Now more than ever, finding a job in another country is a lot more challenging than it used to be. It will be doubly difficult if you are just charting into the unknown and leaving luck to determine your fate.
SuGar Pinoy site has always been about shedding some light about working, living and succeeding in Singapore. We are happy that through this blog, we are reaching a wide audience that find our articles useful and informative. The author is quite pleased that through the information shared on this blog, some Pinoys are able to get a job and start living the good life here in Singapore. To you guys I say welcome and wish you all the best during your stay here.
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Send in your comments or suggested topics at sugarpinoy@gmail.com. Click on the links below for other useful Singapore and Pinoy information
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We all know that in today’s Information age, education is the best tool that we can ever have in order to succeed in our chosen career. Here in Singapore, the education system is considered on of the best in the world so a lot of “expat” students go here just for the sole purpose of completing their studies here.
What of foreigners then who did not graduate in Singapore but has a desire to build up a career here and make it big someday? Is work available? If so, does your school matter?
Being an open economy and one that considers foreign workers an integral part of its growth, Singapore welcomes anyone who has the desire to work here and contribute to its growth. Provided, of course, that the skills and necessary requirements are met, there is nothing that stops any foreign worker from building a career and making it big in this country.
For starters though, those that are going to Singapore as a first-time job-seeker, they will find it tough to compete in the job-market where different nationalities and different backgrounds vie for the same spot. Add to that the Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents who might be after the same position. What then?
Aside from experience, another competitive advantage that you can have is the school where you graduated. I mentioned that Singapore’s education system is one of the best in the world. It is because it’s structure is a bit different from say, the Philippines. Here in Singapore, only the best among the bests get into Universities as there are only about 4 universities here – NUS, NTU, SMU and SIM. Others are called Polytechnic.
And this is where the perceived advantage seems to be taking place. An applicant who is a graduate of “University” even if outside Singapore is, from what I heard, perceived to be of good caliber. The top 4 universities in the Philippines enjoy a good reputation here but other universities are doing ok as well.
So, next time you apply for work in Singapore, you might want to try highlighting the school where you graduated. If you have honors and a graduate of a very impressive degree, you might want to put an emphasis on that as well. It might just give you the result that you wanted.
Send in your comments or suggested topics at sugarpinoy@gmail.com. Click on the links below for other useful Singapore and Pinoy information
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One thing you have to be mindful of when you’re in another country is the place to stay. Sure, you have a friend or a relative staying in that country, but do you really want to just “hitch” with them forever? Do THEY want you to “hitch” forever?
In our previous article, Survival Techniques for Tourist Pinoy, we recommended that you stay first with a friend, relative, acquaintance or whoever while you’re still looking for a job. It saves you money plus it helps you deal with the initial bouts of loneliness you will feel being away with your loved ones for a long time. Now that you have a job already, it’s time for you to become independent and start living your life in Singapore. First thing you must do is look for a place where you can permanently stay. Here are your options:
1. Rent the spare room from your friend or relative. First option here is to check if the place you’re currently staying has a spare room which you can rent. This is the best option as you don’t need move your stuff from one place to another. Also, you are already familiar with the surroundings and the people you will be dealing with on a day to day basis. Plus, that place will most likely have TFC (The Filipino Channel) subscription so you can still watch your favorite Kapamilya shows.
2. Rent HDB Room. HDB stands for Housing and Development Board. It is the government agency here in Singapore in-charge of public housing. Most of the flats (apartment) here are built by HDB, hence, they refer to the flat as HDB. Renting an HDB room is a bit cheaper and normally, it already comes with basic room amenities like aircon, bed, closet, etc. Price range is around SGD400 – SGD700 depending on the location and your negotiation with the owner. Contract duration is typically 1 year and they normally require 1 month advance and 1 month deposit plus agent commission which is about ½ month. Overall, you need to shell out about 2 ½ months payment before you can move in. Tips: 1) Avoid agents. They are allowed here in Singapore and there are plenty of them. As much as possible, try to negotiate directly with the owner. That way, you don’t need to pay extra ½ month. 2) Also, try to negotiate that utilities bill be inclusive of the monthly rental fee. 3) Ask if they allow 2 persons in the room. Find a friend and split the rental fee with him/her. You can checkout PinoySG or ST701 for HDB room listings. The Saturday edition of the Straits Times newspaper is also a good source.
3. Rent Condominium Room. The process for renting HDB room is almost similar to renting Condo room. The only difference is rental fee is higher and condominium has better amenities. If the job you got allows you to spend a little bit more on a good room, then I suggest you get a Condo room. Generally, Condominium has amenities like swimming pool, gym, 24-hour security, etc. Price range is around SGD600 – SGD1,200 depending on the location and your negotiation with the owner. Also requires deposit, advance and agent commission. Follow the tips above and you’re good to go. You can checkout PinoySG or ST701 for Condo room listings. The Saturday edition of the Straits Times newspaper is also a good source.
4. Rent whole HDB unit. This is what most Pinoys prefer. The way to do this is to find a 3 or 4 bedroom HDB flat then find 3 or 4 friends to share the unit with. That way, all of you can split everything – from utilities to internet to house maintenance. Plus you can have fun because you will be sharing same interests and you can set your own rules. Good thing about Singapore, almost all HDB units for rent here comes fully furnished. Air-conditioned rooms, TV, washing machine, dining table, bed, etc. basically everything you need. All you have to do is bring your clothes and you’re good to go. Price range for whole unit is around SGD1,300 – SGD2,500 depending on location and number of rooms. Also requires deposit, advance and agent commission. One of the tenants must also be an EP (employment pass) holder or a PR (permanent resident). A friendly caution: Singapore sets maximum number of people to stay in a given HDB unit. They are strict about this so you must negotiate this very clearly with your landlord. If it is a 3-bedroom unit, try to negotiate maximum of 6 persons (2 per room) to stay even if you are just 3 at the moment. At least it gives you some leeway to add more people in the future. But once maximum number is set, make sure you do not go beyond the limit. You do not want to get into trouble because of this. You can checkout PinoySG or ST701 for HDB whole unit listings. The Saturday edition of the Straits Times newspaper is also a good source.
5. Rent whole Condominium unit. This is great if you have the money to pay for it and your family is already here. This is not an advisable option if you will be staying with friends as you will be tied up with at least 1 year contract. Who knows if before the contract expires, your friend decided to go back to Philippines or move to another company very far away from your place, etc. You do not want to be saddled with a responsibility to cover his share for the rent. That’s a very expensive proposition. If, however, you are stable and your family is here, condo is great. You have all the amenities provided above and you get to enjoy a certain prestige that comes with living in a condo. Price range for whole condo unit is around SGD3,000 – SGD8,000 depending on location and number of rooms. This is fully furnished and comes with basic condominium amenities mentioned above. Also requires deposit, advance and agent commission. One of the tenants must also be an EP (employment pass) holder or a PR (permanent resident). A friendly caution: Singapore sets maximum number of people to stay in a given Condo unit. They are strict about this so you must negotiate this very clearly with your landlord. If it is a 3-bedroom unit, try to negotiate maximum of 6 persons (2 per room) to stay even if you are just 3 at the moment. At least it gives you some leeway to add more people in the future. But once maximum number is set, make sure you do not go beyond the limit. You do not want to get into trouble because of this. You can checkout PinoySG or ST701 for Condominium unit listings. The Saturday edition of the Straits Times newspaper is also a good source.
Deciding on where to stay depends on several factors. Be guided with the right information and be smart with your decisions.
Send in your comments or suggested topics at sugarpinoy@gmail.com. Click on the links below for other useful Singapore and Pinoy information.
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Have you uttered these words before? “I know I am smarter than him, I have more years of experience and I certainly know how to do the job even if I’m half-awake. How come he gets the job while I get the snub?”
There are 2 possible answers to this question. One is: “Because he is the boss’ son”; and the other is: “Because your resume does not represent you in a very positive light.” We cannot do anything about the former so we’ll just focus on the latter. In this article, you will learn resume writing tips specifically aimed at getting a job in Singapore. It’s actually not that difficult and if you follow the tips outlined below, your dream job will come to you like a magnet. Here it goes:
1. Your resume should have the following sections:
Heading
Introduction
Career Summary
Professional Experience
Education
Personal particulars
2. Put important details in the heading. Don’t put picture. In the heading, make sure you use a big font to write down your name. It immediately attracts attention and increases the chance of the hiring manager remembering you. As much as possible, put a Singapore address, contact number and a professional sounding email address. If you’re still using cutie_me143@yahoo.com, it’s time to give this a break and opt for a more professional one like juana.delacruz@yahoo.com, believe me it will do you good. Also, it is not advisable to put your photo especially if it’s the first time you are submitting your resume to a prospective employer. Not putting a photo means your qualifications get better attention.
3. Grab attention with your powerful introduction. Page 1 of your resume is the most valuable page; make sure you have a powerful introduction that immediately captures your best asset in one sentence. Example: Charismatic leader known for ability to energize a team and produce impressive results. You can be creative in your intro. You can quote a famous individual, write your guiding principle or simply just describe yourself. Remember, your objective is to grab attention.
4. Offer a career summary that highlights your relevant experiences. In no particular order, write down in bullet points all relevant experiences you’ve had in your career. If you are just starting in your career, you may want to list down school experiences that tested your key qualities like leadership, creativity, resourcefulness, etc.
5. The form is as important as the substance. The substance is what you say, the form is how you say it. You may have excellent credentials complete with MBA or Ph.D under your belt but if in writing your resume, you use fonts like “Comic Sans” or your spacing and margin is in disarray, chances are, the hiring manager won’t even take 2 seconds reading your resume. Use professional looking fonts, observe proper spacing and indention, highlight relevant words or phrases, use bullets in enumerating your skills and major achievements. Bottom-line, keep it neat.
6. Your resume should just be 2-4 pages long. Unless you have been working for more than 20 years already, it is best to keep your resume between 2-4 pages long only. Remember, less is more. The less (but relevant) words you put in your resume, the more chance that the hiring manager will remember those words, and therefore remember you.
7. Learn the power of keyword search. Keyword search is the process wherein employers login to major job sites like Monster.com.sg and Jobsdb.com.sg and search for a resume relevant to what they are looking for. To do this, they will type words like “Sales Manager”, “IT Support Engineer”, “Call Center Specialist”, “10 years experience”, etc., then hit “Search” button. The system will then display all resume that contains these words and does a ranking based on relevance, usually based on the number of times that a particular keyword appeared on a given resume. If resume A has the word “Sales Manager” 10 times in it, while resume B has the same word 3 times in it only, resume A will be displayed first then B second. Of course, the resume that gets to be displayed first has the most chance of being viewed by the hiring manager and therefore get a chance to be interviewed. Learn the power of keyword search and modify your resume accordingly.
8. Remember: Less is more. That’s exactly it. Less is more. Need I say more?
The tips stated above are some proven ways to create an impressive resume. Of course, there is no single format or set of rules that dominate when it comes to resume writing. However, if after sending your resume to hundreds of companies you’re still not getting any requests for interview, the tips above might help you.
Happy job hunting!
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Many first time Pinoys and even the seasoned ones in Singapore are familiar with Streetdirectory.com. It is actually an easy to use website for people not familiar with the different places in Singapore. The website is so helpful and information is well organized that any first time Pinoys will not have a hard time going from one place to another. This tool is especially useful for first timers who need to attend several interviews but do not have enough budget to take a cab every time. Read on and learn how you can use this to your benefit.
All addresses in Singapore have a zip code / postal code. This 6-digit number is all you need and getting around will just be a cinch.
1. Go to http://www.streetdirectory.com/ and click on “Select More Services”
3. Type the postal code of where you will be coming from and where you want to go. (Note: You can also select and MRT station as starting point and postal code as destination point and vise versa) 
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