Have I made a mistake?

[Lisafuller]

I am from India.
Is there any comeback for me to negotiate now that I have signed the dotted line?
The fact that it is not easy to get a job nowadays in Singapore and that I had been away from my husband (who is in Singapore and I am in India) for more than 2 years due to lockdowns, I think I just got too desperate and agreed on to the first thing!
Do you think this will have a huge impact on my career or can I still salvage this... I am so confused and worried.

No turning back for this one. If your skills (technical, communication and EQ) are good, you can job hop once or more every 1 to 2 years till you are where you think you need to be in terms of salary.

Thank you for your response... I heard from a few folks that job-hopping is considered to be a "black mark" on the profile and MOM will keep note of it... and can also blacklist me. Is it true?

If you are smart about it it will do wonders for your career. Stay in each position for at least a year or two before moving onto something bigger. You’ll thank yourself when you’re making two or three times the salary in a couple years.

[Lisafuller]

Don’t worry… it’s pointless to freak out. Best thing you can do is discuss a raise at your performance review - but make sure your performance is solid enough to justify a raise. Once you’ve signed the contract there really isn’t much room to renegotiate pay, hence it’s a contract.

Thank you for the response... What is the average salary hike given in Singapore?

You can check out online sites like glass door but take the figures with a pinch of salt.

[Lisafuller]

No turning back for this one. If your skills (technical, communication and EQ) are good, you can job hop once or more every 1 to 2 years till you are where you think you need to be in terms of salary.

Thank you for your response... I heard from a few folks that job-hopping is considered to be a "black mark" on the profile and MOM will keep note of it... and can also blacklist me. Is it true?

It depends. If you job hop but get huge increments in pay (above 25%) there's no harm in it. Just don't job hop every few months. Staying for a year plus to get substantial increments in pay is completely fine.

Right. Even if it isn’t something as dramatic is 25%, a good 20 is good enough to make the move. Just need to be smart about it and not leave too quickly.

[Lisafuller]

Mom won't care one way or another, however.......

As long as you are in Singapore you must remember it is a closed circuit here. In given industries everybody knows somebody in the competitors workplace. If you job hop within the industry, your name will maybe not be black-listed, but eventually when positions become redundant they will know who to let go first as your CV will have your work history and duration of each position. You may get hired only to fill a temporary gap. Or not. I was an HR & Finance Mgr with my last local company SME. I stay there for 14 years until I retired at the age of 71.5. The first thing I always looked at was how often a person changed jobs and how often they made a lateral move for very little money and usually the same level of job. If I needed the body count they 'might' get hired but otherwise, I wouldn't waste the resources to train/indoctrinate somebody who will give me nothing but an empty desk in 24 months or less. Think about it. But a 25% increment and/or upgrade up the ladder, it's a different story. I was also one of the odd men out here as I used to have a habit of calling at least their last supervisor (or HR if I knew the person).

Making a horizontal shift is very very stupid, but moving upwards is something you can never blame someone for.

[Lisafuller]

Don’t worry… it’s pointless to freak out. Best thing you can do is discuss a raise at your performance review - but make sure your performance is solid enough to justify a raise. Once you’ve signed the contract there really isn’t much room to renegotiate pay, hence it’s a contract.

Thank you for the response... What is the average salary hike given in Singapore?

You need to do your own research for this one. No one here knows what your skill set or experience level is. Neither would we be experts on every single type of job out there. Ranges vary largely depending on the communication skills and EQ of the job applicant - 6.6k, while not very high, it's not unheard of either. Let's just say that companies are happy to have people on salaries in exactly that range. If it's not you, they will find someone else.

There are some sites that can provide figures, but even then they are very very loose estimates because there are hundreds of other factors that can influence one’s salary offer.

[Lisafuller]

Mom won't care one way or another, however.......

As long as you are in Singapore you must remember it is a closed circuit here. In given industries everybody knows somebody in the competitors workplace. If you job hop within the industry, your name will maybe not be black-listed, but eventually when positions become redundant they will know who to let go first as your CV will have your work history and duration of each position. You may get hired only to fill a temporary gap. Or not. I was an HR & Finance Mgr with my last local company SME. I stay there for 14 years until I retired at the age of 71.5. The first thing I always looked at was how often a person changed jobs and how often they made a lateral move for very little money and usually the same level of job. If I needed the body count they 'might' get hired but otherwise, I wouldn't waste the resources to train/indoctrinate somebody who will give me nothing but an empty desk in 24 months or less. Think about it. But a 25% increment and/or upgrade up the ladder, it's a different story. I was also one of the odd men out here as I used to have a habit of calling at least their last supervisor (or HR if I knew the person).

I believe it depends on the industry. It's fairly common to see people job hop and move upwards, salary wise and position wise in the technology industry. Recruiters are sometimes more interested in filling up the roles than looking for people who will stay on for many years. And the best part is that I've noticed that recruiters jump more often than candidates

Yup, and this is even more comment in countries like the US where the job market is so much larger. Job hopping there is pretty huge and for good reason.

[Lisafuller]

Hi All,
I am a software developer with 9 years of experience in C#, .Net, C++, WPF, etc
I have accepted a job here in SG for S$6600 per month (before taxes). When I asked a few of the people they said that it is a good number but as I see many other developers with similar years of experience getting paid almost double that me...
I am wondering if I have agreed too soon and made a huge mistake by doing so as this would be my base salary against which my salary in the next company (if I ever decide to switch) is negotiated.
Please help me.

Thanks!

6.6k is low for this level of experience. But well, it also depends on the skillset, market fit...
Be careful, as new potential companies might try to lowball you based on your last salary (it's quite common to be asked to share the latest payslip).
If you want to know more about what salary you should expect, you can check:
- offers posted on MyCareersFuture portal
- salary reports prepared by recruitment agencies (like Hays Asia Salary Guide), or this one: https://blog.seedly.sg/salary-guide-singapore/
- speak to headhunters directly

Unfortunately, lowballing is so common here. All part of the Singaporean pennypinching mentality. I do think it’s important to note that being asked to share your latest payslip is an ask and not a rule, although it is a little bit of a faux pas not to do so when asked.

[midlet2013]

You took this offer cuz at that point your priority was a job in Sg for personal reasons. Honestly, it mite suck if you realise you are underpaid. But I think it’s not the end. Use it as an opportunity. Software jobs in Singapore are getting better . If you are good you will be able to move sooner or later.

Be positive and keep learning. Earning less for a short while does not condemn ur long term career.

[midlet2013]

Another advice I can give is don’t listen to people. You are taking advice from your friends on blacklist etc and now here. Honestly most of it will fill ur mind with useless garbage.

[midlet2013]

I can relate to this a bit. When I finished grad studies in SG, I moved outside for few years to work. When I moved back, I took a 35% pay cut for a startup mainly due to family reasons.At that time, CS was not too hot here too unlike now. However, that was my best job cuz I worked with people in Boston and worked on ML/Big Data. Its so useful to learn from right people. But it also sucked to earn less. After 2.5 yrs, suddenly I was in demand and got offers often, even FAANG types. My salary almost became 4 times in just 4-5 years. But even though the initial moves paid more than the startup, they were run by typical sales/people managers who cannot teach anyone jack shit.

For me what works, is knowledge n constant improvement. Small hiccups are not gonna ruin your career.

I hope your job adds value to skills - whether hard skills or soft. If that happens, you don't have to worry.

And, I would not compromise on my dreams just bcuz I am scared of blacklist or termed a job-hopper.

Follow you heart and Don't take Advice

[nelyanne]

I do agree that frequently changing jobs can be good for one's carer. Advising against 'job-hopping' sounds like an idea from the previous century. What's more... the most loyal employees are sometimes the most useless ones. They stay in the same company because they know that they don't have any better option.

[Lisafuller]

I do agree that frequently changing jobs can be good for one's carer. Advising against 'job-hopping' sounds like an idea from the previous century. What's more... the most loyal employees are sometimes the most useless ones. They stay in the same company because they know that they don't have any better option.

Not just that, the ones who stupidly stay in the same position when it offers them no real prospect of upward advancement tend to stagnate in their careers while those who are smart enough to job hop do much better for themselves.

[Lisafuller]

You took this offer cuz at that point your priority was a job in Sg for personal reasons. Honestly, it mite suck if you realise you are underpaid. But I think it’s not the end. Use it as an opportunity. Software jobs in Singapore are getting better . If you are good you will be able to move sooner or later.

Be positive and keep learning. Earning less for a short while does not condemn ur long term career.

The good thing is that the salary you start out with is not the salary that you’ll be stuck at forever. This could be a launchpad into a world of much greater opportunities, it’s just the ticket into singapore.

[Lisafuller]

Another advice I can give is don’t listen to people. You are taking advice from your friends on blacklist etc and now here. Honestly most of it will fill ur mind with useless garbage.

Well there’s a difference between taking advice for some guidance and using it as a hard and fast rule. Advice is good as long as you don’t allow it to cloud your own judgment.

[Lisafuller]

I can relate to this a bit. When I finished grad studies in SG, I moved outside for few years to work. When I moved back, I took a 35% pay cut for a startup mainly due to family reasons.At that time, CS was not too hot here too unlike now. However, that was my best job cuz I worked with people in Boston and worked on ML/Big Data. Its so useful to learn from right people. But it also sucked to earn less. After 2.5 yrs, suddenly I was in demand and got offers often, even FAANG types. My salary almost became 4 times in just 4-5 years. But even though the initial moves paid more than the startup, they were run by typical sales/people managers who cannot teach anyone jack shit.

For me what works, is knowledge n constant improvement. Small hiccups are not gonna ruin your career.

I hope your job adds value to skills - whether hard skills or soft. If that happens, you don't have to worry.

And, I would not compromise on my dreams just bcuz I am scared of blacklist or termed a job-hopper.

Follow you heart and Don't take Advice

Great point, not all benefits are financial, sometimes it’s a lot better to have a good team in your corner and be able to pick up good skills that will take you far in the future.