Singapore Job hunting

[xtine]

^Sis, best of luck to you.  Try to also post in Pinoysg.com forum.  Baka merong pinoy na willing magparent ng room for a month.  Kasi malay natin diba, baka doon meron, at least pinoy pa kasama mo. 

[wannabepreggy]

Pa join po, si hubby interested mag apply sa SG.... Dapat ba anong minimum wage ang ia-accept if ever considering the high standard of living there?

[xtine]

^Sis, back read ka lang, natanong na kung magkano ang cost of living dito sa SG.  Pati narin kung dapat di bababa sa magkano ang sweldo.

[wannabepreggy]

^thanks sis! Nag post muna kase ko ng question before backreading, baka kase makatulugan ko, hehe...nakita ko na yung sagot 

[yapeegurl]

phurple0515, oo nga eh hindi ko din alam ano ba talaga ang basis nila other than the quota. Unsure if there are still other factors at kung ano ang priority nila. Di ko alam paano nila natri-trim down ang applicants.

krabby_patty, Kami din back in 2004 were mass hired from Pinas. Around 15 of us na magkaka officemate ay na-hire sa isang company dito. We were not sent at one go. I went to SG first in November 2004 tapos sunod sunod na ang pag dating ng officemates ko. Ngayon 4 na lang kami dito sa company namin. The rest moved on to another company. Adecco that time ang agency na kumuha sa amin from Singapore.

wannabepreggy, high standard of living siguro you'd want to earn 8k SGD starting with perks from the company like: permanent role, meron insurance benefits (dental, optical, hospital, death, disability) extended to your immediate family, meron travel allowance, 21 days annual leave, 3 months paid maternity leave, 13th to 15th month pay, with variable bonus, meron shares sa stocks ng company, on call allowance. I know one company who offers this. SAP does. I am sure marami pang ibang company diyan na mas maganda ang offer like free car/housing. But with this, I think solve ang high standard of living

[krabby_patty]

@yapeegurl You are very lucky. You've been there for a long time na pala! You're already a PR, I assume? How would you describe your experience working in Singapore? Did it take a long time for you to adjust? Okay naman ang treatment sa Filipino workers?

[yapeegurl]

krabby_patty, yes It took me a while bago ko nakita ang advantage ng PR I've been with 4 companies since 2004. So far lucky lang siguro ako to have maintained a very good relationship with my peers sa mga companies na nasalihan ko. I still keep in touch with my colleagues sa first company that I joined. Single pa ako noon when I went to Singapore. For the first (I'd say) 3 years wala akong naiipon hahaha Every cent goes to my payables sa pinas and mga 'wants' lol I began to learn saving up when we had a child in 2008. Para sa akin SG is not a place where you'd want to retire.

Re: Did it take a long time for you to adjust?. It took me a while. Siguro a year. Kasi at that time kaunti pa lang ang pinoy. Very few circle of friends. And shempre hindi pa abundant ang extra money to unwind. Nakaka homesick. And the first few years were super MAGASTOS pag umuuwi ng pinas. Until sa nalaman ko na ang trick to keep the expenses low pag umuuwi.

Re: Okay naman ang treatment sa Filipino workers?. YES! Para sa akin pareho lang ito ng pakikisama sa pinas or kahit saan man. Politics hindi mawawala sa kahit saang company. Very discrete nga lang dito sa amin (lucky!). And we also need to understand that foreigners pa din tayo sa SG kaya dapat medyo tamed. Country nila, rules nila.

I'd really recommend SG as a place to work to save. We need to be madiskarte paano natin ma-maximize ang dollar earnings natin. Kaya we always have to remember our main reason why we went to SG in the first place. Like sa case ko, gusto ko kasi makaipon at hindi na makabalik sa buhay mahirap But at the end of the day, iba pa din ang pinas. It's more fun in the Philippines! hahahaha

I hope this helps specially to those who are Job Hunting

[krabby_patty]

I have so many more questions for you @Yapee, thanks for taking the time to answer What industry do you work in? How old were you when you moved to Singapore in 2004? What's a typical work day like for you?

I booked MNL-SNG-MNL plane tickets last March actually but I wasn't able to go so na forfeit siya. Na-chicken ako. I still have a lot of qualms about moving kasi. I have a small business here in Manila, my job here is okay (not super good but not bad either) and pinaka major factor I guess is that my family and boyfriend are here. I wasn't 100% ready to let go of those. My SG-based friends were nice enough to refer me to landlords but wala talaga akong nahanap na place to stay. I prefer to have my own room sana.

[yapeegurl]

krabby_patty, I'll send you a PM na lang

[happygirl02]

Hello Sisses, Just also want to ask for advice. I am a fresh grad (graduated last April) and I am now working in an offshore company here in SG. The thing is I am not fulfilled with what I am doing right now though the salary is really high. I am planning to go back to the Philippines and pursue my career there. Before I leave for SG, I have very nice offers; salary and career wise, but I am still kinda torn what to choose. High salary with a not so good career experience and work environment or a not so high salary but a very nice training and work environment? Thank you

[hanson15]

very lucky ka sis! Saan ang company mo? dami naghahanap ng work sa sg pero walang makuha like me 6 years na nasa it ganito pa rin. Anyway sis piliin mo nalang kung ano mas gusto mo talaga. Kasi dito naman sa pinas laging hiring ang mga It companies.  Anong 2 company ba tong tinatanong mo baka alam ko? kasi mahirap mag suggest pero since bata ka pa mas more of career developement and experience ang hanap mo.

[happygirl02]

very lucky ka sis! Saan ang company mo? dami naghahanap ng work sa sg pero walang makuha like me 6 years na nasa it ganito pa rin. Anyway sis piliin mo nalang kung ano mas gusto mo talaga. Kasi dito naman sa pinas laging hiring ang mga It companies.  Anong 2 company ba tong tinatanong mo baka alam ko? kasi mahirap mag suggest pero since bata ka pa mas more of career developement and experience ang hanap mo.

Offshore company sis around tuas. Ang hirap din kasi in working abroad, career development is really slow.  Kapag abroad kasi ang bagal ng career development and here in SG ang training ay hindi masyado focused ineexpect nila na alam mo na lahat unlike sa Philippines which is according nga sa survey ang universities natin ay pineprepare ang students for training in the real world dito kasi hindi hands on when it comes to training. Also, because of the diversity of culture, the work environment is not so "at home" o yung comfortable feeling na may close friends ka and family-like. Ayun, so medyo not so fulfilling though very promising ang salary. Any opinions sa mga sisses natin dyan?

[hanson15]

pakilist ng hinahanap mo sa company so i can provide my input kung ano hanap mong IT company.

[bratty]

@happygirl02 maybe di ka pa lang nakakapag-adjust. Are you working in Keppel? If I were you sis, I'd stay muna, sa totoo lang, pag nakapagwork ka sa pinas ng medyo matagal at naging stagnant na career at sweldo mo, mapapa-isip ka din mag-abroad. Consider yourself very lucky, at maaga ka nabigyan ng chance na magwork sa company mo ngayon Good luck sis.

[nocturnalgal]

5 years in SG and I am leaving soon.. mixed emotions but yea, i think  its for my own good kasi andami na talaga tinatanggal na IT jobs from SG duet to the high cost of living here, minumove na nila to either India or Poland..apart from that, nagiging stict na talaga MOM on hiring and keeping foreigners, I am quite secured in wherever I am now but everyday I wake up thinking about how long will I be secured like this coz its like anytime I'll get kicked out..

like what the others said, SG is a very good place to save money if your goal is to go back to PH. but if you are planning to settle down here,get a house, car, have kids.. unless your total household income is 17k SGD a month onwards, I think it's quite hard to live comfortably..

[krabby_patty]

Thanks again for being very helpful @yapeegul and @xtine

[yapeegurl]

happygirl02, if you were to ask me, I'd choose the high paying job. This is because I have few mouths to feed What I wanted to say lang is, it depends on your priority. Kapag meron ka na kasi own family, your priority changes. Pero kung single ka pa and no other obligations, I would say choose a job that can give you career advancement. Habang maaga pa and habang bata ka pa. Kasi by doing so, you'll achieve the high paying job din naman sooner or later. I agree din na majority ng companies dito ay walang empathy ang peers Culture na kasi nila. Hindi tulad sa atin, ang saya saya pag lunch break at uwian. Dito kanya-kanya talaga. You have to make an effort kung paano ka magiging happy dito. But when I was your age, ang pinili ko ay high paying job simply because I wanted to invest early. I wanted to secure my future and my children's future at an early age. So it goes back to your priorities. Tama si sis bratty, you're very lucky to have been given that opportunity. Weigh mo na lang kung saan ka magiging happy. And dapat firm ka sa decision mo so that you won't have any regrets in the future Hope this helps.

nocturnalgal, May ilan nga din akong officemates who moved to Hong Kong just recently dahil sa sobrang takot nila na hindi marenew ang pass nila. Previously kasi nareject ang residency application nila. But when they moved to Hong Kong, hindi sila ganon naging happy. Mas maganda pa din daw sa SG. Hong Kong kasi parang ok at enjoy kapag tour. It's another story if you actually live and work there.

krabby_patty, you're most welcome!

[jahjah19]

hello sisses! i have read n mahigpit n s SG pero is there a successful applicant kaya n nakakuha ng work at pass? I am in architecture field and would like to try in SG. Galing n din ako sa overseas jobs for 5 years.

sana po may mag reply. take care and god bless us all!!

[nocturnalgal]

@ yappeegurl, yea, hands down SG ako over HK anytime. may officemate din ako na lumipat dun, di nakatagal, buti pumayag yung boss nya to move him back to SG office.

Im in IT sa isang bank, nagrereact na din even huge companies sa MOM rules and prohibitions. Yung company namin either Poland or India or Raleigh yung punta ng IT. Ang goal nila is by 2015 very less na yung IT function sa SG, every 2 months, may malalaman ka na dissolved team. I was eating the other night sa hawker, may 3 pinoy sa kabilang table, I overheard them talking, pinag uusapan din nila lay offs, from a big bank din sila, parang hanggang October end na lang yung team. It's just sad, nadea-dead end yung career ng karamihan kasi ang tendency sa nangyayari is to choose to stagnate, nag iintay matanggal kesa mapabalik sa pinas.

[jahjah19]

kamusta po mga jobhunters natin ngaun s sg? hope ok [textspeak!] lahat...godbless!!