generalsu wrote:on the safe side, hostels definitely do cater to social visit pass holders.
Enlighten me a little, why would November not be a good time to start job hunting in SG? You are in IT aren't you? The IT industry is actively seeking talents all year round.
Frankly, as an HR Manager of a 200+ staff SME here, I can tell you why November through January are NOT good times to actively start a job search in Singapore. Year end bonuses. Most in Singapore get bonuses of at least one of two types and in a lot of cases both. The first is the 13th month bonus or what is generally called the AWS (Annual Wage Supplement). This is a fixed bonus of a full month's salary (hence 13th month). This is actually a remnant of the days when people were paid every 4 weeks. When they went to once a month payrolls, they lost a month's pay (in theory only). All the employers did was recalculate the salary so that they got paid the same 4 weekly salary on a monthly basis but it was equalized at the end of the year with the 13th month bonus.
Additionally, lots of employers pay performance bonuses, longevity bonuses, etc. They are all usually paid after the end of the year, provided the employee remains employed till the end of the year or until the bonuses are paid (in good years this could be cumulative of 3 or 4 months salary or even more). As you noted, the country is predominately Chinese, so therefore bonuses are usually paid during the week prior to the Chinese New Year. Therefore, most employees are loath to forgo that kind of money to shift to a new position during that time of year.
Ideally, it's better to start your job search in earnest (physically present in Singapore) two weeks after the close of the CYN celebrations when most that are planning on leaving, turn in their notices.
I'm not sure how long you have been here, but you should have realized that fact. Oh, I've spent my time as a headhunter here as well. Still do but only internationally now, not in Singapore, nor will I place Singaporeans overseas unless they've already worked overseas before.
