5 Platforms To Find Jobs In Singapore
“Hey, can I ask you a question? Where do you find jobs in Singapore?”
Just like how there’s a certain skill in Googling for an answer, the same applies when you are searching for a job. The more I receive the question “Where do you find job opportunities?”, the more I realize that there are more “searchings” required than just finding “a job”.
It’s arguable which one should come first: finding the role or finding the company. If you are like me, and the other 20 percent of people who are truly passionate about their work (according to a survey from Deloitte), finding the right role is, no doubt, a top priority. Before starting the job hunt, I would reflect, research and think of a few keywords in mind.
Let’s take a look at an example. I have 2 years of relevant experience and am looking to explore the different roles and specializations in digital marketing. My keywords are:
- ‘seo’ / ‘digital marketing’ / ‘content’, the job role,
- and ‘senior executive’ / ‘associate manager’ / ‘specialist’, the job seniority level.
So my search would be something around ‘SEO Specialist’ or ‘Senior Digital Marketing Executive’.
There are a few websites and social media platforms that I personally use and recommend people to find jobs in Singapore:
1. Company Website
This is a good first step if you already know which companies you are eyeing at, or at least know the players in the industry you are interested in.
Do not underestimate the power of applying for a job listed on the company’s website, even though you might be worried that the website is probably not updated, or think ‘my CV is probably on top of 500 others’. While that might be true, especially if you’re applying for MNCs, you’ll be surprised that 79% of job seekers say they are likely to use social media in their job search (according to a study by The Open University). Which means there is probably less competition when applying directly on the company’s website.
2. LinkedIn
If you have yet to sign-up for a LinkedIn account, do it now and thank me later. LinkedIn claims to be “the world’s largest professional network on the internet”, and I find it to be true.
Inside the LinkedIn platform, there’s a section for job searching where you can key in the keywords you have listed for your next job. You can also set your personalized job alerts and turn on job recommendations to be notified via email when employers post a job that matches your job criteria. This will give you a head start on the application list (yes, you can track how many other applicants are applying for the role and how well your profile is compared to the others if you subscribe to LinkedIn Premium).
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Aside from actively applying for available jobs, you can proactively reach out to current employees working at your targeted company. Could be someone doing the exact same role as what you want or those that are more senior. Send them a LinkedIn connection and ask them for a coffee chat to network. While this approach might not give you a job instantly, 85% of jobs are filled through networking (according to a report by Hubspot). You’ll never know if they’ll need you in the future!
3. Tech In Asia
This is my personal go-to job searching platform for start-up jobs. In fact, this is the platform that helped me land my first job in Singapore.
Tech in Asia is a tech-media company that focuses on Asia. They never missed publishing news on startup fundings, flairs, and failures. Apart from their quality content, they also operate a startup job marketplace. The best thing about this job marketplace is the transparency of the job’s salary, isn’t it about time for all companies to include pay transparency?
4. NodeFlair
I personally have never used NodeFlair as my job searching tool due to the types of roles they advertise. NodeFlair is a career super-app to help tech talents discover trending tech-related jobs. If you are looking for roles like software engineer, product manager, software developer, this could be the platform for you! On top of job openings, they provide insights on company reviews, average salaries, and more.
5. Job Street and Indeed
I know a lot of people use Job Street and Indeed to look for jobs, although I personally am not a fan. Probably because they have been in the job marketplace for a longer period of time, many traditional companies are using more of these two platforms as compared to the others I mentioned above. And because I’m not looking for opportunities in traditional companies, I prefer to use the mostly-tech job marketplace instead.
No matter which platform you decide to apply for the job, it is highly highly recommended for you to vet your application thoroughly, whatever they ask for (resume, cover letter, portfolio, etc).
“Do they actually look through my application in detail?” The answer is I don’t know and will never know. But by doing so, it could be a chance to show that you have spent enough time and effort to fill out all the forms because you seriously want the job.
