Job hunt in Singapore

Most Med Teks have chosen to work in the Middle East. Some are in New Zealand, U.K., the North America and some other Asian countries. But what caught my attention was a very nearby country that has a rising economy and a good pay grade. I found out that you don't need a visa to get there so I took the risk and went on a job hunt in Singapore.

First, let me tell you what I thought was the advantages of working in Singapore. It only takes about three and a half hours to travel from Manila or Cebu to Singapore. We have the same time zone. This makes up for your homesickness. Why? Because if you're really homesick you could just go home during weekends. A lot of airlines nowadays are offering travel promos. You may want to book a Friday night ticket and go back to SG by Sunday evening. This may also be advantageous to people who are in a long distance relationship. If your partner wants to see you or surprise you, he/she could just visit you anytime because they won't need any visa to get there.

On my first day in Singapore, I went to a friend who was already working there and he let me stay at his place for a couple of weeks. Job hunting in SG is expensive. If you want to get a job there, you need all the resources you can get. When I was at his place, I immediately prepared all the things I need for applying. About one or two weeks prior my trip to SG, I already applied online. I was hoping that I could get shortlisted and get an interview when I get to SG. Back to my prepping, I took out my USB, and borrowed his laptop. I Google searched for the nearest 7-eleven store where I can get a SIM card for SG and an ez-link card (this is the card they use for transportation). I went to the store, bought a SIM card and an ez-link card, got back to my friend's place and printed copies of my resume (with my friend's address and my SG cellphone number). After that, I made a walk-in application at the nearest hospital which was Changi General Hospital. After the walk-in application, I went home and applied online. On the next day, I bought a newspaper and browsed the classified ads. I applied to all positions that I qualify. I also searched the internet for job openings, I used jobstreet.sg, jobsdb, st107, monster, etc. I made telephone calls to agencies and hospitals asking if they have openings. I also made a lot of walk-in applications to almost all hospitals in SG, and I applied online whenever I get back to my friend's place. Needless to say, I did this everyday for almost two weeks. It was definitely exhausting. I got lost sometimes.hehe! But everything was new to me so it seemed to be a bit of an adventure. I remember one time that I got lost, I was walking and walking and lo and behold, I could see the Merlion! haha!

Unfortunately, I did not get a job at Singapore. I had one interview though when I was already back here in the Philippines. The employer was kind enough to let me have a Skype interview to save the trouble for the trip. It was my first Skype interview and there were two interviewers but I was never really nervous. I guess personal interviews are more intimidating. It was for a job opening for a perfusionist. I did not have enough experience and I was not able to get the job.

The whole experience was actually an eye-opener for me. Here in the Philippines, I never had a hard time getting a job. There's always a place for Med Teks. Without prejudice, I kind of felt what nurses here in our country feels when they could not find a job. It was so frustrating. I went from hospital to hospital and no one not even HR personnel would talk to me. They would just point you to a drop box where all resume are collected. (I wonder if they even open it.hehe.) I would not discourage you though because I still believe that SG is a good place for Med Teks to work. The culture is asian, the cuisine is asian, there are a lot of Filipinos there, what else could you look for? They offer a good salary, some even higher than the common offers of the Middle East. Plus, SG is near us. It is really harder though to get a job at SG. Harder than the usual application you do for other countries. But just like any other job hunting, all you need is a lot, and I mean, a lot of patience. (For those who want to work abroad, you may want to read my recent post: to leave or not to leave)



(Although I was not successful in getting a job from SG, I'll try to share with you some tips that I learned when I was there and some tips from my friends who are already working there on my next post.)


"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it." 
- Theodore Roosevelt

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