The interviews

There are basically 2 kind of interviews. First, the conventional way where the company calls you down to their office and the hiring manager interview you face-to-face. The second is a bit uncommon but some companies do the interview by phone/video call. Some company might even do both, where the first one is phone and the second interview is face-to-face.

As for my case, I had 2 interviews, and both of them were done face-to-face. My 1st interview was with the company's MD and the engineering managers, while the 2nd interview was merely a finalization where they gave me the offer letter, signed it, guided me on my EP yada yada. Most of you might be wondering what EP is, but we will get to that part later, not this post.

Anyway, like I wrote in my previous post, some Malaysians actually do go to Singapore and stay there with their vacation visa (valid for 30days) for jobhunting. So, it will be easier for them to go to places, drop resumes, HAVE A SINGAPORE ADDRESS WRITTEN IN THEIR RESUME(this is a big advantage), and go for the interviews once they are called. Although, this method is proven to be very expensive and quite risky, because accommodation aint cheap here in singapore, and if you fail to get a job within that period, you might actually lose about RM4-5k easily. And that one month is a non productive month where you are not generating income!! Not to to forget you do not have a job back in Malaysia too.

However, for my case, I was still working with my previous employer when I was job hunting. So I had to go down to Singapore for my interview and return back to Malaysia on the same day to save on accommodation. If you live around JB, it might not be that hard because its only like 1 bridge away from Singapore. If you are living from central Malaysia like me, you can use a coach other than the plane. The journey will take you about 6hours (including custom process). There are 2 most frequently used coach services,

1. Aeroline Service

2. First Coach

If you look up their websites, both of these companies have different departures and different stops. If you use Aeroline your stop will be Harborfront and Novena if you are using firstcoach. Both of them are basically shopping malls with MRT stations underground. So there will be no problem transportation from these places. Aeroline have more frequent trips especially the Chorus Hotel->SG->Chorus Hotel route while first coach has less trips frequency. But, Aeroline's ticket is a bit more expensive compared to firstcoach. 

For my interview last time, I took aeroline coach at 8am, arrive in Singapore about 2pm, then walk around a bit and change to my work attire before i go to my interview at 6pm. I took a bus straight away after my interview to take my 8pm coach to Malaysia. I remember my second interview was on Monday, where I arrived back in Malaysia at about 2am in the morning and go to work on the next day. 


Personally, I think going for a job interview in Singapore is an investment. You might get the job, or you might not. If you do the math,1 2-way trip to Singapore is going to cost you about RM180-200. It will cost you twice as that if you had to go for a 2nd interview like me. That was a big amount of ringgits for a fresh graduate that earning peanuts like me. Oh well, it was one of the best investments I have ever made =)

Jobhunting

Okay, lets start from the very basic, first step of the many tricky steps. Of course in order for you to work here you need to have a job here. That one is a no brainer. Even a stray dog on the curb knows this. But how to find the opportunities and where to find them?????? 


WEBSITES


Well, the easiest and the most convenient way is to look for them over the internet. 3 most famous websites are :

1.1 http://www.jobstreet.com.sg/

1.2 http://jobscentral.com.sg/

1.3 http://sg.jobsdb.com/sg

However i don't really fancy using the last one because quite a lot of  doubles and spam-looking ads. Although these websites are convenient as you can just click-and-send your resume easily, there is a downside for these sites. Its basically because there are tens of thousands of people out there, including the natives(Singaporeans) that also think and do the same. and sometimes some of the ads are already expired/closed. So it will be much better if you go straight away to the company's website and e-mail the HR/Hiring Manager your resume. Or,you can jot down the company's address and snail-mail them. I heard people sez it is the bestest way of doin it. 

During my jobhunting time, i have never actually snail mail any companies, mostly i looked up the companies info then i e-mailed them. If any of you are going to do it this way i wish you all the best because I remember sending out 50+ resumes and only got 1 reply. 

However, do not get demotivated with that fact and numbers my fellow friends, because there are still 2 other ways for you to find a job in this republic. 


2. NEWSPAPER


The next method is through local newspaper. This is possibly the most effective way because most of the company that advertised their job in the newspaper usually need people urgently. Furthermore, there are so few people that buy and read newspaper nowadays, so less competitors compared to finding one over the net. lol. But, the tricky part is how to get a hold of the local newspaper when you are not in Singapore? yeah that one I cannot help you. This method is only applicable for people that go to Singapore, stay here for like weeks-a month just for job hunting. I know some Malaysians do it this way.




RECRUITMENT AGENCIES

The last method is using agencies. This one is the one that i least favoured, because these people will always lowballing you says you lack exp lack this lack that and lower you salary to get their maximum profit. Well, if you are a graduate from Japan like me, you can try either of these :

2.1 http://www.pasona.com.sg/

2.2  http://www.jac-recruitment.sg/

Again, even being a Japanese speaker didn't help me much landing a job using these 2 services. Its quite frustrating because back in Malaysia, JAC malaysia have been calling me like day and night even when I was still in Tokushima, asking me whether I already have a job, cos they have plenty of opportunities bla bla bla. The agents name were Jenny and Stephanie. Man they were so annoying. Everytime i have to answer them i have already accepted an offer from this lame company name C*n*n. haha

hunting for a job in Singapore was quite depressing back then because i know that being a Japanese speaker in Malaysia makes me the hot shit, every Japanese company wants me to work with them, the only downside is they are paying peanuts. lol. But it is totally different here, the Japanese speaker ace card just doesn't work. I will explain to you the reason why in future post. In online forums some malaysians say that sending out your resumes with a Malaysian address decrease you chances by A LOT. Anyway its all good now since i managed to secure a job here, and feel very lucky that i managed to do so with only 4 months job experience.


Of course these 3 methods are not the only methods available. there are many other methods such as having an uncle who knows a hiring manager here or even better, borned as a relative to an MD or a GM in a company here. Good Luck!

Prologue

The time i'm writing this post, it has only been about 2 weeks since i started working in Singapore. I come from a technical background, and i get my degree in chemical engineering from some not so popular Uni in Japan. Thus, I am able to speak Japanese and most Japanese that i have met said my Japanese is amazing. So I think it is safe to say I have an amazing Japanese language proficiency. Although i have to admit that my English is no where near good, hence i'm writing this blog in English to help me practice and improve a bit.


As of now, my main purpose of writing this blog is merely to share my experience of hunting for a job in Sg, and actually working in Sg. Being a Muslim and a Malay, and of course a graduate from Japan Uni, i might focus a bit more insight on those particulars. 


Maybe once in a while i'll pretend to be like a pro and write about investment, properties or etc. Or, maybe this blog is my chance to talk about my cuban cigar session. But, i've been running short on my cigars recently so that part might be a lil bit later.


And yes, I created this blog so that i will have things to do/look/surf/write when i got bored in this small little room of mine.