An Australian uni graduate is lamenting his decision to quit his job for the chance at a new role, only for the potential employer to end up choosing someone else.
Jonah Soewandito, 20, from Sydney, has learned a hard lesson after the whole ordeal has left him unemployed.
“Let my experience be a cautionary tale about keeping documentation for everything … and never trusting anything until the offer’s on the table,” he said, speaking to news.com.au.
A few months ago, the young software developer saw a role pop up in Macquarie Bank’s graduate tech select program and he leapt at the opportunity to apply. It paid in the range of $70,000 to $80,000, news.com.au understands.
Mr Soewandito thought he was guaranteed for the coveted position, after going through multiple interview rounds, including psychometric testing, meeting with department heads, receiving positive candidate feedback throughout, and then finally progressing to the background check stage.
According to the contract he had signed at his current role at a tech start-up, he needed to give three months’ notice and thought he was being proactive by tendering his resignation.
But last week Mr Soewandito learned that he had not been selected for the role at Macquarie Bank.
“I’ve just been told I’ve left my job for nothing. The worst was confirmed,” he said.
“I can’t exactly ask for the old job back, they can’t afford to hire two people with the exact same skills,” he said.
His previous role as a software developer at a start-up called XLConnect has since been filled.
As a small company, he said there is no capacity for them to bring him back on board.
This has left him with no job to return to amid a highly competitive job market.
“Given the currently overcrowded job market and the crippling dearth of entry-level opportunities, a graduate position in Macquarie would have been a lifesaving foothold and a massive boon for my professional development,” he said.
“Now it’s back to weighing my options between shotgunning applications into the void for the slightest chance at an interview, or crippling myself further with debt with a Master’s or additional certification.”
In a plea online, he wrote: “If anyone has entry-level openings or references they’d be willing to extend, my schedule is now open for the foreseeable future“.
It comes as the market has never been more competitive for software developers.
Earlier this year, a number of companies laid off workers including software developers, or ‘devs’.
In March, ASX-listed software firm Xero announced that it was going to reduce its headcount by 700 to 800 roles, which was 15 per cent of the company’s total workforce.
Just two days prior to the announcement, another major Aussie software company, Atlassian, also slashed hundreds of jobs.
The technology giant cut 500 roles, representing a cut of five per cent of its total global workforce.
Then software firm called Thoughtworks, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, laid off 100 employees, which was four per cent of their number of staff.
Last week, Australian derivatives trader Akuna Capital slashed 40 per cent of its Asia Pacific workforce, decimating 70 roles.
Software developers were caught up in the mass lay-offs. In January, Akuna had announced another wave of redundancies and also rescinded graduate job offers for roles paying as much as $200,000.
News.com.au previously reported on a Sydney dad who was left fuming after he was dropped from his tech job before he had even worked his first day in the office.
The soon-to-be father had worked at his previous tech and sales job for six years but decided to take the leap of faith to a tech start-up called Zenbly due to an “attractive offer” in excess of $150,000.
But a week before he was due to start, he discovered that Zenbly had collapsed into liquidation, leaving him with nowhere to go.
alex.turner-cohen@news.com.au