What Can I expect ?? EP , SALARY RANGE a few clarifications.

[Prasanna.IFM]

Dear Expats,

Its a good forum and acess to all the information available about Singapore makes it much user friendly.

I am relatively new to Singapore. I have 6 plus years of Work experiences in Integrated Facility Management Services across Asia Pacific Region. I have worked from india to Australia and Dubai. I have got my EPEC approved because of my Masters Research in Queensland Uni of Technology, Australia.

I have been attending interviews for last 2 months but its always these questions which comes as standard replies.

1. Local /Singaporean / Malaysian or PR is wanted
2. The demand for my jobs are very well in the market and the pay is also good. I offer myself in a lesser salary bracket to gain a footing into the job market.
3. I have an expectation of 2500 $ plus and or Negotiable, but looking only at getting an EP Pass and not S or Workpermit passes.

Clarifications :-

1. Is my expected salary too high ?
2. Is only locals able to enter the Facility Management industry in Singapore ?
3. I am also well versed in HR and Project management ? How far will the job market accept me as a candidate by breaking the thumb rule of Nationality ?...

Kindly help me or point me in the right direction. Your help in answering or referencing or redirecting me to the right source is much appreciated with a thanks ..

[Ecchi]

I think your expectation is too low....

Your expectation will scared off the company that willing to hire you (because you have 6+ years experiences + Master from Australia)...

Expectation for S$3.5K and above should not be a problem for you....

[revhappy]

Masters in Australia is no big deal. Australian universities or for that matter most develped world universities look for cash rich students from emerging countries as they pay higher fees than the locals so unless its a skill that is rare to find in Singapore its tough luck.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Yep, Masters here are a dime a dozen. And no, you didn't get your EPEC based on your masters. You got it based on your Bachelors. Too many Masters are gotten through correspondence and the government tends to look down on them. Employers do to. They are used to people who think their Masters should give them special rights. Unless your masters is an Ivy League or a Cambridge/Oxford Masters, well, lets say it viewed like an Indian Dental degree. Or for that matter all Asian Dental degrees (the only one recognized in Singapore is the one in Hong Kong.).

[Prasanna.IFM]

Dear Revhappy to answer your question, I am not any cash rich student to spend on Australian Education to get my Masters. I got it purely through Merit and 2 subjects exempted fees payment cause of my distinction. Again am no No1 rank student. Purely through experience I got my insight to enhance my knowledge further.

Dear Sunday Morning Staple - To answer your question, Master are not dime a dozen, but countless to be precise in nay country. Its how you got and what prompted you. You are wrong in specifying how i got my EPEC. It was for the Masters degree i had earned and its very well stamped on my epec about the governing institution i had acquired my Masters. I dont need any special authentication to be looked cause i have a masters to back me up. The last part of Indian degree is not a good term to be used being a Moderator cause it may look offensive to any of the EXPAT visiting the site here.

To both of you, this site is here and the posts are created for solving and identifying the issues rather than making a critic note. My questions are simplified and I have given out my profile with my degree and experience. Neither of you have failed to tell me what is the thing to overlook and proceed further in terms of getting a job and the ways to it.

Like my friend ECCHI who has clearly said dont lower yourself on the salary part. Those are the answers that I want my friends and thanks for your views once again.

[Prasanna.IFM]

Dear REVHAPPY - Thanks for your reply. I know you had a generalized opinion about your reply but I just want to tell you, not always 100 percent of people going for the higher studies are rich. Also about the skill set part you are right, I had found and compared and my skill sets are quite matching to the high standards of Singapore Facility Industry due to my Asia Pacific Experience of 6 years and plus. So I havent given up my progress but attending interviews strongly and purging hard to get employed here in Singapore.

[Plavt]

The last part of Indian degree is not a good term to be used being a Moderator cause it may look offensive to any of the EXPAT visiting the site here.

There was nothing offensive in that statement; note sms's last statement;

the only one recognized in Singapore is the one in Hong Kong

For comparison Britain does not recognize degrees aquired in Nigeria or The Philippines and maybe a good number of other countries.

[Mad Scientist]

Dear Expats,

Clarifications :-

1. Is my expected salary too high ?
2. Is only locals able to enter the Facility Management industry in Singapore ?
3. I am also well versed in HR and Project management ? How far will the job market accept me as a candidate by breaking the thumb rule of Nationality ?...

Prassanna

First of all, please accept criticism with a pinch of salt. Do not get agitated by our comments as we have seen these time after time until the cows went home and jumping over the moon.
If we tell you what you want to hear, you will fall flat on the ground with the rejections that you will get.
What we said is the truth nothing but the truth so help me GOD !!
Answer No. 1 : YES and NO
Answer No. 2: YES BIG YES
Anwer No. 3: NOT much diff . There are abundance of locals with your expertise.
Locals are easier to hire. Foreigners unless you have something that the locals cannot do. The Employers has to bend backwards to get your approval with MOM and justify why you are needed for your would be employer operation. That does not mean you will get the job as MOM will have the last say.
It is harsh but this is reality.

[Prasanna.IFM]

Dear Mad scientist and Play T.

Thanks for ur reps. I do take the criticism as they only strengthen you to go further. I totally agree with you who have much experience in answering these topics. iI didnt get offended but merely stated the fact that EPEC recognizes talent across the world to come to Singapore and contribute to its growth further. I mean which country is offering anything as unique as singapore does? None to be honest as far as I know. I am not someone with enough dough behind me to sustain my stay in Singapore. I am a worker with more attitude to win the task of getting my job done in Singapore and am willing to get my hands dirty. I merely had to agree to 2600 for getting a foot in, I know the job he had described requires a mammoth task of planning and implementation though. I believe I have special skill sets in Facilities and HR to ensure growth and contribution in large to the society we serve everyday. Thats is my Long term plan and to get to this I dont mind getting into low salary to start so that I dont scare away the recruiters who may then wish to go for the locals inspite of me where Mad Scientist has mentioned clearly to hire me I should have something that locals dont have.

Thank you for your opinion and I also apologize to Rev Happy and Sunday Morning Staple had i hurt them with my opinion.

Kindly tel me the ways to overcome the hindrances here. You have answered the setbacks are special skill sets and also the salary part. How to format the CV according to Singapore standards ?. Is there any other links to enhance and know more about the facility management industry in Singapore?.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Dear Sunday Morning Staple - To answer your question, Master are not dime a dozen, but countless to be precise in nay country. Its how you got and what prompted you. You are wrong in specifying how i got my EPEC. It was for the Masters degree i had earned and its very well stamped on my epec about the governing institution i had acquired my Masters. I dont need any special authentication to be looked cause i have a masters to back me up. The last part of Indian degree is not a good term to be used being a Moderator cause it may look offensive to any of the EXPAT visiting the site here.

Regarding my statement about recognized degrees (Dental degrees, as I specifically mentioned), following please find two links to help you understand just what you are really up against.

http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/careers.aspx?id=264

http://www.sdc.gov.sg/html/MungoBlobs/7 ... 108%29.pdf

And this link to help you understand that there are many who have come before you who are also well qualified but.......

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic70820.html

As for apologies, none are needed. I've had a lot worse from some who are a lot better. We run into posters every week who are full of themselves. This is good. But we have tell it like it is. It would be criminal to say otherwise and maybe cause somebody to stuff his current life on the "chance" that they will get a job because we said it was a bed of roses here. Especially when the reality of it is that they are making it harder and harder as time goes on. Probably by the 3rd quarter of 2011 things will ease up a bit but there you go. You might get lucky, you might not. There are no guarantees. Even when you have the best credentials in the world, if the employer cannot justify it, it's going to be no go, EPEC or not. An EPEC, if you read the site carefully, tells you it doesn't guarantee you will get a job. It just guarantee you wont get rejected for you own qualifications. But the Employment Pass is a two part process in as much as the Employer has to qualify as well. Good thing to remember........

There is no special format for a Singapore CV. Just the facts as are relevant to the position being applied for. Be careful of the embellishments as a good HR Manager will ferret them out and find out the truth of the matter and you wont even know it.

[sparkling]

For the covering letter, it is best to use plain simple English rather than unwieldy long sentences with big words.

[sundaymorningstaple]

In other words, Shakespearean English with all the flowery flourishes is frowned upon. In fact, that's why that abortion of a language, singlish, came about. It's short. Their train of thought cannot handle long drawn out responses.

Or, just used the KISS method of writing. Keep It Simple, Stupid!

[Prasanna.IFM]

Well as per the KISS method, thanks for the suggestions, I have modified my resume. Is there anyone or any member who is in Facility Industries so that, I can ask him / her their opinion about the job market, hierarchies and expectation as an International candidate for open market in Singapore. I also do understand the EPEC is not a pass for getting a job guaranteed, however, if i place my salary higher, i get standard reply as locals can work for lesser amount, but i have certain exceptions in my work pattern which I found once again in Singapore to be missing when it comes to Standardization in Facility industry as such. So am banking on a moderate salary to start with to get myself pushed and leverage on the experience to fetch myself a good volume in the market ahead of years to come. Kindly suggest the ways to look forward.

[sundaymorningstaple]

If the standard reply is "we can get local's for less" then you are going to, quite possibly, have a problem getting an EP approved unless the company is very adept at creating a plausible reason for wanting to hire a foreigner. Raising or lowering your monetary requirements won't be a determining factor if there are locals here that can do the job.

But in answer to you question, I don't know of anybody in that industry who you might tap for information. But, my guess is, if it is a competitive industry, it's doubtful that they would give you any information that might be used to get a leg up here.

AS for how many positions there are here? Good question. Have you tried the major job boards to see how many are listed?

[ksl]

Facilty Management covers a broad industry sectors, and your 6 years experience is in which sector, medical, hotel, tourism?... It would be more helpful if you could detail the experience you have in the sector and which sector are aiming for?

You have no reason to set a salary, just negotiable should be enough, with incremental reviews based on performance. Lower salary to get a foot in the door is okay if it is negotiated, though don't be submissive, as it is your character you are negociating with. So aim for a win win