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

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

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.comJobscan: 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