Now I feel it's a myth when Singapore recruiters say “there's not many suitable role at the moment”. I have decent java and c++ track record, so I used to feel these are mainstream skills in Singapore.

Let's focus on big banks for now. Singapore's finance IT sector is perhaps 5 to 20% the size of New York. If New York has hundreds of roles open now, then I feel there should be tens of roles in Singapore.

I know some recruiters have recently placed people in the big banks. Perhaps lower-ranking or manager-level, which are not suitable for me. Perhaps dotnet or Oracle? How many java/c++ senior roles? I can only guess — maybe a few placements a month?

So it seems my resume isn't attractive enough to many big banks or recruiters.