Is it easier to apply for a job when already inside Singapore ?

[suckwareengineer]

Me and my girlfriend are looking for new opportunities in Singapore. I've been getting interviews when applying, she has been applying as well but no success yet. She is a management consultant with 2 YOE in a big 4 company. She graduated from a top 30 university with a bachelor in Marketing and Finance. So my question is that is it easier to apply for a job if you are already in Singapore ? Marrying to get DP is an option. She is also willing to sign up for a 1 year diploma / master (something like data analytics) in Singapore as well if that helps.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Where are you from? If from a western country it will be very difficult to get a job unless being sent by a parent company you are already working for. Most companies here will no longer provide "Expat" relocation expenses or hardship posting uplifts as this is definitely NOT a hardship posting. Therefore, your interviews should be via Zoom until such time as they 'want' you and the only thing lacking are signatures, etc. Singapore is a very expensive place if you have no ready income stream and a 30 day visa if, for instance, you are from another ASEAN country (as I suspect).

You haven't indicated what industry you are in or what your degree is in, age or ethnicity/nationality is. Hard to give you any information when you don't give us any information to go on. If you have been conducting your interviews like that, I can understand why you haven't been successful thus far. Your gf is in an industry that is supersaturated already and with only 2 years experience she doesn't have much to offer, experience wise. I doubt she would have any success at all. They don't give contracts on "what ifs" (applying for diplomas, etc). And a quick marriage will look like a marriage of convenience so that also is likely not to fly. I think maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board.

[suckwareengineer]

Where are you from? If from a western country it will be very difficult to get a job unless being sent by a parent company you are already working for. Most companies here will no longer provide "Expat" relocation expenses or hardship posting uplifts as this is definitely NOT a hardship posting. Therefore, your interviews should be via Zoom until such time as they 'want' you and the only thing lacking are signatures, etc. Singapore is a very expensive place if you have no ready income stream and a 30 day visa if, for instance, you are from another ASEAN country (as I suspect).

You haven't indicated what industry you are in or what your degree is in, age or ethnicity/nationality is. Hard to give you any information when you don't give us any information to go on. If you have been conducting your interviews like that, I can understand why you haven't been successful thus far. Your gf is in an industry that is supersaturated already and with only 2 years experience she doesn't have much to offer, experience wise. I doubt she would have any success at all. They don't give contracts on "what ifs" (applying for diplomas, etc). And a quick marriage will look like a marriage of convenience so that also is likely not to fly. I think maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board.

We are from Vietnam, an ASEAN country. We are both Vietnamese. I'm working as a software engineer so getting a job offer with relocation is not that difficult for me (my peers got many offers from Singaporean companies for the past 2 years). I didn't mention my industry or degree because I'm getting interviews here just fine. I actually got an offer to relocate in 2020 but decided to stay because of covid.

They don't give contracts on "what ifs" (applying for diplomas, etc)

She can complete the master / diploma then find a job later. I can support her in the mean time.

[suckwareengineer]

Where are you from? If from a western country it will be very difficult to get a job unless being sent by a parent company you are already working for. Most companies here will no longer provide "Expat" relocation expenses or hardship posting uplifts as this is definitely NOT a hardship posting. Therefore, your interviews should be via Zoom until such time as they 'want' you and the only thing lacking are signatures, etc. Singapore is a very expensive place if you have no ready income stream and a 30 day visa if, for instance, you are from another ASEAN country (as I suspect).

You haven't indicated what industry you are in or what your degree is in, age or ethnicity/nationality is. Hard to give you any information when you don't give us any information to go on. If you have been conducting your interviews like that, I can understand why you haven't been successful thus far. Your gf is in an industry that is supersaturated already and with only 2 years experience she doesn't have much to offer, experience wise. I doubt she would have any success at all. They don't give contracts on "what ifs" (applying for diplomas, etc). And a quick marriage will look like a marriage of convenience so that also is likely not to fly. I think maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board.

Oh and I forgot to add that we are both in our 20s. Thanks for your detailed answer.

[nelyanne]

Even if you get married, working on DP is no longer an option, your wife will need to get her own work pass.
From my experience, I would say... don't expect it to be any easier after moving here. Don't come to Singapore just to increase a chance of getting an interview. If company is really in a desperate need of hiring you, they will do everything to hire you from Vietnam. if they are not desperate, they will hire someone else.

[malcontent]

I would put your intended Singapore residential address on your resume. Recruiters often screen out overseas addresses without a second look. Later on you can explain the details. Since the interview will likely be online, it won’t matter where you are.

[smoulder]

It will be difficult at best to get even a nibble from prospective employers if you are outside Singapore and with such limited work experience. Regardless of which country you are from. Given the difficulties in processing work pass applications for foreigners, they are more likely to look for people who are experienced and who have niche skills.

[rosedream]

It won't make a huge difference as companies in Singapore rather hire a local/PR as the market here is so saturated and even locals with business degrees struggle to find a decent job. Companies are also gonna consider her language skills, culture familairity etc etc so unless she has something unique to offer, it would be relatively difficult to get a job here. Well yeah, if u have some cash to spare, u can just come here for a month on a visit visa and try applying for jobs hoping it would slightly increase the chance of her getting hired.
And also, getting a diploma won't guarantee a job especially if it's from a private school in SG. But it could slightly improve the chance as studying here means she's getting used to the life, culture here and improving her English proficiency and stuff. So compared to her being totally an outsider, being a student here would give a different impression from recruiters.
To get her a DP, you need to get some amount of salary if I'm not wrong. So if you can hit all the requirements of a DP then it's worth trying I suppose.

[sundaymorningstaple]

To get her a DP, you need to get some amount of salary if I'm not wrong. So if you can hit all the requirements of a DP then it's worth trying I suppose.

To get her a DP you need to be on an EP. If you qualify for an EP you salary is enough to satisfy the requirements for a DP.

Oh, the reason locals with business degrees have difficulties is because most are new grads without experience or exposure and/or a piss poor work attitude which is why, given the same salary range most companies prefer to try to hire foreigners as most have decent amounts of experience and try harder.

[malcontent]

It won't make a huge difference as companies in Singapore rather hire a local/PR as the market here is so saturated and even locals with business degrees struggle to find a decent job.

Actually, that is all the more reason it does make a difference, because any local/PR already has a big advantage over you. If you, as a non-local/PR, don’t have a local address on your resume, you are that much less likely to get called for an interview. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot when you already have a big disadvantage!

Companies are also gonna consider her language skills, culture familairity etc etc so unless she has something unique to offer, it would be relatively difficult to get a job here.

Language & culture are very much secondary to having the skills to do the job effectively. As long as you have a decent command of English, and the experience/skills/qualifications to do the job, that is enough for most business positions here.

Well yeah, if u have some cash to spare, u can just come here for a month on a visit visa and try applying for jobs hoping it would slightly increase the chance of her getting hired.

Your physical location at the time when you apply really isn’t important at all, it’s only when you get called for a face to face interview that it really matters. With Covid easing, I expect F2F interviews to resume. I wouldn’t waste money to travel here unless you already have F2F interviews lined up.

And also, getting a diploma won't guarantee a job especially if it's from a private school in SG. But it could slightly improve the chance as studying here means she's getting used to the life, culture here and improving her English proficiency and stuff. So compared to her being totally an outsider, being a student here would give a different impression from recruiters.

Just about any relevant “internationally recognized qualifications” will do, studying locally really doesn’t give much of any leg up in terms of employer’s tendency to hire you, but it can sometimes help when it comes to MOM giving you an EP and eventually PR.

To get her a DP, you need to get some amount of salary if I'm not wrong. So if you can hit all the requirements of a DP then it's worth trying I suppose.

If you’re going to study here, you can get a student pass. If you’re going to work here, you will need a work pass. Dependent pass is for non-working family members of a work pass holder, and which family members can be brought with them can depend on the salary of the work pass holder. This is all well documented on the web.