Career Resource Center For Expatriates, Singapore
Alka Chandiramani
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The Career Resource Center For Expatriates, Singapore (CRCE) is a unique, not-for-profit initiative run through the American Association of Singapore, which offers invaluable services to expatriates seeking job opportunities in Singapore. By means of employer job listings and job-seeker workshops, the CRCE helps permanent residents, dependant pass holders and long-term social visit pass holders, of all nationalities, explore employment opportunities in Singapore.
We talked to Alka Chandiramani, to learn more about this great resource. Alka has been with the CRCE since April 2008 and is a multi-lingual and experienced HR practitioner with over 15 years of HR and legal experience. She has worked with multinational companies, legal firms and schools throughout Hong Kong and has been in Singapore since 2003. |
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| Expat Women's Interview with Alka about Singapore's CRCE |
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Expat Women: Alka, please share with us the origins of CRCE and how it evolved to what it is today. |
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Alka: CRCE started in 1997 to assist trailing spouses to find employment opportunities in Singapore. We now have close to 700 members of 40 different nationalities, mostly aged 30-50, seeking positions in a variety of roles. CRCE serves its members by helping them to find job openings and sharing with them useful job-related information and training. Historically, the CRCE has had more females than males, but its male membership has grown as we see the trend of trailing talent being shifted to include both genders.
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| Expat Women: What courses does the CRCE run today? |
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| Alka: At CRCE, we run three main workshops: |
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Getting Started: where candidates learn how to conduct a strategic and well-organized job search, as well as information on work visas, issues that prevail with working in Singapore and networking tips; |
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Resume Writing Workshops: which equip candidates with strategies and skills to rewrite their resume as appropriate to their background and experience; and |
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Interviewing Skills workshops: which focus on the interviewing techniques and how to answer the toughest interview questions and feel confident in interviews. |
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| In addition, we also invite external experts from various fields to share their expertise with our members. |
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| Expat Women: Which courses are your most popular and why? |
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Alka: I run the workshops on a rotation basis to meet the needs of the members. All three workshops are always in demand because of the continuous inflow of new expatriates in Singapore. |
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Expat Women: Can you share with us some success stories from clients? |
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Alka: We feature all our success stories in the Singapore American Newspaper every month and there have been many over the course of time. Recently, we were also featured in the Straits Times addressing the issue of Foreign Talent.
The CRCE has assisted spouses who have been out of work force for many years, those who have tried to find work but have found it difficult to assimilate into the local Singaporean work culture and others who would like to contribute to the society at large. We provide the resource to overcome the fear of transitioning back into the workforce, build self-esteem and provide network opportunities to grasp the opportunities available here in Singapore." |
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| Expat Women: What are some of the common issues that your clients face in Singapore? |
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Alka: Some of the common issues that members face are trying to change the pre-conceived notion of expatriate spouses not wanting/needing to work. In reality, many trailing spouses represent truly valuable "trailing talent" and they would like to work to make a significant contribution to the society at large. |
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| Expat Women: What top five tips would you offer to expatriate women, in any location, for gaining meaningful employment abroad? |
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| Alka: My top five tips would be: |
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Networking: This can be done anywhere, not just formal settings. You can network at the grocery store, at your children's school or at social gatherings. More traditional networking can be done at professional associations, universities and alumni associations and trade organizations. Also, be sure to register with your consulate as they often have job listings and social events for networking. When networking, pay special attention to your general appearance (and initial impressions are based on: 7 percent the words we use, 38 percent body language, and 55 percent visual cues including dress and physique); |
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Know Your Transferable Skills: These are your most marketable skills that can be used in a work environment. Some examples of these skills are the ability to solve problems, communicate verbally, write effectively, manage teams, lead employees, create presentations, use computer programs etc. Make sure you recognize your skills and include them in your resume and communicate them at your job interviewer. Make sure to be concise and specific when you describe your skills and connect them to the job you are applying for and the needs of your potential employer; |
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Research: As soon as you see a job that interests you, research the company's website or go to the library to learn all you can about the company and their product or service offering(s). You will want to know the company's mission statement and vision, the size of the company (employees, revenues, profits, growth and so on), locations, market share and specific questions that surround the job you are interested in and your field of work. Before you go to your interview, be able to explain how your experience and skills fit with the job and company. Be impressive; |
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Project confidence: You may feel nervous inside but you will want to show confidence on the outside. When you project confidence it makes others take notice of you and believe in the image you are portraying. So, stay positive and feel good about your skills and experience, sit up straight, hold your head up, give a firm handshake and project your voice. Remember to answer questions with modesty as well as confidence, so you do not come off sounding too boastful and not authentic. When you project the right balance of confidence and a positive attitude, future employers will give you the attention you deserve and it will leave a lasting impression; and |
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Get organized: Resumes, applications, research on companies, loose pieces of paper with contacts' phone numbers... the paperwork can be overwhelming! The best way to conduct a successful job search is to put some organizational tools in place. Designate a place in your home for your job search. This can be a bedroom or a desk, as long as you have a place and filing system to put all your job search related information. Consider keeping a job search diary or binder where you can record all your job search activities such as telephone calls, networking calls, informational meetings, interviews, and a log of all the companies you sent your resume to. |
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| Expat Women: What advice could you offer to other expatriate organizations that might be interested in setting up something similar to the CRCE? |
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| Alka: First and foremost, it would be important to conduct a market analysis of the needs and requirements of expatriates in your location. Also, it would be crucial to understand the laws prevailing to hiring expatriates based on the type of visas that they are on. It would also be helpful to work with the appropriate government department to understand the options that would be available for an expatriate in every aspect. |
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Expat Women: Alka, thank you very much for sharing with us about the CRCE. It is a fabulous concept and we wish the CRCE every success! |
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