10+ Tips How to Get a Job in Singapore for Foreigners

Did you stumble on this page trying to find answers on how job hunting works in Singapore as a tourist, or perhaps you want to know some ideas on how to get a good job in this country? Well, I've got good news for you, you landed on the right page!

In this blog, I'm going to share with you my recent journey how I got my job as a foreigner here in Singapore. I was actually the same as you a few months ago, but now I'm living the dream I'm hoping for. It was in fact, unexpected and everything just happens in a blink of an eye. I just woke up one day, received an email about an invitation to a job interview and I'm here right now, waiting for my new job start date.

As we all know, Singapore is a global hub for education, finance, entertainment, health care, innovation, human capital, logistics, manufacturing, tourism, technology, trade, and transportation. Its a country is known for its incredible transition from a developing country to a developed nation in just one generation under Lee Kuan Yew's leadership. And now the nation is considered to be one of the Asian Tiger economy based on labor and external trade. Singapore is also recognized as the most "technology - ready" nation by World Economic Forum, Top International Meeting City by Union of International Association, Best Investment Potential City by BERI, World Smartest / Safest City and so on. - wiki

So now that you have an understanding of how good Singapore's economy is, this is why many foreigners flock in the country to find luck in landing a job in Singapore. So let me share with you my personal experience of getting a job as a tourist in Singapore.

#1 Plan Ahead of Time 

Preparation is very essential for you to be successful in your journey to finding a job here in Singapore. You should have the mentality that everything is different in a new country so you should be prepared. You should have a game plan. Will you go alone or with a friend? Are you ready to be away from your family and friends? Have you got enough budget? You are given 30 days to stay in the country as a tourist. Let me give you a total estimate of 30 days ' expenses:

Rental - SGD 400.00

Food - SGD 150.00

Transportation - SGD 50.00

Simcard - SGD 38.00

Roughly, you should have at least Php. 40,000 budget in Philippine Peso.

#2 Revamp Your CV/Resume

This will be your biggest weapon to impress your prospective employer. Remove unnecessary details and only put the essential one. Make it simple, short but powerful. You should also have an address in Singapore and a telephone number for your attention. My tip is that you can insert your temporary hostel address on your resume and just put your email address as your contact details.

#3 Create a Powerful Cover Letter

Make sure you don't have a generic cover letter. Target a specific role that matches your skills and expertise. Use your cover letter to create a powerful first impression on the employer. To make it dope and noticeable, you can have a creative cover letter with infographics.

#4 Sign Up to Job Portals 

Now that you've got your resume ready. It's time for you to send and apply. Some of the job portals I can recommend for you to get a better job landing possibility are as follows: Jobstreet, JobsDB, Indeed, Jobscentral, STJobs, Monster, LinkedinJobs, Gumtree, FastJobs and Cultjobs. These are just some of the job portals you can join to create your portfolio and send your resumes. But I use Jobstreet for my personal preference. It's also the website where I got my invitation to work.

#5 Turn on Regular Job Alerts

There's a very different culture here in Singapore. You should wake up early in the morning to send resumes around 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the morning. The reason for this is that Human Resource gets a lot of job applications and if you send it late at night or afternoon it gets dumped by new emails and it is ignored by HR most of the time. Make it a habit to wake up early that's why you should turn on your regular job alerts for job portals.

#6 Research for Companies You Want to Work For

Once you've finished reflecting your career path and goal you want to pursue, start looking for companies that fit your criteria to help you achieve your goals. To find a sense of culture and brand, you can research the company's social presence and history.

#7 Practice your Interview Skills

Getting an invitation for an interview is not only your goal, but you also need to get a good impression during the interview that will test your communication skills. It's not that difficult for me since I worked in a call center for nearly 3 years and I became articulate and confident in speaking the English language. It's actually one of the reasons I worked in a BPO industry - to hone my verbal skills.

#8 Upskill and Promote your Personal Brand

An online portfolio would be very nice and catchy for employers. You can start editing your Linkedin profile or have your own professional profile online. Provide your passion and interest in a creative manner. You can also conduct a self-assessment for your skills for you to specify the best-fit job for your current skills. 

#9 Book A Flight Earlier

Booking a flight earlier will give you more chances of getting cheaper deals. If you're in the Philippines, roundtrip tickets to Singapore will cost at least Php. 9,000 – 10,000 pesos. When I first flew to Singapore, we used Trip.com (Scoot Airlines) to book our flight and cost us around Php. 7,500 Two - way tickets. Then I went home to the Philippines to wait for my In-Principal Approval (IPA) as I only got 30 days. I fly back through Cebu Pacific and cost me Php. It's 9,500 pesos. Remember, as a tourist in the Philippines, you should always have a roundtrip ticket or you will have a problem with Philippine immigration. Check this blog for more details:

10+ TIPS HOW TO AVOID GETTING OFFLOADED IN NAIA IMMIGRATION - In this blog, I've shared some of my personal tips on how to avoid getting offloaded in Philippine Immigration and having a smooth travel experience.

#10 Find Cheap Hostel Accommodation

If you have a friend, relative or family member in Singapore, it would be very helpful as accommodation here is very expensive. We used Airbnb to book an affordable hostel for our first 5 days before we found an apartment that will allow us to rent for a month. In our case, we find one that is 400.00/pax SGD (room sharing). My tip here, before you go to Singapore, find an apartment owned by a Filipino for you to ask if it's okay to rent it for a short time as most of the apartment here is for long - term lease. Having a comfortable hostel will give you ease of mind to concentrate on applying for jobs since applying here is online, walk-in is limited. 

#11 Use Navigational Applications  

One of the common hardships in a foreign country is getting the right direction, especially transportation here in Singapore is quite expensive if you book your trip with Grab or get a taxi. Using the EZ Link Card (Beep Card) in the Philippines for taking public buses / LRT / MRT is required here. A card will cost you 10.00 SGD, but using it you will save a lot. You can use Nestia for an Android device and you can use the Gothere.sg app for IOS users. These apps will help you locate the company address and give you the right directions to ride and everything. I use Gothere.sg personally and it really gives me peace of mind not to worry about getting lost.

#12 Have Fun and Don't Stress-Out

I know the feeling that after sending hundreds of emails a day, I don't get an invitation to interview but don't stress it out. Since you are a tourist trying to find a job opportunity in a foreign country, why not enjoy your stay here by wandering around. You can submit your applications in the morning and go on tour in the afternoon. In this way, you are maximizing your stay here and will not waste all of your money. One of my closest friends shared that I need to go to "Botanical Garden" because as a foreigner it gives luck to those who are looking for jobs in Singapore. And it also looks like it worked on me!

These are just some of my few tips before trudging on a lifetime journey. I hope I've been able to provide you with essential knowledge to get you ready here in Singapore. I'm going to write more blogs about Singapore and if you like this blog, please click Share or leave a comment below. Thanks to all of you!