Early-career guides: offers, applications and first roles
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- Each guide starts with the answer and then shows the evidence behind it.
- Singapore detail is used as the example. The advice is written for candidates anywhere.
- Where the evidence is thin, the guide says so.
Offers and decisions
Deadlines, comparisons, pay packages, contract terms, withdrawn offers and return offers. Questions about offers were among the best answered in our data, usually by people who had been on the hiring side.
Applying and internships
Off-cycle internships, first internships, what to do with no internship, referrals, cold outreach and insight programmes. Most first steps here end in a timed test or a recorded interview, which is where forge's practice fits.
Resume
What screeners read, and how to present testing or support experience for engineering roles.
Careers and role choice
Startup or large company, government technology, bank technology, consulting and IT services, and quant. These were the least answered questions in our data, so the guides are careful about what is known and what is not.
What this guide cannot tell you
The evidence is strongest for technology and finance roles in Singapore and weaker elsewhere. These guides describe what candidates reported and were told. They are not legal, financial or immigration advice.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Where does the information in these guides come from?
From forge's analysis of more than 10,000 questions asked by early-career candidates between 2020 and 2026, and the answers they received from peers and people who hire.
Are these guides only for Singapore?
No. Most of the evidence is from Singapore and is used as the example, but the guides are written for candidates anywhere.
Does forge publish individual stories?
No. forge reports patterns across many candidates and never individual accounts.
Do these guides replace legal advice on contracts?
No. They describe what candidates reported. Check official guidance or a lawyer for anything that would cost you money.
What should I read first?
If you have an offer, start with exploding offers and how to compare two offers. If you are applying, start with the first internship guide.