Outplacement service in SG that handles travel & flights?

[bmflex]

Greetings,

First post on here as I'm currently looking to move to Singapore and am looking for some advice if possible please!

I was recently made redundant following a large, re-org (based in Zurich, Switzerland, British citizen) and would like to relocate to SG. Having spoken to several recruiters here, they all echo the same sentiment - that it would be very beneficial to move directly or at the least, spend some time in SG to meet with recruiters and clients.

Now, AFAIK, it's highly illegal to search for a role whilst on a visitor visa, therefore i'd prefer the second option of scheduling some meetings and flying over for a week.

My company has offered me an out-placement budget of 7.5K USD, however this can only be invoiced to one firm directly. Is anyone able to recommend any reputable outplacement services or recruiters in SG that offer a fully baked service (building a package to include flights, accommodation, courses etc)?

I am fully committed to moving to SG, I have been several times and the QoL very similar to Zurich. I'm currently holding a upper management position and seem to find that it's not as easy as I would have thought to secure a role despite being above the 15K earnings exemption cap foreign hires (currently 320K USD package).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Strong Eagle]

1. It is not illegal at all to come over on a tourist visa and look for jobs. People do it all the time. What is illegal is to take up work without a work permit or employment pass. Setup as many interviews as you possibly can before you get here.
2. You will usually get 90 days on a tourist visa as a British citizen. You may be able to extend that with regular trips in and out, especially if you fly back to your home country for a period of time. What doesn't work, as many have found, much to their chagrin, is taking a day trip over to Johor Bahru, coming back in, and expecting another 90 day stamp. Quite often, they get a 3 day stamp with specific instructions to get out of the country.
3. Most people with experience on this board would agree with the information you received... you will have substantially better luck in possibly finding a job if you are resident in Singapore.
4. Most people on this board will also tell you that it is going to be very difficult to obtain a position, cold, without having any previous experience in Singapore. Why you, when there are capable executives with Southeast Asia experience. At least if you are present in Singapore, you can make a quick face to face interview if you get one.
5. 90 percent of the employment agencies in Singapore are crap. There are a handful of agencies that do work with mid and upper level management. So, I suppose that if you have a background in chemicals, there are companies in Singapore that might be interested in you, but those high lever hires often get generated out of headquarters and not Singapore. I could send you the name of one agency I know... only because I knew the owner... who has since sold and moved back to the US. But, he ran a good organization.
6. I'd say that you ought to be looking an MNC websites since they typically show all worldwide positions, including Singapore but if you are seeking a high level position I've never seen a top level position advertised in this way.

[bmflex]

Strong Eagle,

Thank you for the comprehensive and prompt response. It is most warmly received!

My background is Business Development within e-commerce - I've applied for roles at Lazada, Alibaba etc but as you say, it seems a futile endeavor. I have a friend in SG who has suggested I put her name down on applications, I may start here. My concern is as you say, moving to SG but still struggling to secure a position given a lack of APAC experience.

Would the agency where you know the owner offer such a package services as I am seeking? If I can secure a number of interviews, or at least meetings with recruiters to show commitment this would be a great start.

[Strong Eagle]

I'm not aware of any such agency that would offer the "package" you are asking for. There are probably a 100 scam artists that will tell you they can do it. You could certainly ask the company I know (again, I can make no assessment at this point but they were good folks at one time).

Outplacement services are problematic in Singapore. While my experiences are in the IT world, friends in other disciplines tend to confirm what I know. And what I know is this. In an typical environment, an expat is transferred in by a company (this is why it is so hard to get a job cold calling in Singapore... expats get transferred in, locals get hired by the local HR).

These folks change jobs. An expat comes in to work for Dell and goes to work for Lenovo. It's a very small world. Probably Lenovo called Dell to make sure they weren't hiring a problem. So, what is outplacement going to do? Expats move and get promoted from company to company and everybody knows everybody. Unless this is an extremely well connected firm, third parties usually are necessary for tracking down talent.

I'll PM you the contact information of the agency I know about. I'd be interested to hear what they have to say.

Cheers.

[Strong Eagle]

Well... maybe they aren't any more... David Lawrence associates Pte Ltd Singapore shows up in LinkedIn and Google but not much more.