Singapore Expats

Hi all,

I have been scanning the boards and there seem to be some regulars with good insights . I am at crossroads at the moment, thinking of making a move to Singapore in the near future.I am in my early 30's and from Malaysia. I have recently completed a MA in Journalism from a top tier Australian University.My previous professional experience was in the hospitality industry with a strong sales focus and my Bachelor Degree is from the UK.I speak 4 languages but none of them are Chinese. Would my prospects be good in Singapore or would it be better to find a journalism post in Malaysia and then move in 1 or 2 years time? Are Singaporean employers ageist? Thanks in advance for any input.

raden888 wrote:Hi all,

I have been scanning the boards and there seem to be some regulars with good insights . I am at crossroads at the moment, thinking of making a move to Singapore in the near future.I am in my early 30's and from Malaysia. I have recently completed a MA in Journalism from a top tier Australian University.My previous professional experience was in the hospitality industry with a strong sales focus and my Bachelor Degree is from the UK.I speak 4 languages but none of them are Chinese. Would my prospects be good in Singapore or would it be better to find a journalism post in Malaysia and then move in 1 or 2 years time? Are Singaporean employers ageist? Thanks in advance for any input.

Most definitely, but having said that, I've beaten the odds 2x now, so anything is possible if you have enough wherewithal and persistence. And believe me, you've still got a lot of youth going for you. So go for it. Age should not even be a factor yet.

raden888 wrote:Hi all,

I have been scanning the boards and there seem to be some regulars with good insights . I am at crossroads at the moment, thinking of making a move to Singapore in the near future.I am in my early 30's and from Malaysia. I have recently completed a MA in Journalism from a top tier Australian University.My previous professional experience was in the hospitality industry with a strong sales focus and my Bachelor Degree is from the UK.I speak 4 languages but none of them are Chinese. Would my prospects be good in Singapore or would it be better to find a journalism post in Malaysia and then move in 1 or 2 years time? Are Singaporean employers ageist? Thanks in advance for any input.

If you are a Chnese, the employer will like you.

Malaysia government stuck up! They do not value their own people. Singapore welcome you.

A question an employer here may ask you is:

- Why are your experience and qualification so diverse?

Their underlying meaning may be:

- What can you bring in to our company?

----

Your diverse background and years of experience is your asset, strength, and even talent. You need to remember all that is your worth and value when you talk to them. I.e. they may say it's just Jack of all trade and master of none.

raden888 wrote:Hi all,

I have been scanning the boards and there seem to be some regulars with good insights . I am at crossroads at the moment, thinking of making a move to Singapore in the near future.I am in my early 30's and from Malaysia. I have recently completed a MA in Journalism from a top tier Australian University.My previous professional experience was in the hospitality industry with a strong sales focus and my Bachelor Degree is from the UK.I speak 4 languages but none of them are Chinese. Would my prospects be good in Singapore or would it be better to find a journalism post in Malaysia and then move in 1 or 2 years time? Are Singaporean employers ageist? Thanks in advance for any input.

re: journalism

Do some work online. You don't need to be a journalist to get work published on fan contribution sites, web sites, blogs.

Publishing is going further and further to the net these days. As in, every publisher will be 80% net, 20% print in maybe a decades time.

Paper/Ink/traditional journalism costs them too much.

So, I'd seriously try and get some sort of web portfolio going on. Things published online, to show them.

It's not hard. There are a thousand web sites, for every subject in the world. 90% of them rely on contributions for their content.

Publishers these days are expecting applicants to be a lot more proactive these days. The web doesn't give you any excuses now. As in, you don't need experience to be published any more.

If you go to a job interview with 5 examples of web articles you have already written somewhere, your chances will double.

If you want any links to web sites that rely on amateur contributions, drop me a line.

irvine wrote:A question an employer here may ask you is:

- Why are your experience and qualification so diverse?

Their underlying meaning may be:

- What can you bring in to our company?

----

Your diverse background and years of experience is your asset, strength, and even talent. You need to remember all that is your worth and value when you talk to them. I.e. they may say it's just Jack of all trade and master of none.

Also:

If you are serious about journalism, why haven't you done any writing on line already?

Seriously. Advent of the web has toughened it up a bit more. No excuse for not doing web writing (blogs, web sites, fan contribution sites) these days.

Almost a pre-req with publishers these days

Set up a website for yourself. When you publish articles include a copy or a link on the website so you have an online folio you can easily show to prospective employers.

Try applying for jobs in Singapore, but it may be easier to start off in Malaysia. You can always submit interesting freelance articles to the papers here. Also look at contributing to websites and magazines. To help build out your portfolio.

Some friend's of friends set up thecicak.org to raise issues for malaysian students overseas and to help showcase their work. I am not sure if much has happened on the site since they graduated though. So you could consider a project like that.

The final thing is to sell yourself. Ageism might exist with regards to jobs and salary, but life experience and being able to express yourself can make for a much more compelling article.

Good Luck!

Thank you for the replies.I suppose I started to realise that I really wanted to be a journalist towards the end of my program as I had thought of going into corporate communications previously

I am in the process of setting up my own website,been learning HTML,CSS and PHP although you can easily set up a blog without these skills but it will be beneficial in the long run.

My previous problem was narrowing my niche as I am passionate about politics but if you write about Malaysian politics you might land yourself in jail under 'ISA' . My other two passions are the economy/finance ( hence my admiration for SG, she has a very forward thinking economy,always reinventing herself) and sports.

I have been writing for the University newspaper and a couple of my stories are currently being published in an online science journal.

So most likely I will start in Malaysia and build myself up before I make the next move. After all Singapore is just a hop away!