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Headhunters in Singapore

Discuss about getting a well paid job or career advancement. Ask about salaries, expat packages, CPF & taxes for expatriate.
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Sergei82
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Post by Sergei82 » Wed, 23 Jul 2014 1:29 pm

I think, it is easier now to find a job in Hong Kong and while living there apply for jobs in Singapore. Just a random thought, there may be a lot of arguments against it. :)

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Post by Dworza » Wed, 23 Jul 2014 3:01 pm

Thanks to everybody for the comments.
  • - if I've posted a CV in czech language, it was a mistake - my primary profile is in english
  • - actually the photo is from a nature and I was staring somewhere into the woods and definetly wasn't stoned, as I don't do drugs :D
  • - yes, I'm not graduated yet - I have to pass the finals but for example here recruiters concentrate more on experience and I'd say, that for my age, I've got a quite nice CV with good recommendations and experience from large companies. I'm also capable of speaking more languages than it's usual, I think
  • - I don't care too much if I shall work in Singapore or HK. At first I wanted to work somewhere in Jawa Barat - Bandung or Jakarta Raya, but because of the strict laws it would be almost immposible to get a job there, so I started to look elsewhere
JR8 wrote: Or in two words: Grow up.
Oh c'mon :) Being a grown up is not about a haircut...well maybe in Asia it is..crap! :mad:

As I was in Indonesia and have there lot of friends who are locals or live/study there for longer time, I knew that my look could cause problems in there. But I've thought that it's because of the religion and in such multicultural city as Singapore, it could work....well, obviously I was wrong x-)

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Post by brian_singapore » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 1:07 pm

You'll need to graduate to qualify for a work permit.

This will be an immigration issue, not a company / hiring manager / recruiter 'flexibility' issue.

The following link is a self-assessment tool you can use to determine if you would qualify for an employment pass.

http://sat.mom.gov.sg/satservlet

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 1:39 pm

I'd like to add a little fillip to what brian mentioned about the self-assessment tool. The self-assessment tool will not determine if you will get an employment pass but whether or not you are eligible "to be considered" for an employment pass. It is not the deciding factor but only one of several that are factored together to determine whether or not you ultimately are given a pass. But if you cannot get past that one, forget it.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by nakatago » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 1:39 pm

Dworza wrote:Thanks to everybody for the comments.
  • - if I've posted a CV in czech language, it was a mistake - my primary profile is in english
  • - actually the photo is from a nature and I was staring somewhere into the woods and definetly wasn't stoned, as I don't do drugs :D
  • - yes, I'm not graduated yet - I have to pass the finals but for example here recruiters concentrate more on experience and I'd say, that for my age, I've got a quite nice CV with good recommendations and experience from large companies. I'm also capable of speaking more languages than it's usual, I think
  • - I don't care too much if I shall work in Singapore or HK. At first I wanted to work somewhere in Jawa Barat - Bandung or Jakarta Raya, but because of the strict laws it would be almost immposible to get a job there, so I started to look elsewhere
JR8 wrote: Or in two words: Grow up.
Oh c'mon :) Being a grown up is not about a haircut...well maybe in Asia it is..crap! :mad:

As I was in Indonesia and have there lot of friends who are locals or live/study there for longer time, I knew that my look could cause problems in there. But I've thought that it's because of the religion and in such multicultural city as Singapore, it could work....well, obviously I was wrong x-)
Singapore is all about keeping up with appearances:

* no matter how skillful and experienced you are, if you don't have a degree, you don't matter....unless a company is paying lots of money
* photos being required with CVs...so they can make decisions based on how you look--if you're good looking or the right race
* if it looks like a duck, it's probably a duck; no matter how it walks or if it quacks at all
* Singapore is as multicultural as a KFC in Southeast Asia. It's just Chinese, Malay, Indian, others. I've been to other cities where I've seen more people from more diverse origins in an hour than Singapore in a week. They have to tout multiculturalism or else people won't believe it.
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

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Post by brian_singapore » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 2:37 pm

nakatago wrote:Singapore is all about keeping up with appearances:
... and money? :D

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Post by nakatago » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 2:42 pm

brian_singapore wrote:
nakatago wrote:Singapore is all about keeping up with appearances:
... and money? :D
Is a means to an end.

Money to buy designer clothes/accessories, cars, condo, club memberships, to pay for lavish wedding, children's tuition in prestigious schools, for trips overseas, spa and beauty treatments, meals in fancy restaurants, banquets to impress "friends" and "family".....
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

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Post by Wd40 » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 3:22 pm

Sergei82 wrote:I think, it is easier now to find a job in Hong Kong and while living there apply for jobs in Singapore. Just a random thought, there may be a lot of arguments against it. :)
Your statement is true for Mandarin speakers, but not English speakers. The little bit of research I did regarding HK jobs markets, there arent enough high profile companies/jobs there. The ones that approached me are Cathay Pacific and HSBC. Apart from them I saw only ads of small time companies asking for Mandarin and also salary much lower than Singapore.

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Post by Barnsley » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 3:51 pm

Disappointing ........

Thought it was one of the lads on a cultural tour of South East Asia.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Headhunters

:D :D :D

Alas its another IT person looking for work. :D
Life is short, paddle harder!!

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Post by JR8 » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 5:53 pm

nakatago wrote: * Singapore is as multicultural as a KFC in Southeast Asia. It's just Chinese, Malay, Indian, others. I've been to other cities where I've seen more people from more diverse origins in an hour than Singapore in a week. They have to tout multiculturalism or else people won't believe it.
Ow! :lol:

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Post by Dworza » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 6:08 pm

Thank you all for your comments...Seems to me, that I'll pass my finals, improve more my bahasa skills in the meantime and will get more conservative look...and after that I will consider getting a job in Singapore again :D

Btw - what is the most common way?
1) get a job in Singapore via a company from your homeland?
2) search a job via internet and then come to Singapore for some final rounds of interviews?
3) Come to Singapore and start searching for a job?

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Post by JR8 » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 7:55 pm

Dworza wrote:Thank you all for your comments...Seems to me, that I'll pass my finals, improve more my bahasa skills in the meantime and will get more conservative look...and after that I will consider getting a job in Singapore again :D

Btw - what is the most common way?
1) get a job in Singapore via a company from your homeland?
2) search a job via internet and then come to Singapore for some final rounds of interviews?
3) Come to Singapore and start searching for a job?
Sounds like a plan. I was pondering this, we here are all individuals, but I think one needs and does suppress it, the visual excesses of individuality as much as required. Many places you wouldn't have to, here, it's definitely in your better interest. You seek not to stand out, because if you do you will only make life that much harder for yourself. Imagine going out in 1950s Britain dressed as a transvestite; you might wish to do this as 'it's you, and being true to yourself', but you can be sure every minute of the day is going to be really shi***! :lol:

1) Inter-co transfer. If you can do this, this can work really well. As your 'home' office do all the visa, job-hunt, logistics, pay package etc. and you just get on the plane and go. The way to go it is join a multinational, spend a couple of years there getting the skills they *next* need in Singapore, then try and get a transfer. In my career I did this 3 times in total, so I can't speak re: your options 2/3, but they sound like harder work and more uncertain to me...

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Post by Dworza » Thu, 24 Jul 2014 8:50 pm

Haha...I got your point :D

Hm the inter-co transfer is of course the smoothest way, how to do it, but it's quite hardly achievable for me, as my country is quite small and most of local companies are aiming for european market only. The only large companies, that for me, as a java guy, could be considered are IBM and Oracle. So not much of a choice :D And I don't like the idea of working hard several years just to hope that local branch will send me to another branch on the other side of the world (which is highly improbable) :D So I'll have to do it the harder way.. :-S

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Post by GSM8 » Fri, 25 Jul 2014 12:36 am

Dworza wrote:Haha...I got your point :D

Hm the inter-co transfer is of course the smoothest way, how to do it, but it's quite hardly achievable for me, as my country is quite small and most of local companies are aiming for european market only. The only large companies, that for me, as a java guy, could be considered are IBM and Oracle. So not much of a choice :D And I don't like the idea of working hard several years just to hope that local branch will send me to another branch on the other side of the world (which is highly improbable) :D So I'll have to do it the harder way.. :-S
Linkedin along with trolling the job sites of your target company likes of IBM and Oracle might work, especially if you have some niche skills, but within the boundaries of restricting factors mentioned by others in this thread. Then try to find someone already in the company to give you an internal referral just so your resume is not discarded right off the bat for lack of geographical fit.

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Post by Dworza » Fri, 25 Jul 2014 12:43 am

I've got an excelent reference from a senior managing consultants from IBM that was supervising the largest IT contract in the Czech Republic... Obviously without finished university it's not enough :)

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