05:43 Commitment Versus Concentration 06:06 What Equity Are You Building 06:42 Do As They Do Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe