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 =)