Career Coaching

[Twist4576]

Hello. I'm currently trying to move to and find employment in Singapore. I, however, have had a hard time doing so, especially since I'm a foreigner. I wanted to reach out and ask if anyone knew of good career coaches or career coaching services that can help foreigners find employment. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

[Strong Eagle]

Hello. I'm currently trying to move to and find employment in Singapore. I, however, have had a hard time doing so, especially since I'm a foreigner. I wanted to reach out and ask if anyone knew of good career coaches or career coaching services that can help foreigners find employment. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

A career coach or counselor will be a complete waste of time and money. The odds of you, as a foreigner, finding a job by coming in cold and applying for a job, are right at zero. Note: If you're from India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and a few others, and you are looking to be hired as an unskilled laborer, you might have a chance.

But, I'm guessing that you're looking for an office job. I have been a moderator on this board for 20 years, and have seen hundreds of questions like, "How can I find a job in Singapore?"

The simple answer is that you almost certainly can't. Out of those hundreds of questions, I might be able to think of 5 or 10 that were actually successful.

First of all, the government doesn't want you. You take jobs away from local citizens. So any company that wants to hire a foreigner must pass several hurdles. They must advertise the job to Singapore citizens and then prove that they could not find any local talent.

If this turns out to be actually true, then you must meet certain minimum qualifications to be able to obtain a work permit. For the highest level of work permit, the employment pass (EP), you must generally be degreed, have plenty of experience, and be making a lot of money. See here for the qualifications. If you you're a junior grunt, you're not going to get that EP.

https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits

But, the companies don't want you either, if they can avoid it. You're too much trouble to interview remotely, beginning with time zone issues, and even if you come to visit, they still don't want to interview you because you are a foreigner.

The companies are obligated to send you back to your home country if you don't work out and they terminate you. You have no Singapore network and are not familiar with the work environment or Singapore culture. Expats usually want more money because of housing and transportation costs.

The vast majority of employment passes are issued to multi national companies who are transferring in employees from branches in other countries. If you really want to work in Singapore, your best bet is to go to work for a multi national in your country, and ask to be transferred to their Singapore branch.

So, save your money. And be aware that Singapore employment agencies are also absolutely not worth a shit when to comes to finding jobs for cold calling foreigners.

[Twist4576]

My apologies for my late response. Thank you Strong Eagle for your detailed response and words of caution as well as advice. I know the feeling of having many companies reject me, so I know the frustration. I appreciate your help.
Thank you zang2024 as well. These are all really good ideas. Hopefully one of them will work and I'll be able to find the job I want. I really appreciate it.

[hussondros]

Hello. I'm currently trying to move to and find employment in Singapore. I, however, have had a hard time doing so, especially since I'm a foreigner. I wanted to reach out and ask if anyone knew of good career coaches or career coaching services that can help foreigners find employment. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

A career coach or counselor will be a complete waste of time and money. The odds of you, as a foreigner, finding a job by coming in cold and applying for a job, are right at zero. Note: If you're from India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and a few others, and you are looking to be hired as an unskilled laborer, you might have a chance.

But, I'm guessing that you're looking for an office job. I have been a moderator on this board for 20 years, and have seen hundreds of questions like, "How can I find a job in Singapore?"

The simple answer is that you almost certainly can't. Out of those hundreds of questions, I might be able to think of 5 or 10 that were actually successful.

First of all, the government doesn't want you. You take jobs away from local citizens. So any company that wants to hire a foreigner must pass several hurdles. They must advertise the job to Singapore citizens and then prove that they could not find any local talent.

If this turns out to be actually true, then you must meet certain minimum qualifications to be able to obtain a work permit. For the highest level of work permit, the employment pass (EP), you must generally be degreed, have plenty of experience, and be making a lot of money. See here for the qualifications. If you you're a junior grunt, you're not going to get that EP.

https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits

But, the companies don't want you either, if they can avoid it. You're too much trouble to interview remotely, beginning with time zone issues, and even if you come to visit, they still don't want to interview you because you are a foreigner.

The companies are obligated to send you back to your home country if you don't work out and they terminate you. You have no Singapore network and are not familiar with the work environment or Singapore culture. Expats usually want more money because of housing and transportation costs.

The vast majority of employment passes are issued to multi national companies who are transferring in employees from branches in other countries. If you really want to work in Singapore, your best bet is to go to work for a multi national in your country, and ask to be transferred to their Singapore branch.

So, save your money. And be aware that Singapore employment agencies are also absolutely not worth a shit when to comes to finding jobs for cold calling foreigners.

It does sound really tough for foreigners to break into the Singapore job market . Did you already try networking with people working there directly (LinkedIn, expat groups, industry contacts)?

[Twist4576]

I have been networking with people there. I did contact some career coaches who have given me limited support. One person gave me a long phone call with great advice. I've also connected with recruiters in Singapore. But I still haven't gotten a job there despite these efforts. It's still a work in progress.

[Mujan]

A career coach or counselor will be a complete waste of time and money. The odds of you, as a foreigner, finding a job by coming in cold and applying for a job, are right at zero. Note: If you're from India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and a few others, and you are looking to be hired as an unskilled laborer, you might have a chance.

But, I'm guessing that you're looking for an office job. I have been a moderator on this board for 20 years, and have seen hundreds of questions like, "How can I find a job in Singapore?"

The simple answer is that you almost certainly can't. Out of those hundreds of questions, I might be able to think of 5 or 10 that were actually successful.

First of all, the government doesn't want you. You take jobs away from local citizens. So any company that wants to hire a foreigner must pass several hurdles. They must advertise the job to Singapore citizens and then prove that they could not find any local talent.

If this turns out to be actually true, then you must meet certain minimum qualifications to be able to obtain a work permit. For the highest level of work permit, the employment pass (EP), you must generally be degreed, have plenty of experience, and be making a lot of money. See here for the qualifications. If you you're a junior grunt, you're not going to get that EP.

https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits

But, the companies don't want you either, if they can avoid it. You're too much trouble to interview remotely, beginning with time zone issues, and even if you come to visit, they still don't want to interview you because you are a foreigner.

The companies are obligated to send you back to your home country if you don't work out and they terminate you. You have no Singapore network and are not familiar with the work environment or Singapore culture. Expats usually want more money because of housing and transportation costs.

The vast majority of employment passes are issued to multi national companies who are transferring in employees from branches in other countries. If you really want to work in Singapore, your best bet is to go to work for a multi national in your country, and ask to be transferred to their Singapore branch.

So, save your money. And be aware that Singapore employment agencies are also absolutely not worth a shit when to comes to finding jobs for cold calling foreigners.

Beyond just finding a job, what are some of the other challenges foreigners face when relocating to Singapore, and what advice would you give to prepare for them?

[Strong Eagle]

Beyond just finding a job, what are some of the other challenges foreigners face when relocating to Singapore, and what advice would you give to prepare for them?

The job is the big hurdle. You want to work in Singapore? Find a multinational with offices in Singapore, go to work for them, then ask to be transferred. It's about the only way you're going to get to Singapore.

Beyond that, your next largest problem is finding suitable housing and transportation. Not knowing anything about your financial status or expected rates of pay if you were working in Singapore, I can tell you that living in Singapore is generally not cheap for expats, particularly if you have children. If you've got lots of money, you can rent lovely condos or semi-D's... not so much money... it's more of a challenge.

[malcontent]

Back in the 2000’s it was not unheard of for people to waltz into Singapore on a social visit pass, get interviewed and offered a job on an EP. Those days are long over. Things got a lot tighter in the 2010’s and even more so into the 2020’s.

The last EP we hired at my employer who was in this boat (around 2-3 years ago) required a lot of time and effort. I advised the hiring manager in Switzerland what they would have to go through and how to justify hiring them (it was worth the trouble.. they have been a strong performer since).

[joylaurinatis]

Hi
I moved from Spain and although my English was good, it wasn't enough so I decided to learn advanced business English with a school online
If you have another language you could improve on, or learn, this could help you, depending on what job you're looking for.

[alexwill]

I think Strong Eagle and others have raised some very valid points about how difficult it can be for foreigners to break into the Singapore job market without first being hired or transferred by a multinational. It's better to keep networking on LinkedIn, attend online events, and try to join Singapore-based industry groups. Sometimes opportunities come from weak ties rather than formal applications.