like bank/agency sales or financial planning?

im a fresh grad. looking to join small MNC (services industry, so large company but small teams). haven't discussed yet (they should know I'm not a local from my CV).

How likely is a fresh grad to get sponsored for employment pass in SG? For a contract/potentially permanent position.

Anyone with exp... is it hard to get? I think you need a pay of above 3,300 and a relevant qualification but that should be about it right?

Actually I also don't understand the impact of the new labour rules so much, if anyone cares to elaborate.

All PRs need to do NS?

This post has been edited by LightningFist: May 4 2014, 04:59 AM

thanks for replying

SG uses a lot of recruitment agencies, like Oz. Well I can't really understand why, but it's perhaps given me an unfair or understated impression of the job market.

hopefully it's good enough and i get something! and things improve for you!

1st gen no need, great

Anyone who entered Singapore as a graduate, hope you can help me out with a question (not sure who to ask, I have Sgrean and Msian friends but not Msians who graduated and now work in SG friends)

If you plan to get an EP (I am still in school now) do you need to have graduated already (the big piece of paper at the ceremony, about one month after my exams) or can you get it using a online printed and certified copy of your transcript (showing your name and grades).

Thank you!

Edit: I am not in SG but I guess I could call them from here when the time is right - if they entertain questions like this on the phone

This post has been edited by LightningFist: May 4 2014, 05:45 PM

isn't there some kind of rule, coffeeshop stall or street hawkers can't employ foreigners

From what I can gather it doesn't affect EP. So I should be fine with these changes, unless new, more drastic changes are up later this year.

Thank you for your offer! I'm actually not in Engineering and I'm still a student.

I hope I can find something and one day, repay all the kindness to the people who have helped me out and also help out the next generation. These days you really need all the help you can get and knowing people helps immensely.

I expect to earn enough to cover the EP even as a graduate, should I be given preference for the position. My only concern is competition with guys that have pqe (though they may need to resign and wait if not taking penalty) or guys who have already graduated.

Hey, thanks so much for sharing

yup, to be 100% safe (I'm not sure what are the consequences if they deem your app incomplete) that might be the way to go

but until i actually get those docs (some weeks away) all i got is the transcript. and the transcript isn't even full (with the final term marks) until 2 weeks later - at that same time i'll get the note that confirms i can graduate (officially i would have graduated at that point, I assume)

so hopefully that works, i've heard that you can apply EP before graduating, and even start working when the EP is submitted (not sure how - is this true?)

might be different for your case as im purely going for EP - but congrats on your PR app

walaoz

i thought anyone can do audit?

how many ivy league grads are there - and they prob don't even study business/wanna do audit

thanks

my grad isn't too far away from results date, problem might be actual results date is slow

Many times what I hear is "we already hired someone for this year"

Been working very hard to build networks and contacts across a few countries and still it's extremely difficult to break into the industry.

I know working life is definitely not easy - but it's inevitable, and I'd rather succeed than fail.

A holiday sounds great, but not if it costs me a job. I can't just rock up to any company and expect them to hire me.

you have no idea

jobs are so few, networks are almost your only way in sometimes

don't forget im malaysian citizen so not easy for me overseas

even malaysian jobs can be competitive depending on the type of grad program (if only 1 hire is made in a multi year period for a particular role)

business/mgmt/consulting/finance/risk mix

i can assure you jobs are not a lot. across 3 countries. i know this because

1) I talk to people within the industry, including HoDs, directors and VPs, who make the hiring requests and decisions. Not only that, these guys are high up and the industry is relatively small, so they know everyone everywhere, and can tell me if others are hiring or not - if i bring up names of companies i am interviewing with, they automatically know the specific person i'm meeting

2) I talk to HR, which gets handed all hiring requests in those companies where HR maintains a good relationship with the higher level/decision makers. In many cases however, this is not so effective because in this industry the higher levels will participate in the interview process in the first or second round itself, only sometimes using the HR to filter and narrow down candidates... second/final or third round would be CEO/CFO or Partner already

3) I search extensively. A minor but still significant proportion of these positions are advertised on companies' websites directly or via external ads. It's an indication of market demand.

Try harder means putting aside/managing my studies, spending hours travelling into big cities every other week, arranging meetings with important people, and sending in applications or enquiries by the thousands.

You don't often get to the "expectations" stage and I have not once been told to lower my expectations (except to maybe look for an operations or less relevant type of job) because salary/benefits is a given (I can't or don't need to ask for a lot and they have the resources to not need to compromise)

It's clear to me that contacts and networks are increasingly important. A local can get through those grad programs, and even still it's a few hundred or thousand applications cut down to a handful, or 1, position available. What more an international student.

It's down to luck, and then networks. My grades are already great (not #1 in the class, but well above top 10% or 15%) but if you are a local then an average/just above average grade might be good enough if you're lucky. Resume wise already pretty good, not exceptional but well above average.

my field is not broad at all, if you believe the general perception

I know that what I've studied is very broad, deep, and has wide applications. But the type of job I am looking for is not broad until you have reached a very senior level with a lot of experience - and even at that stage it depends on how your career evolved as you might have been very specialised or the opposite

my field is not just "Business". and I'm not sure I can call any field my field until I can find and hold down a job.

One example. if you study investments, you can be more than a research analyst, a fund manager, a salesperson, or a banker. those are fairly good jobs, but you can always be a teacher, a businessman, an accountant, an entrepreneur. But if you're finishing school and looking for a corporate type of job as a starting point (maybe now you don't have good business ideas or networks, insufficient capital, or the market or environment is not ready) then there simply isn't enough work in the market for an investments graduate who would rather utilise what little training and skills he has developed than compromise and take an unrelated job.

none of the countries I have explored extensively are in recession. you don't need to be in recession for the job market to be tough. the United States is out of recession, yet the job market is tough as ever.


believe me, I have been trying in Msia too. one would be far too shortsighted to limit themselves to 1 or 2 places in this environment.

there's not very strong demand in Msia either, but it's definitely not as competitive. unless it's with an elite US company looking for the best graduate for their program (perhaps 1 hire in 3 years or so) then most of the time you only need 1 or 2 interviews, with HR and the line manager. I believe in most cases you won't have to pass an interview with the CEO or CFO to get hired. This is not the case elsewhere, the first round itself might involve a senior HoD or VP or director, otherwise it will be a seasoned HR manager or team leader/manager (not easy), and eventually you progress to the CEO, deputy CEO, CFO, Partner etc.

seems easier to earn SGD 4k than MYR 6k... MYR 6k you're likely to be in a higher up position or have more experience, maybe benefits too... SGD 4k is not far from starting... varies by industry I guess, both MY and SG have pressure on graduate salaries and they are kept low if you observe market trends

3 years... obviously it is not deep in every single subject, topic, and area. it is broad in the sense that it is multi-disciplinary, going into the fundamentals of many related but separate subjects. then it is very deep in the 2 or 3 areas you major/specialise in.

the difference... there are a lot of 3 year or 4 year degrees. sounds like too short a period for you to go deep? consider the schedules of medical students. even in a 5 year medical degree (vs a 5 year Law + Arts degree) their hours are much more than other students per week, they have far less holidays (so even more hours), and the objects of their study are far more intense than Marketing or Management.

not all subjects were created equal. studying a week of hematology is surely harder than a month of management for the average person. just like first year mathematics is harder than third year finance.

along those lines... what I study exists within business but is not business admin or management. it combines different subjects and fields into one. its standards require you to go deep in many of these sub-components. my interviewer is either intimately familiar with this because he/she studied the same way back when, or at least understands it because he/she works alongside people with that kind of background and is responsible for recruiting at a very competitive level.

there may well be something i'm not seeing but i never said i was good or that i had good networks

i'm saying networks are really important

i'm not blaming any market. it just is. and it has been for years. it both attracts and pushes others away at the same time. basic economics.

we may also have a different understanding of what is good. often in consulting, management, banking you need to be the best at what you do. those expectations weigh heavy on graduates too.

You don't believe in networks but you think someone with a better network got the job? A bit hypocritical.

Networking doesn't have to be I help you, you help me. After all what is a student going to do for someone with 15, 30 years of experience? Bring them more business? Believe it or not, there exist people in this world who genuinely want to help other people out, whether it's a few words of advice, sharing a contact, or a referral.

Networking also doesn't mean I have senior executives on speed dial. We're not lifelong friends, and in most cases we're barely acquaintances.

Sure, you got a couple IB offers. What division? Which IB? Did you end up working there?

if they are working efficiently, 1 - 2 weeks max

if not that means you are not the preferred candidate

that's fine because if they are selective such an interview process is not unusual

apply... wait 2 weeks to a month for them to contact you (position not urgent)... first interview... second interview maybe a week or two later... then soon after referrals maybe take a week

consultants and bankers work differently... once they contact you your interviews might be done in 1-2 weeks and you get the offer

but back to the original question, he was asking how long you should expect to wait after the last interview. 1-2 weeks makes sense unless it is consulting/banking (same day or NBD)

Same, first job offer in SG never met, just phone.

Also another MNC in Malaysia, whole interview process is phone only, no video.

Many other companies in Malaysia would not do this. I understand client facing (consulting and certain banking roles) jobs are different but even the rest might not.