how to work in singapore

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How to Work in Singapore

(Filipino Reference Guide 11/5/2010)

By

Richard Macalintal

A Sharing Passion eBooks for All



FOREWORD

It’s been more than two years when I first published series of blogs regarding how to work in Singapore. Up to this time, the blog is still up and running on this link http://howtoworkinsingapore.blogspot.com. Since then, it was viewed and visited more than a hundred thousand times by people around the world.

“Do not go where the path may lead you, but go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Initially, my plan was to provide guide for my fellow kababayan in case they also want to live and work in Singapore. Currently, it’s being visited by people around the world in various countries. Added to that is the good Google ranking my blog has in several keywords related to the subject. On the day I launched this blog until now, my mailbox is constantly receiving queries, appreciation and updates from the people visiting the site. Some of them became my friends in facebook, while some I personally meet here in Singapore. The friendship that this blog brings me to other people can never be equaled with any possession that I had.

This ebook is absolutely free reference guide made for Filipino’s who want to seek opportunity in Singapore. You have my approval to distribute this guide for free if left un‐edited. All the contents written on this ebook is base on my knowledge and expertise I gained thru personal experiences and others as well. I made all the effort to accurately detailed and list down all the necessary things you need to know if you want to pursue your career in Singapore. I never guarantee any positive results you can have if you follow the same steps that most of us did. Everything is still base on luck and faith. It may be a big risk on your part to come and look for work here, but the reward is worth the effort. Be positive and stay focus on your goal of finding a job. Good luck!


http://howtoworkinsingapore.blogspot.com/


Why Singapore? Singapore is one of the best destinations for Filipinos seeking greener pastures. Top reason for working here is the higher salary compared in our country. It is located 3 hours away from the Philippines and air fare is only few thousands, sometimes more expensive to travel local destination. With this condition, you can easily go back to the Philippines anytime you want with no worries of high airfare ticket. Climate and time is same as in the Philippines, no necessary adjustment is needed. The country offers various job positions to foreigners of different fields. While majority of the Filipino here are working as domestic worker, there are still a large group of professionals mostly on IT industry. Customer service also in F & B industries are mostly dominated by Filipinos due to our hospitable and cheerful character. How much can you earn here? If you are a degree holder of any course, you are entitled to earn a monthly income of SG$1800(exchange rate of around SG$1=Php33) minimum. Salary has no limit and you can earn up to several thousands depending on your expertise and position. They have the branch of government called ‘Ministry of Manpower’ who ensures that every worker is well compensated. Otherwise, they will not allow you to be employed. Salary also may vary depending on the company that will hire you and the college degree that you have. Mostly IT personnel have the advantage of having the highest salary in all the fields. With this salary, for sure you can go back home every month. How to go to Singapore? As mentioned earlier, air fare is not expensive, ranging only from Php 2000 to Php 5000. Since Singapore is an ASEAN member country, Filipino’s like us don’t need a visa. Passport and a plane ticket are that two things that you must have. There are few options that I will discuss on how to go to Singapore fast. First is by using a tourist pass. Once you are here, the immigration personnel will grant you 14 to 30 days pass to stay. In most cases, they will grant you 30 days. After that, you can ask for an extension for another 30 days for a total of almost 2 months. Application for extension is done online at your convenience. You can use that to look and apply for a job. Another option is by applying for a long term social visit pas or the EPEC. If you have this pass, you are allowed to stay in Singapore for a year to look and apply for a job. Applying for EPEC is online and free. However, there are only few accredited schools in the Philippines.



Try this link to apply for an EPEC online CLICK HERE or visit the MOM website www.mom.gov.sg. EPEC may give you a year to stay in Singapore to look for a job, but it doesn’t guarantee any job for you. Some companies might not even know what it is. In fact, my application was rejected twice due to my school not included on the list. Due to recent restrictions made by Philippine Immigration, all outgoing tourists are required to show invitation letter before they can go to Singapore. This is a big issue, and you must understand how to do the work around. First and foremost, if you have friends or relatives here in Singapore, ask for the invitation letter. It must be authenticated and stamped by our Philippine Embassy here in Singapore. And you have to pay $42 for it. With this letter, 100% the immigration won't question you. However, for those who don't have anyone who can give the letter, this is a big issue. It doesn't mean that if you don't have the letter, you can't come here to Singapore. You still have the chance I believe if you will follow my suggestion below. Book a 2 way ticket with an interval of 3 to 5 days only. Why? Because the immigration will question you if you have more than a week of interval in your ticket. Take note also that in most cases, return tickets are never used. You won't know when are you coming back plus you have to rebook your flight if you want to extend your 30 days visit pass here. Bear in mind that you will go out as tourist, so you have pretended yourself to be a tourist. Don't ever show them your EPEC or In Principle Agreement if you have. They won't honor it, because the Singapore government issued it to you. I never guarantee any success rate on this scenario, but at least I give you a hint on how to do it. I am positive it will work. Just keep your fingers crossed. How to apply jobs? Here in Singapore, jobs are posted mostly online. There are various web sites that you can check for available jobs. CLICK HERE to view available job sites. You may try visiting those sites and check if your skills are in demand. Submitting your resume with your credentials is all you need to apply. Although application is done online, you need to be here before you start emailing them or it will be wasted. They will entertain applicant who are in Singapore only. There are few cases when candidates are directly hired from the Philippines, but that is very rare case. Most of the time, employers prefer those who are readily available in Singapore. Walk‐ins may not be a good idea, but if you really know a company that will entertain you thru this method, you can still try.


http://epec.mom.gov.sg/epec/index.do;jsessionid=HCPV26PLJy1YVkmGf6qJ1cCXPx2s4pvrCZ6rGTYSrkvtnvBnNWpj%211475350604

http://www.mom.gov.sg/

http://sgjobsonline.blogspot.com/


There are also various manpower agencies that will promise you a job in exchange from several hundred of dollars processing fee. While this may be a tempting thing to do, be cautious with it. Otherwise, you may end up losing your budget. How to work in Singapore? Once an employer wants to hire you, they will process everything. You just need to coordinate with them and submit necessary documents needed by the Ministry of Manpower. In case your tourist pass is expiring, you can visit the said ministry and they will give you extension in the event that you have a pending job application on them. Some are hired with and without contract. In my case, I don’t have a contract and became a regular employee after three months enjoying privileges and benefits like the local personnel. Probationary period is ranging from 3 months up to 6 months before you become a regular employee. There are different work passes that you can have depending on the salary. S Pass is given for workers with salary of SG$1800 up to SG$2499 while E Pass is given for workers with salary of SG$2500 upward. Where to stay? If you are a tourist and not looking for job, hotel may be the best place for you. But if you are a jobseeker with a limited budget, you may try a hostel, a bed space or rent the whole room on per day or per head basis. For a hostel, prices start at $13 per day. For a bed space, prices start at $10 up per day. Some Filipinos are offering their house for bed space plus free use of all the amenities for cooking and washing. If you want some privacy and want to rent the whole room, you can do so. A price for that starts at $300 up to $700 depending on the location, room size and amenities. It’s up to you to negotiate with the owner how many persons will stay on that room If you are on the way to Singapore and wants to look for place to stay, try www.pinoysg.com. It’s an online community where there are lots of posts regarding a place to stay here in Singapore. Make sure to contact the owner directly and confirm everything before you come here. How much is the cost of living? Living in Singapore is also expensive. However, there are lots of ways to save and it depends on you. To give you an idea how much, I will give you an example. Me and five of my friends


http://www.pinoysg.com/


are renting the house for $2000 monthly. It’s like a condominium, newly built and we were on the 5th floor. It has 3 big rooms, 2 CR, kitchen, living room and fully furnish with TV, refrigerator, washing machine, etc. By the way, all houses here are condominium style whether you are rich or poor individual. Divided by 6, we pay $333 each. For food we contribute $50 dollars, utility bills $40, cable tv $9 and internet service for $5 each. Everyday, my daily budget for bus fare plus meal is around $5 for a total of $100 if I work 20 days a month. All in all that would be $504. It’s expensive because we stay in a big house. You can try for a smaller house or rent a room that is cheaper if you want. If you will earn $2500 a month, then you will still have a big savings. For more details on prices of rooms and houses, you may visit site like www.roomsdb.net. This is just a sample computation to give you idea on the basic cost of living here. It may vary from person to person. Can you give me other details about Singapore? Language spoken here are Chinese Mandarin, Tamil and Malay but all Singaporeans can speak English. Mode of transportation here are thru trains, buses and taxi. For cheaper plane fare, you may try budget airlines like Tiger Airways, Cebu Pacific, Air Phils and Jetstar. S Singapore is a multi racial country where people of different race and religion co exist. In terms of law implementation, they are very strict. It is here where you will find various fines and various offenses that are not commonly practices elsewhere. Better leave your bad Filipino habits on the Philippines before you start your journey in Singapore. What preparations do I need to do before going to Singapore? Try to assess yourself first if you can compete with other people in your fields. Experience is an advantage if you have it. Prepare a good resume that will stand out among the rest. Try to make one that can catch employer’s attention. Be mindful about your work experiences and your certificate of employment. It should be related to the job you are applying to. I knew several persons who have this problem and ended up going back to the Philippines jobless. For example, your work as an IT personnel but the job description on your COE is Production Technician. This will surely result to a serious problem in finding a work. Visit the jobsites I posted and check whether your skills are in demand. If you haven’t found any jobs suitable for you, then you better not waste your money.


http://www.roomsdb.net/


I am receiving various mails asking me if they can find a job here in Singapore. This is a very difficult question that nobody can answer. It’s like asking me if you’re gonna win the lottery. Like you, I am just a normal employee here. Aside from giving you information on how to come here, I can’t help you much. Do your research is my best advice. Your success really depends on you. Before going here, you should find a place to stay. I already posted some tips where to find one on my first article. Regarding the credentials and documents, you need to bring your passport, printout of your ticket, resume, passport size picture, TOR, DIPLOMA and COE. What to do upon arrival in Singapore? Travelers do need to provide a signed copy of embarkation/disembarkation card which most given while still on the air. That white card should be produced upon entering the Immigration in Singapore, as you were holding a social visit pass(tourist), officers will only allow you to enter if you provide them on which place are you going to stay and whom, whether you have relatives or friends, you should be confident on giving necessary information. In most cases, they will give you 30 days to stay or worst 14 days. Do bear in mind that your purpose in visiting Singapore is not because of job but just to explore and visit their country and your relatives. Make sure you place all your documents inside your luggage and never ever show to them. Don’t worry; they won’t open your luggage. Taxi cabs are waiting outside for easy traveling but you can choose the MRT if you are familiar with it. Maps of Singapore, Singapore SIM card, Currency exchange and other booths are available near the exit of the terminal. How much money should I bring? Let’s enumerate first your daily expenses. If you will stay in a transient place, per day costs about $10. A daily meal costs around $8. For 30 days, you will spend $540 for food and lodging only. Add to that your budget for phone cards, daily fares, sim card, etc(around $50). To be safe, you should have a budget for 2 to 3 months. If you successfully found a job, you will have to wait for 2 to 4 weeks for the work pass processing. After that, you will still work for a month before you get your first salary. Now you do the computation.



What are the risks in going there? Going to Singapore is an easy task. However, there is no assurance that you can find a job. I knew someone who gets a job within a week, within a month, or even after several months. That burden lies on you so you have to be well prepared and well equipped to be competitive. Filipinos are not the only one looking for jobs here. Staying here will costs you a lot of money so be prepared to take risk. Make sure you are well prepared emotionally, financially, physically and mentally. Some people come here with a big despedida party from their relatives and friends they leave behind. Too foolish act for me, as they didn’t know if they can really get a job. The pressure and burden will be heavier for you to bear in case your journey is not fruitful. What is the disadvantage of working and living in Singapore? Singapore as they say is a very expensive place to stay. That is true, and you will end up nothing if you don’t know how to save. Education alone for your children could drain your hard earned money. You are not obliged to stay and live here in Singapore so you have other options. I’ve heard lots of stories about Filipinos working here that ended up migrating to other countries like New Zealand and Australia after becoming a Permanent Resident. In short, going to Singapore can be your stepping stone to reach other countries that you want. Due to a small size of the island, you may find yourself doing and visiting the same places over and over again. In the end, you may get bored and want to visit and travel other places. Some say Singapore is stressful. People here only know how to work, work and work even on their old age. How to start and apply jobs in Singapore? From the airport you can take a cab or MRT to reach your destination. If no one will fetch you from the airport, better take a cab. Don’t worry; English is the main language here, unless you don’t know how to speak. Once settled to your place where you will stay, be familiar with it. Ask for the nearest MRT station, bus stop, hawker center (eatery) and other amenities. You need to buy the EZ LINK



card because it’s the mode of payment in public transport. Do not forget to buy the Straight Times newspaper Saturday edition as most of the jobs are printed on this paper. Focus on applying jobs on your initial days. Never mind strolling as you will have ample of time to do that in the next few days. Some said it is best to send online applications on the weekday’s morning. They said if you do this way, HR in‐charge will be able to see and receive your mails on their duty hours. Sending your mails on the evening will make it on the bottom of their inbox. True or not, it makes sense so you can try also. Prepare different sets of resume. I suggest prepare several format and copies depending on the position you will apply. I remember when I apply here; I have five sets of resume I am sending depending on the position that is available. Try to send as much as possible. Do this on the morning, and then you can stroll on the afternoon till night time. Some jobs mentioned about PR and Citizen only. It won’t hurt you to send anyway, just give it a try. If you are really qualified then they might reconsider your application. All the streets in Singapore are mapped online. In case you have an interview in any place, just make sure you have the correct address with postal code. Go to www.streetdirectory.com and type the address there or postal code. It will display you the exact location of the place. You just need to take a look at the nearest MRT where you will alight and the landmark buildings near it if have. Once a company wants to hire you, they will be the one to process everything. You just need to provide your credentials. It may take three weeks or more for processing. Going back home is an option but it will cost you money. And if you do that, bear in mind that you are still a tourist when you answer questions from immigration officer. You will only become a valid OFW if you have the OWWA registration which you can apply once you have your necessary work pass. In case that you’re 30 days tourist pass is over and you have pending work pass application, you just need to go to MOM (Ministry of Employment) and tell them you have pending application. They will extend your stay in Singapore. In case your 30 days is expiring soon and still no job offer, you can apply extension for another 30 days in ICA website. There are some instances that they reject applications. Third option is for you to exit either Malaysia or Indonesia. Stay there for a day then go back to Singapore. Most of the time immigration officer will give you another 30 days to stay. Before I mentioned that you get a two way ticket with a week interval. Return ticket is part of your investment and rebooking it would cost you even more money. Just list it in your expenses column.



All right, this is the end of the reference. Be sure to register and subscribe on my blog to receive updates. Good luck to your Singapore endeavor! When you are here, you can contact me and we can have a cup of coffee. Do visit my website if you want to know more about me. I know there are some questions still linger in your minds and I will be glad to answer them all. Due to my mailbox constantly becoming full everyday, I suggest you sign in on my forum and post your questions there. That way also helps me lessen the burden of answering same questions raised by other people. You can visit my forum on below link. Sharing Passion Forum – www.richardmacalintal.info/forum I manually approved account due to spamming, activation may take a while. Below are some lists of my sites related to this topic. How to Work in Singapore Part 1 http://howtoworkinsingapore.blogspot.comHow to Work in Singapore Part 2 http://howtoworkinsingapore2.blogspot.comHow to Work in Singapore Part 3 http://howtoworkinsingapore3.blogspot.comHow to Apply Jobs in Singapore http://howtoapplyjobsinsingapore.blogspot.comFAQ in Singapore http://faqinsingapore.blogspot.comSingapore Jobs Online http://sgjobsonline.blogspot.com You can always contact me at [email protected] Do visit my other personal websites to know more about me. Batanggenyong Online www.batanggenyo.netSharing Passsion www.richardmacalintal.infoRichard Macalintal www.richardmacalintal.comOFW Business www.ofwbusiness.comBest of Philippine Islands www.bestofphilippineislands.com

“Put value to yourself. The more valuable you are, the more people will seek for you.”


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