How difficult is it to get a sales job in Singapore?

[swe10]

I've recently moved to Singapore for work and the plan is that my boyfriend will move here within a month to look for a job as well.

He has had qualified jobs within sales and leadership for about 10 years with good results, he's hoping to get a more qualified job here as well but he's very open-minded! It doesn't even have to be within sales.

So, how long do you guys think it will take a professional Scandinavian in his thirties to find a job here? For example, do you know any employers that are more likely to hire foreigners?

Have you got any advise to share?

Thanks,
Maria

[Strong Eagle]

Selling what?

[ksl]

You need 5 posts before you can use the PM function.

[Ryan_]

[b]To answer the Q: How difficult is it to get a sales job in Singapore?[/b]

I have observed that most of the global companies that has presence here in Singapore has it local counterparts.. from the senior management level to the decision maker when you will sell a certain product or services.

It is a great advantage for you if you can speak or can understand the Chinese-English language - sometimes they intend to mix some Chinese words to the English sentence when they felt that they want to keep the conversation between its fellow local counterparts.. sometimes when you have a sales presentation to local audience some of them will side comment using their language so if you will miss it then you can't get a hint if you're doing good or not on your sales pitch. I think that if you don't have the Chinese language skills (although most of them are English speakers) it might be a challenge for you to make a sale that's why learning the basic understanding about the Chinese language is an advantage. That's one reason I can think of why it is difficult to get a sales job in Singapore specially with a foreign tongue. BUT if your hubby is a Salesman for so many years then he should know what he is dealing with. Goodluck :)

[Strong Eagle]

To answer the Q: How difficult is it to get a sales job in Singapore?

I have observed that most of the global companies that has presence here in Singapore has it local counterparts.. from the senior management level to the decision maker when you will sell a certain product or services.

It is a great advantage for you if you can speak or can understand the Chinese-English language - sometimes they intend to mix some Chinese words to the English sentence when they felt that they want to keep the conversation between its fellow local counterparts.. sometimes when you have a sales presentation to local audience some of them will side comment using their language so if you will miss it then you can't get a hint if you're doing good or not on your sales pitch. I think that if you don't have the Chinese language skills (although most of them are English speakers) it might be a challenge for you to make a sale that's why learning the basic understanding about the Chinese language is an advantage. That's one reason I can think of why it is difficult to get a sales job in Singapore specially with a foreign tongue. BUT if your hubby is a Salesman for so many years then he should know what he is dealing with. Goodluck

I think this is a ton of BS. The real questions are:

a) What are you selling? If you're into furniture, plumbing, blah, blah, and your intent is to sell into local business, you're in for a tough time. Like most places in the world, local relationships matter. OTOH, if you're into IT/tech/pharma/chemicals, then MNC's will be interested in you because it's a hot button right now.

b) Can you close? Lots of people get leads, not so many make target. If you can demonstrate superior closing skills, especially with larger deals, you will be welcomed with open arms because a fundamental problem in the MNC world is finding people who can close the valuable deals.

[BillyB]

Hi Swe10,

SE is right - we need more info to be able to answer your question.

Is your hubby qualified academically and what is his industry? I mean, is he technically sales focused, product focused, service led, business development etc.

What type of expectations does he have in terms of salary etc?

Bear in mind that salespeople are ten a penny and you are competing with the local candidates also. Good salespeople are very rare. Everyone thinks they can sell....very few can actually sell.

It is worth looking at the mom.gov.sg website to find an outline of the requirements in Singapore to obtain an Employment Pass.

Ignore the comment about the Chinese language, no one I deal with or have ever dealt insists on this. It has never been a barrier to the markets unless you are selling into mainline China or Taiwan, and even there you will find that the majority converse in English, somewhat broken, but at least its universal.

Good luck in your job hunting.

[swe10]

Hi Swe10,

SE is right - we need more info to be able to answer your question.

Is your hubby qualified academically and what is his industry? I mean, is he technically sales focused, product focused, service led, business development etc.

What type of expectations does he have in terms of salary etc?

Bear in mind that salespeople are ten a penny and you are competing with the local candidates also. Good salespeople are very rare. Everyone thinks they can sell....very few can actually sell.

It is worth looking at the mom.gov.sg website to find an outline of the requirements in Singapore to obtain an Employment Pass.

Ignore the comment about the Chinese language, no one I deal with or have ever dealt insists on this. It has never been a barrier to the markets unless you are selling into mainline China or Taiwan, and even there you will find that the majority converse in English, somewhat broken, but at least its universal.

Good luck in your job hunting.

Of course it's hard to tell from my short message, I was more interested to hear if it 's difficult for foreigners to a job in Singapore, and if they do, if it's hard to get a work visa.

He's most experienced in B2B sales and has worked within the fitness/health industry for most of the time, but he's also worked as a store manager for electronic/tech stores.

I appreciate your response.

Maria

[singaporeflyer]

I was more interested to hear if it 's difficult for foreigners to a job in Singapore, and if they do, if it's hard to get a work visa.

If this was what you were looking for, then there are many threads in the PR/Visa Section that details about this.

Please refer the PR/Visa/Passes Thread