Job Search Progress in Singapore After 60 Days |

Job Search Progress in Singapore After 60 Days

Day 60 (July 16, 2013)

Today marks the two-thirds mark on my 90 day tourist pass in Singapore. 30 Days left to find a job or leave the country. When I initially moved here I thought it would be pretty easy to get an entry-level job to hold me over until I could find something better… Boy was I wrong!

When I arrived I was applying everywhere. Facebook, Universal Studios, SMRT, Expedia, Singapore Airlines, Delta Airlines, Apple, and many many many more. Applying for an assortment of positions, entry-level to senior, primarily in the fields of Logistics, Customer Service and Sales. Not one follow up! It wasn’t even until day 38 that I received any feedback from any of the jobs I applied for. I thought my phone and email were not accepting responses.

I asked myself why I was not receiving any responses? What was I doing wrong? My resume was good. I was including a cover letter, which was specific to each job and position I was applying for. What was the issue? After talking to friends and colleagues in Singapore I found out there were a few issues.

The first and most significant issue is the fact that I am a foreigner. The Ministry of Manpower, a government formed organization, oversees the workforce and workplace environment to insure a secure future for all Singaporeans. These securities include limiting the number of foreigners a company can hire depending on the company size and several other factors. Recently, I went to dinner with three colleagues from my previous company (2 Europeans and 1 Singaporean). They told me that recently Singapore has set more stringent guidelines making it even harder for foreigners. They informed me that their foreign quota was only 10-15%, which meant all of the foreigners they were allowed to hire were basically sitting at our very table. Even though this was not good news I still had to stay positive and look forward.

The second issues I diagnosed myself. On day 38 when I received my first response I asked myself why did that specific person follow up with me? Well it turns out that the week prior I lowered my salary request, as most applications here require you to enter an expected salary. International experience is what I am looking for so lowering my salary expectation was not an issue. I continued to keep my salary request at the lower mark on my future applications and received 2 more follow ups that week. Three follow ups in one week… Not bad since I did not hear anything the previous 5 weeks. Now was there anything else I was doing wrong?

There was one other thing that was pointed out to me on my second interview. The director who was interviewing me told me he liked my resume, but thought I was overqualified for the role. He wanted to interview me anyway as he thought my resume was good and he wanted to talk to me. So it seems I was underestimating my career level. I eliminated entry-level positions from my potential job prospects saving me a couple hours a day. All of the other positive follow ups I received before and after my second interview were all for mid to senior level positions so this move made sense. Plus did I really want to work in an entry-level position? Probably not.

Up to this point I have applied to 334 jobs (wow is right!). Out of these 334 applications I have received feedback from 12 (4 automated denials, 2 actual denials, 322 no responses and 6 interested employers). Out of the six interested employers, three were only allowed to hire Singaporeans or PR’s (Permanent Residents). The other three gave me the opportunity to interview. My most recent interview was today through a recruitment firm. I have an interview for a sales and marketing position through the recruitment firm on Thursday, which just so happens to be my birthday. A nice thought to think about on the long 18 stop journey home from the recruitment office.