Singaporean employee sits quietly in his office cubicle, hoping his
boss will leave early today so he can escape the office at a decent
hour.
He dreams of looking for a job overseas, but can't imagine why
anybody would hire him, so he toils on.
While working abroad isn't for everyone, it's safe to say there are
many Singaporeans who would consider making the move to another
developed country if only they knew how. I have friends who
uprooted their lives and flew overseas in search of work and never
looked back, and others who've been sitting on their arses in
Singapore and complaining since 2007.
Sure, people might slam Singaporean employees for not being
creative enough or having poor communication
skills.
But here are some factors that might actually provide a competitive
advantage when looking for work elsewhere.
Singaporeans speak at least one Asian language in addition to
English
You might have hated being forced to take lessons in a language the
system insisted was your "mother tongue" but that your mother
herself couldn't speak.
But being fluent in an Asian language in addition to English might
actually turn out to be an advantage when you're looking for work
abroad.
Cheryl, a Singaporean lawyer in Sydney, Australia, says her
knowledge of Mandarin made it easier for her to secure a job after
graduating from the University of New South Wales. She started out
her career in immigration law, and being able to converse in
Mandarin helped her to interact with the many Chinese clients who
sought help at her firm.
Tip: If you passed O level or A level
Chinese/Malay/Tamil/Hindi/Gujarati/Urdi/etc by the skin of your
teeth but struggle to read a newspaper, it's not too
late.
Make use of the numerous resources online and at the library to
boost your standard. The fact that we've got easy access to
newspapers and books in the "mother tongue" languages makes
learning a lot easier.
Students should take advantage of opportunities to take up a third
language at school. If you qualify to take a third language in
secondary school, jump at the chance-more languages are now offered
than were available back in my time, including Arabic, Spanish and
Bahasa Indonesia.
Tertiary students also have some foreign language options-for
instance, NUS offers 13 languages including Korean, Hindi, Thai and
Vietnamese.
Work experience at big multinationals is easier to come by in
Singapore
You might not have noticed when it happened, but seemingly
overnight, Singapore went from a place primarily populated by the
three main "races" to one that's filled with people from all over
the world. Workplaces are becoming increasingly international, and
having had to deal with all sorts of people can work to your
advantage when you search for a job overseas.
In addition, thanks to the huge number of MNCs that set up shop on
our shores, overseas work stints are not out of reach, and these
can make you more employable elsewhere.
Marissa, a 31-year-old bank executive based in Hong Kong, started
her career in a European bank in Singapore. Being part of a team
that dealt with the China market led to her being transferred to
the bank's Hong Kong office. "There are so many big international
companies in Singapore that offer work experience on a regional
scale.
The exposure and contacts you get from these companies make it much
easier to find a position abroad, as opposed to what you get
working in a small local company," says Marissa.
Tip: If you intend to eventually work overseas, it's a good idea to
apply for jobs in companies that deal with your region of choice,
or that at least have overseas offices.
Singapore is also a great place to network if you know how, thanks
to the large numbers of expats here. I have a Vietnamese friend
with a general degree who managed to get three job offers within
two months at salaries that were even higher than those of his
Singaporean peers-all through guys he had met at
bars.
If you want to work abroad, it's a lot easier if you have
international contacts.
This article first appeared on MoneySmart
MoneySmart.sg
