Complete Guide to Working in Singapore as Software Engineer

Photo by Chen Hu on Unsplash

Information Technology (IT) has been buzzing for the past few years. Many people are directing towards Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and Internet of Things. In Indonesia itself, it is reflected on many top IT companies emerging, including Traveloka, Go-Jek, Tokopedia, and Bukalapak.

Zooming out, we can see Silicon Valley as the centre of IT companies, having Google and Facebook HQ in it, making them the hottest place for IT careers. Almost every Indonesian who works in the IT world must have wondered to work in those companies, but it felt as it’s just a dream to them. Though it’s rigorous, it’s still achievable. In fact, there are so many Indonesian working in those companies. There was even a program called Indo2SV to prepare college students for interning at Silicon Valley.

For Southeast Asia itself, I can safely say that Singapore (SG) is the centre of IT companies; Google, Facebook and many Southeast Asia’s IT companies has its office in it. People from China and other Southeast Asia’s countries are coming over to pursue their IT career. Though there hasn’t been Indo2SV-like program to SG, there are so many Indonesian working here. Some came from NTU and NUS, but others fascinatingly came from Indonesian’s universities such as University of Indonesia (UI), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), and Bina Nusantara University (BINUS). In this article, I’d like to discuss the regular process these guys and gals go through to manage working in SG.

Before applying, you need to have a good resume. Software Engineer resume is actually similar to other else; you put your past working experiences; education background, and past projects. The golden rule is to have one to two concise page; you do not have to explain thoroughly everything, just give keypoints. You also do not have to put your irrelevant experience on it; for example, do not put how well you sing a song on the resume, or how well you paint and play piano.

If you feel your resume does not stand out even after scrutinizing it, do not fret to apply. Just apply to some companies, because you do not lose anything by doing so. Some companies do not delve deep to resume; they just want to know whether you have a relevant experience. I know some people who were from non-popular universities, having a bad GPA, and still manage to work in Singapore.

Some people may be scared to even apply to companies in SG, but in general, it’s actually just a simple two phases of interview:

1. HR Interview

Some companies have it, others not. In this phase, you will be asked several background stuffs such as your previous working experience, education, and past projects. Some companies, however, can ask you technical stuffs through phone call, one of those companies is Google. Some companies also ask about your expected salary and work motivation.

2. Technical Interview

You will be tested on several subjects, depending on the role you are applying. For Frontend Engineer, you may be asked about basic Javascript, CSS and HTML. Backend Engineer on the other hand may be asked about database and servers. One common similarity in both roles are algorithm and data structures question. Normally, you will face two to three technical interviews.

Some companies may introduce other type of interviews such as interview with CTO, usually to check your behavior and assure that you can fit the company’s culture.

Although simple, it is important to have preparation before going for an interview. Below are the most rife websites to hone your technical skills:

• InterviewBit
  There are eight practices in InterviewBit that you can work on. Problems presented are from real technical interviews that people had came over. You can set your daily goals so that you can follow your own pace. My recommendation is to set 500 points as your daily goal.
• LeetCode
  LeetCode is almost the same as InterviewBit; some problems are also equivalent. If you do not favour InterviewBit, you can use this platform instead.
• Pramp
  Pramp is giving you chance to have mock interview with people all over the world. I consider Pramp as the most powerful platform to prepare for your interview as you will be faced with people of different dialects; you never know who interviewed you, it could be Indian with a nice bold accent, or Chinese with soft subtle one. However, I do not consider problems presented in Pramp as good as the former ones.

Basically, those three websites are all you need to work on. However, for those wanting to go plus ultra, you can try these:

• Codeforces
  A competitive programming platform. You will be ranked based on color; with red as one of the highest ranked programmer. I’d suggest you to have a blue or purple color to be ready with technical interviews.
• HackerRank
  It’s similar to InterviewBit and LeetCode. You can use this platform as an alternative.

For those in favour of physical study, you can try Cracking the Coding Interview. It’s quite pricey, but considering the result, I highly recommend you to buy it.

After you are accepted and offered a position, the next part is to come to Singapore and work. You need Visas (called “Employment Pass” (EP)) to work here. Usually, the company will handle your application, you just have to fill the Application Form and send it back to them. The process usually took about a month.

You will need to look for residencies before coming to Singapore; you can stay with Landlord or you can rent entire HDB flat, choices are up to you. It is needed for your EP Application.

The average expenses in Singapore are 1200–1500 SGD monthly, with details as below:

• Renting HDB Flat: 700–900 SGD
• Tummy’s need: 5 SGD (average price for hawker foods)
• Transportation: 1 SGD one-way trip

TML (Thank Me Later)

1. Sometimes, during the interview phase, there is no news from the company regarding the next interview or phase. In this case, do not be afraid to email back to them, because maybe they are too busy with other things. It also applies to every other process, if you do not hear back from companies, just reach them out.
2. You will be asked about expected salary. This is a tricky question; mention too low, you will be underpaid. However mentioning too high, you will probably be rejected. The key here is to research about the normal salary in that company for the role you are applying. Do not be afraid to say the number; companies just want to be mutual.
3. After you get offered, try to negotiate about the salary. Salary is just like commodity; buyer (the company) wants to buy you in the cheapest way possible, so you as the seller will have to raise the bar. However, be careful not to raise too high, or the buyer will go away.
4. Sometimes there are nice guys out there to be your mentor. You can reach them out via LinkedIn or other social media. They can not only teach you for the interviews, but you can also get referrals from them. Referrals is an integral part of the process. It’s like golden ticket to interviewing; bypass the resume screening process.