Work Pass part 2

Hi, remember in part 1 I wrote about Work Pass classification (WP,S-Pass, Emplyment Pass) and I have mentioned the salary range is as follows :

    WP       : Below 2000
    S-Pass  : S$2000-2800
    EP        : S$2800 and above

This guideline actually implemented on 1st of July 2011. Before that the salary requirement for each pass is lower and used to be like this :

    WP       : Below 1800
    S-Pass  : S$1800-2500
    EP        : S$2500 and above

The reason why they increased this salary requirement is because of the very high influx of foreigners into the country, not just for hard labours but also for professional positions. This has been an issue lately since their fresh graduates have to compete with foreigners that are willing to do the same work with lower pay. Even though the guideline has been revised recently (July), I guess due to a lot of pressure from the citizens, it has been increased again and will be effective from 1st of January 2011. The new salary requirement will be as follows :

    WP        : Below 2000
    S-Pass   : S$2000-2999
    EP (Q1)  : S$3000-4499
    EP (P2)  : S$4500-7999
    EP (Q1)  : S$8000 and above

The way I see this thing, it could be a double edge sword. If i were looking for a job, I could ask for $3000 starting pay and give this requirement issue as a leverage and excuse to justify my expectation. Lets assume that currently I am earning $2500 ( barely passed the previous req.), and my EP is going to end on next September. After 1 year of working, and before my EP expire, perhaps I could ask my employer to give me $500 increment to retain my status as EP holder. If they are not willing to do so, I could easily go find another job and put $3000 as expected salary (It is considered reasonable for an engineer with 1y exp to earn $3000 monthly in Singapore). I can't really say for sure, but I think if you play this thing right, it can actually benefit you. I guess we'll see what happens next September =)

Okay, for this post I will write about the chronology on how to apply for the work pass.

1. Get the job
First thing first, you have to get a job first.

2. The company will apply the Work Pass for you
Like I have mentioned before, your future company will apply the pass for you, because the pass is only valid when you are working with the company that did the application, if you are going to change company, you will have to reapply a new pass even when your pass still have some time before expiry. Your company will ask for the informations needed for this application.

3. In Principal Approval (IPA)
You should get your IPA within 1-14days after your application. In my case, it only took me 1 day. Your company will get the reply from Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and they will forward you the e-mail. There will be a Medical check-up form attached together with the IPA. Remember that this is only in-principal approval letter, you still need to pass the medical check-up before you can actually get the work pass. However, You actually can start working once you have received this letter. This letter is valid for 2months if im not mistaken.

4. Medical check-up.
Easy step, go to any Hospital that have this service. I went to Raffles Hospital in Bugis. Wait for about 3-4days for the blood and X-ray result (no urine test) and give the result to your HR dept. They will key-in the data and do whatever they have to do. They will revert back to you and pass you a printed letter from MOM that will tell you what to do next

5. Appointment with Employment Pass Services Centre (EPSC)
The letter will tell you to book an appointment via online, can't remember the site but it was written in the letter. Just follow the instructions given, but the earliest date you might get will be in another 7days because there are usually fully booked. EPSC is located at River Walk building, near Clarke Quay MRT station. Go there, give them your EPSC letter, medical check-up letter, and few other things mentioned in the letter. You can bring your own passport photo or you can make one there. They will take your fingerprints and give you a date when you can pick-up your card.

6. Get your card
The officer at EPSC told me that I can pick up mine after 3 days. It can be any day so I chose to pick it up on Sat since they are open (half-day). There you go. Now you are officially legal to work in Singapore

As you can see, this process actually can take quite long, might be about 2-3weeks. There are some complications from this long process of pass application, and I will let you know about it in future post.


Cheers!

The Nephrotic Syndrome Saga

Hi there,

I pretty much left this blog without any new posts for like weeks already. The main excuse that I and every other bloggers will say is busy life and work, and it is quite true for me. On top of that I also had been diagnosed with some medical condition that does not sounds pretty. Yeah it is nephrotic syndrome.

This story actually goes way back 10years ( I was 14) ago where I was diagnosed with the same thing. Okay I will try to write something about this syndrome, but please remember that I am an engineer, not an MD or a nephrologist, so my terms or explanation might not be as accurate or might even be misleading. But I will try to write about this thing as how I understand it(as an engineer). The syndrome is a kidney disorder where the kidney leak, 'spills' out a large amount of protein into your urine, they call this proteinuria. sometimes trace of blood could also be found (hematuria). Under normal condition these 2 things should not be leaking into your urine because it is the kidney's job to filter them.

The tricky thing about this syndrome is, there are gajillions of reasons that could cause it, it could be diabetes (which I dont have) to anything including idiopathic. Idiopathic is something when your doctor tells you, "I dont fucking know what caused it". I think the word is derived from something like an idiot doctor in greek. Thats why it has IDIO as its first 4 words.

So what happens when your blood is lacking of protein? your blood loses its ability to hold water, and the body will retain the water instead of being brought to kidney to turn into urine. That is why some people who met me in last couple of months will notice that my face was puffy and my body was quite plump. I was bloated like a balloon and i gained 8kgs, I was at 78kg! The weight change happened so fast in about 1 week, that my body could hardly cope with it. My legs muscle ached so bad and the tendons were even worse.

So yeah, after 10 years of remission, I had a relapse like early Oct, and i could see all the symptoms building up. One more symptom of this syndrome is that due to the excessive protein in your urine, your urine will be very foamy and frothy (like beer froth). I was quite freaked out at that time, so I went back to Malaysia to see some doctors at HTAR, the nearest general hospital from my place. However, by the time I saw thedoctors, I was actually magically recovering without using any medications. So, I went back to Singapore and work like usual till end of November.

Not so lucky this time, the symptoms came back on early Dec, so this time I've decided to go to KPJ Shah Alam, because the experience I had with the general hospital was really frustrating(this will require another post). After some blood and urine tests, my the nephrologist and I decided that we should try prednisolone (its actually a type of steroids) for like 2 weeks and if I dont respond to the meds, I will have to go through renal biopsy to check whats really going on with my kidney.

Luckily, I responded very well to prednisolone and the protein in my urine has been negative for almost 2 weeks now. Since, prednisolone is a kind of steroids, there will be a few unwanted side effect out of this medication and I will have to gradually reduce the amount of medication I'm taking. So, dont be surprised if you see me and I look like a drug junkie on withdrawal. A lot of people in the internet gave bad reviews of how this medication effect their daily life. But hey, my kidneys are getting better, and it could be worse =)

There are a lot of things that I could write about the things I'm going through with this thing but I dont wanna write too much as it will get very boring and I am not really a good writer. So perhaps in another post.

Cheers!
-Farouk-

Work Pass part 1

Well well it has been a while since the last time I wrote a post in this blog. I have to admit that life/work has been rather busy. Especially when TV series are now on the run, I can foresee myself stranded farther away from this blog. For this post, I want to write about work pass, and since there are a lot of stuff to talk about regarding this thing, I might have to divide it into a few parts, or maybe just two.


I hate it when it comes to red tape and bureaucracy, but there is no way escaping this when you want to work in another country. Singapore has different type of passes for different area of work. They have Work Permit(WP) for unskilled workers, S-Pass for mid-skill workers, and Employment Pass(EP) for professionals. You have to meet the minimum salary requirement for all these passes.


    WP       : Below 2000
    S-Pass  : S$2000-2800
    EP        : S$2800 and above


*You can refer to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) website for more details


Actually EP is divided into 3 more sub-classes, Q1, P2, and P1. Other than bragging right, I dont really know what are the differences and benefits between all the passes. Owh wait, I heard that EP holder can actually use the automatic gate in Singapore Immigration(again this is actually a bragging right if you think about it) although I haven't tried it yet. And I remember reading in MOM homepage P2 and P2 have some benefits regarding tax reduction. Thats how the world works nowadays, the rich pay less tax!


FYI this EP thing is not personalized, and it is your company that has to apply for you. Which means, you have to apply for a new pass everytime you want to job hop. And yes, if you job hop too much, there is high chances that MOM will reject you pass application. However, there are few job hoppers claim that their application got approved without any problem. I guess it kinda depends on your luck too. Last time the application fee was S$60 for EP-Q1. I'm not sure about other passes but should not be far from that. But I think they might have revised the fee along with the min salary requirement. Anyway, usually your employer will pay for this application fee, but some lame el-cheapo employer might ask your money for the application fee. Okay thats it for now, see ya later.

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.