Finance Management Jobs

pinoyboy · Post by **pinoyboy** » Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:33 am

My family joined me here in SG last July (they're on DP). My wife used to be hold a senior finance management position in a multinational insurance company back home. She's had several interviews with headhunters but no luck so far. Is this really difficult today to land a good finance management job in Singapore?

She recently checked with her previous company (also in the insurance industry) that has an office in Singapore and was offered a 6-month contractual position at S$5K/month. Obviously she'd prefer a permanent position and a better pay. She was receiving a much higher pay before and has seen that salaries here for managerial positions are higher than what she's been offered.

Should she take it or wait some more? The headhunters don't have anything for her at the moment and in several cases, was advised that she's too senior for some open positions. If she takes the offer for now, will it be possible to have a clause in her contract that will allow her to leave with a reasonable notice, say 1 month? Or will she required to complete the 6-month contract? If she takes it, will her relatively low salary be a disadvantage when looking for a new job?

pinoyboy · Post by **pinoyboy** » Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:44 am

Briefly, she's been a CPA for 16 years and also now a CMA. She's had 10 years experience in managing financial and accounting functions in the insurance industry. Prior to this, she was in auditing (external and internal).

SMS,
Any thoughts on her situation as an HR practitioner?

Girl_Next_Door · Post by **Girl_Next_Door** » Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:57 am

Not sure which insurance company your wife was working with previously, but a 6-month contract at $5k/month is definitely a very bad deal. A mid -level managerial position in a bigger insurance company will pay more than $5k. Your wife is probably working for an insurance company that is a very small player in Singapore.

Was her previous company a Life or General Insurance company? I know for Life Insurance company, they pay a fixed bonus of 2 - 3 months, hence, their basic salary tend to be a bit lower than other companies. If your wife is previously holding a very senior position in her previous company, earning substantially more than the $5k/month, I don't think its a good move to accept that offer. The insurance industry is VERY SMALL, everybody knows everybody (or at least have an idea who the other person is), especially for senior position. It will reflect very badly if she accepts a very low position in ABC insurance company, and try to get a higher position at a later date. I am not saying it is not possible, but I am saying it is going to be very difficult. Senior positions are not easy to come by, and generally takes a longer time to find. Unless you really need your wife to contribute to the income, it is probably worth waiting a bit longer.

Your wife should also explore working beyond the insurance industry... maybe fund management (since she is a CPA for 16 years) or banking sector. Insurance industry is not known to be the best pay master... if you know what I mean...

pinoyboy · Post by **pinoyboy** » Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:15 pm

Thanks. She's also exploring other industries but no firm interest yet.

Then again if she does not take the offer and waits further, will it be counted against her that she has been out a job for quite some time?

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:42 pm

pinoyboy,

Frankly, Girl_Next_Door's advice is pretty good. As far as waiting, if her primary reason for being out of a job was to re-unite with you here in Singapore, I think she would probably be viewed as pretty astute for not selling herself short. It would detract from her overall cachet if she "settled" for something that is less that her worth. As GND point's out, it's a situation that, if your financial loading is still buoyant, I think I would wait until something suitable came around. It might be a hard slog though. Only you two know how much outflow you all can stand. The explanation of why she's been out of a job is easily explained by the move to Singapore to re-unite the family.

At the end of the day, all we are giving here are thoughts and my thoughts aren't any more valuable that other's, as I am not a local, my interpretation of CV's and absences are often of different views the the local variety of HR practitioner!

sms

Girl_Next_Door · Post by **Girl_Next_Door** » Mon, 01 Sep 2008 1:59 pm

HR is not likely going to question too much about the "jobless" gap period, if there is a spouse job relocation involved. She can easily explained that she is bored at home and decided to go back to the workforce.

Does your wife know other people in her previous insurance company? There had been quite a few movements among the senior positions within the key insurance companies in singapore for the past 6 months, so she might get more luck socializing with her ex-colleagues who are in more senior positions, finding out which insurance company have a gap, that she can fill in.

Despite the perceived economic slowdown, there are still alot of recruitment going on within the financial sector. Honestly, with 16 years of experiences, holding a CPA and CMA, I seriously doubt your wife have a big problem finding a job. You might be using the wrong headhunter (ie he/she is not familiar with the insurance industry), or the wrong approach. Personally, I feel that jobs found in jobdb/monster tend to be for more junior positions, mid managerial position that don't pay a great deal. Since your wife is new in town, try circulating her CV among a few good/reputable headhunters (preferably via word of mouth), get her CV out there, and interviews should start coming in.

pinoyboy · Post by **pinoyboy** » Mon, 01 Sep 2008 5:38 pm

SMS and GND,
Your advice/opinion is much appreciated. It's mainly her lack of productivity during these 2 months that has her worried -- being out of a job is alien to her. But I'm no hypocrite -- whatever she gets will be a big help (at least for the rent!).

She's had some interviews with Kerry Consulting, Michael Page, Ambition plus a few more and her CV have been circulated to many headhunters. It's also in the eFinancialCareers.sg and has been viewed 20+ times by 15 distinct recruiters. Hopefully the right job will come and soon!

Her offer at her previous employer's office here in SG is a result of such networking/socializing with ex-colleagues. She's also aware of reorganization at a few insurance companies here so knowing who to approach/talk to should help. But this should be the headhunter's job, right?

Anwyay, your points are well taken and thanks again!

wisley · Post by **wisley** » Wed, 10 Sep 2008 1:07 am

For your info, not all headhunters are as professional as u might think of. If they can tell your wife that she must be willing to accept a lower pay, you can imagine what kind of contacts they may have in the insurance industry in singapore......

Maybe she should really try to mingle along with people in the industry and seek their advise and maybe recommendation can be done for her to be in some of the fund house in Singapore through these managers who are dealing with the fund house at times.....

Saint · Post by **Saint** » Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:22 am

pinoyboy wrote:SMS and GND,
Your advice/opinion is much appreciated. It's mainly her lack of productivity during these 2 months that has her worried -- being out of a job is alien to her. But I'm no hypocrite -- whatever she gets will be a big help (at least for the rent!).

She's had some interviews with Kerry Consulting, Michael Page, Ambition plus a few more and her CV have been circulated to many headhunters. It's also in the eFinancialCareers.sg and has been viewed 20+ times by 15 distinct recruiters. Hopefully the right job will come and soon!

Her offer at her previous employer's office here in SG is a result of such networking/socializing with ex-colleagues. She's also aware of reorganization at a few insurance companies here so knowing who to approach/talk to should help. But this should be the headhunter's job, right?

Anwyay, your points are well taken and thanks again!

Hi, just to share my recent experience of finding a job here. I have nearly 20 years experience in the Insurance market. When I started to seriously look for a position I quickly realised that Headhunters and Employment Agencies (even the big well known ones) were a complete and utter waste of time, most of the positions advertised on the net don't actually exist.

I did however manage to get a job with a major Insurer (started on Monday

) but that was directly by the company. I still had a nightmare trying to get the HR department to pass my CV to the right Business area manager but it all came good in the end!

Probably not a lot of help but keep trying!

wisley · Post by **wisley** » Wed, 10 Sep 2008 1:07 pm

Well.....headhunters are just people who base on their individual contacts. They might not really have the kind of job that you are looking for as they will just mix and match along the way and try to negoiate conditionson both side.......at such, may really need to be careful when being approached by heathunters or approach recruitment companies as your info will be circulate around.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Wed, 10 Sep 2008 9:31 pm

wisley, that just shows you don't have a clue......

Sometimes it's better to just keep quiet instead of looking like a dufus.

KneejerkBobby · Post by **KneejerkBobby** » Fri, 19 Sep 2008 9:08 am

5K to work in a reasonable managerial position in finance is rubbish. Although, given current market conditions you would be lucky to get a job in finance at all. You're now competing with many top Lehmans and Merrill employees.

Finance is seen as such an desirable career here in Singapore. All that is going to change very quickly, and there is going to be quite a surplus of finance talent in a stagnant marketplace. It's not ideal.

Best of luck.

woozel · Post by **woozel** » Fri, 19 Sep 2008 4:14 pm

Hi

I know my company is currently looking for a senior Financial Planning & Analysis person (management position) - if this may be of interest to her you can PM me with her cv.

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