Congratulations to Me!

I've been wanting to start a blog on my new journey as a Singapore Expat ever since I decided to try finding work here; but a lot of things had happened and so it is only now that I've found time to do this.

Moving to another country has really been an emotional roller coaster ride. I had never joined any study tours before so the feeling of independence was scary. I began toying with the idea of coming here last June when I felt that I needed a change in my environment. I was working for my family then and I could not help but feel that I wanted to find something more. Among my group of friends in college, two have already braved going cross-country to find employment. Joyce is now based in LA, while Ayn is based in Singapore. My other friend, Tin, had decided to pursue her MBA degree, while Nina and Lo are SAP consultants, therefore guaranteeing their future careers in that field. Cla, my older sister, has finished her MBA and is now in Paris as an exchange student. Everyone seemed to have made a major move in their lives, and there I was, day in and day out, in our office; doing a job that wasn't really my calling. I needed to do something! I told myself, "This is now or never." And that was how the idea was born.

Coming to Singapore was no easy feat. My dad is very strict with us and working abroad has always been a closed topic. However, God did have other plans for me. He helped me change my father's mind and in a week's time, he agreed that working abroad will help me build a name for myself.

I began applying online since everything is done online in Singapore. I had two very promising interviews set up; one for an events company and another one for a high-end country club. My mother and I scheduled a trip here for the interviews and also to see what it was like to live here, since both of us have never been here before. The interviews went very well with each offering me a position; but I turned them down because the salary for the events company was too small for the scope of work, and the position for the country club was not suited for me. The events group did pursue with a counter offer, which I accepted. I went back to Manila after the interviews, happy that I had a job waiting for me when I go back to Singapore. Everything was going well when I came back here until I was informed that my work pass application had been denied because 'apparently', there was a new regulation that limits the number of foreign employees working in a local company! This was no new regulation, even I knew about this. I was devastated and angry at the same time. I mean, they should have checked if their company could still hire foreigners before they went ahead with the hiring. According to them, they applied for three people and all of us were rejected. It's a good thing I have friends here and I have some money to sustain me while I find another job. Just think of how unfair it is to the other two people! My sister gave me a number that I can call from Contact Singapore, an affiliated company of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). She met him at a job fair in AIM when she was still taking her MBA. I was able to relay to him about what happened to me and when he checked with his colleague at MOM to find out why my application was rejected; Lo and behold, there was no application whatsoever under my name. Meaning, they did not even pass it! *Argh*

Anyway, to make a long story short, I began applying online again. Being a person who does not like uncertainties, there were times when I was already feeling depressed because I had no leads. The interviews I went to did not call back. I began praying to God to help me find employment by the end of September. I really needed something to look forward to because I did not like the feeling that I had no money coming in. And this is where this entry's title comes in. I had a call from a company that did large scale conferences in Asia. They invited me for an interview last Thursday for a Conference Development Manager position. The GM who interviewed me was very friendly, and I immediately felt at ease. He gave me an assignment to do over the weekend, which would show him my capabilities to research and put conferences together. I put my heart and soul into that project! I emailed it to him on Saturday and was a nervous wreck the whole time. I called him on Monday to confirm if he had received my email and he told me that he was impressed with what I did! He wanted to schedule another meeting with me, but had to check his schedule first. The very next morning, I got a text from the GM to check my email and when I did, I was offered the position already! Wooooonderful! I emailed him all the documents for the application of my work pass, fearing yet again that I might get denied. The application was done online last Thursday and I got a call yesterday that it has been approved in principle! Praise God! I just need to get my blood tested and my chest X-rayed, which I did this morning. I'll be getting the results on Monday afternoon. Hopefully I could start working next week. So, congratulations to me!! :D

For those of you who are thinking of coming here, these are some things that you should probably know/do:

1. Acquire your Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (EPEC) from MOM (www.mom.gov.sg). This will help you get a long term social visit pass that would allow you to stay in Singapore for a year to facilitate your job search without exiting. This is granted to the graduates of the Top 20 schools in your country.

2. Make your resume impressive. Make sure both your cover letter and resume are easy to read, not too wordy and the layout should be eye-catching.

3. Apply online. Try looking at online job portals like jobsdb.com.sg, jobscentral.com.sg, jobstreet.com.sg, monster.com.sg. From my experience, the first two are the best.

4. Make a temporary move to Singapore. Give yourself a deadline. On average, most people I have talked to were able to get jobs after three months of looking. It is best that you are already here when you apply so when interviews are requested, you are easily contacted.

5. Go to ICA to apply for your long term social visit pass. You can also apply online (www.ica.gov.sg). This would probably cost you around S$150 in total because you have to get a medical check-up.

6. Be optimistic! I have to admit that I wasn't that optimistic when opportunities where not pouring in, but I did not let it hinder me from applying and doing my best in interviews.

7. Find a friend. I was very lucky to have Ayn in Singapore because she has helped me tremendously. She sponsored my lodging by letting me bunk with her for free while I am still looking for work. Not just that, when I was sad because of a botched phone interview, she surprised me with frozen yogurt (my fave!) to lift my spirits up. She is truly a God-send.

8. Find a support system. My family has always been supportive of me and I am thankful that I have them to call every time something good or bad happens. They are my support group and I would not have been able to go through this without them.

So there, I look forward to writing more of my SG adventures in the coming days! For any questions, please feel free to leave a comment.