Singapore Expats

I've been looking for Marketing Manager / AVP roles in Singapore for a while now and nothing really coming up. I'm tired of relying on recruitment consultants and 'headhunters' for roles, is there anything else I could be doing to get exposure?

I'm using the time I have now to complete my MBA studies and have 4+ years Marketing experience from Europe & Singapore. Would be grateful for any bright ideas.....

I know how you feel East Coast. One of the bits of advice I was offered was that its all about networks. So, really you have to know someone other than being patient with recruitment agents.

Hang in there. Something is bound to come along.

EastCoast wrote:I've been looking for Marketing Manager / AVP roles in Singapore for a while now and nothing really coming up. I'm tired of relying on recruitment consultants and 'headhunters' for roles, is there anything else I could be doing to get exposure?

I'm using the time I have now to complete my MBA studies and have 4+ years Marketing experience from Europe & Singapore. Would be grateful for any bright ideas.....

Am envy of u having a marketing experience, as for me l studied a degree in marketing without any experience. A completely switch from my current job.
Its been hard to change and start afresh. Wish l had half of yr exposure and experience.

Yeah Bushbride, you are right. Networking is the way to go. I am a computer science graduate from National University of Singapore here. However I chose to go into Sales and is currently holding the position of Business Development Manager. I Have a total work experience of 2 + plus. One of the things which helped me was doing networking even if it meant i sometimes had to force myself to do it.

However, off late I have been looking for a better opportunity in the same role from perhaps a better brand than my current company. Perhaps the interaction among aspiring sales and marketing guys here can throw up some good career options for all of us here.

Cheers-

bushbride wrote:I know how you feel East Coast. I have 6+ years and 2 degrees in Mar Coms area. One of the bits of advice I was offered was that its all about networks. So, really you have to know someone other than being patient with recruitment agents.

Hang in there. Something is bound to come along.

That is a lovely idea Cancer.

I am not overly aware of networking opportunities - apart from the Singapore Marketing Association, Market Research Association and other such related forums. Do you know of any BD & Sales based associations?

I am interested in the BD side of things, having experience in this area also. However, maybe a little different to Singapore BD. Where I worked, sales was very different to BD work. With BD being more on the I.P, strategy, project management and forecasting sides of things. I have not seen any texts in the shops here that relate specifically to BD activities, but plenty on the sales side of things. Can you tell me if there is a big difference in Singapore?

I do hope that EastCoast and Nelwin are still checking the posts. It would be great to keep a discussion going. I miss having marketing dicussions since moving here.

No such sales based association that I am aware of. Usually the nature of the job itself means that you sit and stand with Industry player on a daily basis. I would assume that the job of Sales/BD would be much easier for Singaporean here than expats like me as actitivies like interacting with your prospect in a free and informal manner( on coffee or drinks) would be easier for somone who has grown up in this culture than someone who is merely working here.

I am not an authority on BD, but here is my two cents on a definition of BD in Singapore. You are right, the role of a typical BD would be basically be centered around I.P, market strategy, project management. However in a competitive singapore economy, titles are easily given. Anything which will help bring reveue to the company will comprise under Business Development. Hardly firms in singapore will have separate Sales and BD department. Roles over here are pretty much overlapped. BD activities will typically consist of trying to open new accounts, build upon existing accounts, liase and co-ordination with regional partners(if its a asia pac sort of profile), contractual negotiations, commercial negotiations and devising market strategy in general. But ideally the role of a BD will involve lots of follow ups, presentations and meetings which is also typically the profile of Sales.

I am looking for a well structured and focus organization where roles and objectives of BD are clearly defined and I can get propoer exposure and if possible training of the assembly of products of the company.

bushbride wrote:That is a lovely idea Cancer.

I am not overly aware of networking opportunities - apart from the Singapore Marketing Association, Market Research Association and other such related forums. Do you know of any BD & Sales based associations?

I am interested in the BD side of things, having experience in this area also. However, maybe a little different to Singapore BD. Where I worked, sales was very different to BD work. With BD being more on the I.P, strategy, project management and forecasting sides of things. I have not seen any texts in the shops here that relate specifically to BD activities, but plenty on the sales side of things. Can you tell me if there is a big difference in Singapore?

I do hope that EastCoast and Nelwin are still checking the posts. It would be great to keep a discussion going. I miss having marketing dicussions since moving here.

Ok. Sounds very similar.

Am presuming you are interested in ICT based product development….will flick stuff your way if I hear of anything.

Loved product identification and development work. It is so rewarding and exciting! Oh the good old days

hey everyone, i googled 'marketing jobs in singapore' and this forum came up... i'm relocating to singapore in august and am looking for a job in marcom as well however, i'm a bit confused... are all of you from else where and looking to work in singapore? i mean from overseas... i have my own reasons for moving to singapore (bf) but i'm curious as to who else is moving to singapore and for what reason

btw, i'm from toronto

bx wrote:hey everyone, i googled 'marketing jobs in singapore' and this forum came up... i'm relocating to singapore in august and am looking for a job in marcom as well however, i'm a bit confused... are all of you from else where and looking to work in singapore? i mean from overseas... i have my own reasons for moving to singapore (bf) but i'm curious as to who else is moving to singapore and for what reason

btw, i'm from toronto

Hi bx,

The site you have ended up on is a discussion forum for expats living in Singapore (and planning to move to Singapore). I live in Singapore and have been here for a few months now. My partner's work brought us to Singapore in my case.

If you are looking for marketing jobs it is best to look into recruitment agents who specialise in your area. This website has a list of agents you can call and monitor the jobs available. I think everyone will agree with me that when you arrive in Singapore, try to get some networks going. They really help. Best of luck!

I understand the frustration of every job hunter (ref this and other posts expressing their frustration) Ive been down that road. I also understand it from the point of the headhunter and I realise that it is not the role of the headhunter to 'find' us a job. Here are some pointers for anyone who is interested:

-The role of the job seeker is to ensure his CV is well written and presented. If he doesnt know if its well written then he needs to get someone else to scrutinise it (that person should read and write good English)
- Go to the job hunt websites or do searches on resume writing, borrow books from the library, etc. Also research and read books on job hunting- Richard Bolles of "What Colour is your Parachute" can be a good start.
- If you have the money, pay a career counsellor to write up your CV for you and/or have a session with them to be clear about your professional goals (bearing in mind your professional and personal goals are often tied together)

Read the papers, read up about companies you would like to join, and if they have a jobs section on the site, apply on line OR find out the name of the head of the dept. If you are a marketing person, find out who heads the marketing dept and address your application directly to them.

Be well informed about what is going on here and the region (if you are coming from another country). Dont expect the headhunter or anyone else to do for you what you CAN do for yourself. Headhunters work FOR the client and they need to satisfy the clients requirements to the tee. Sometimes, they can 'educate' the client to be more flexible and open minded but bottom line is client says "i want this, i am paying you for this therefore go get me this!!" And if you hand your cv to the HH and you dont have what their clients want, you cannot blame them.

DONT expect the headhunter to do any legwork for you unless they think you are a stellar candidate, even then they cannot guarantee anything. DO be pleasant to them, not demanding, rude, arrogant or aloof. Stay in touch with the headhunter, keep them updated of your moves, drop an email or phone call and stay in touch. They will remember you better.

There are many factors that come into play when it comes to seeking and securing that job. Keep your eyes and ears open. Be warm, be friendly, listen, be genuine and sincere. Be clear on what you want within you, why you are here, why you are looking for whatever it is you are looking for.
Look at ways you can transfer your skills. 'Check in' within you about your self esteem. I have a friend who is a brilliant Bus Dev person. She's opened up numerous markets for her company and made tons of money for them YET she is afraid of asking for a commission based salary or for more money. She admits that she thinks she does not deserve it or that she is afraid to ask.

Good Luck!

bushbride wrote:

bx wrote:hey everyone, i googled 'marketing jobs in singapore' and this forum came up... i'm relocating to singapore in august and am looking for a job in marcom as well however, i'm a bit confused... are all of you from else where and looking to work in singapore? i mean from overseas... i have my own reasons for moving to singapore (bf) but i'm curious as to who else is moving to singapore and for what reason

btw, i'm from toronto

Hi bx,

The site you have ended up on is a discussion forum for expats living in Singapore (and planning to move to Singapore). I live in Singapore and have been here for a few months now. My partner's work brought us to Singapore in my case.

If you are looking for marketing jobs it is best to look into recruitment agents who specialise in your area. This website has a list of agents you can call and monitor the jobs available. I think everyone will agree with me that when you arrive in Singapore, try to get some networks going. They really help. Best of luck!

EastCoast wrote:I've been looking for Marketing Manager / AVP roles in Singapore for a while now and nothing really coming up. I'm tired of relying on recruitment consultants and 'headhunters' for roles, is there anything else I could be doing to get exposure?

I'm using the time I have now to complete my MBA studies and have 4+ years Marketing experience from Europe & Singapore. Would be grateful for any bright ideas.....

Hi Eastcoast,

It's heartning to realise that you have worked in key Marketing roles at Singapore. I have done BE,MBA & have 4 years of experience in IT solution sales. I am from Bangalore, India & looking for a suitable job in sales & marketing.

Would be great to have your advice. I have updated my resume on popular job portals but not of much use.

Seek your advice.

Regards,

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO MAIL ME AT : [email protected]

Clement