What’s Singapore Like For Foreign Professionals? | TEA TALKS

- [Wendy] Does it come up for you naturally as well? - [Danielle] Sometimes, you know wah l** eh. Something like that. [squealing] Something like that. [squealing] - [Nicole] Bad word! - Oh, is that a bad word? I didn't know that was a bad word. - Right, good morning! - [All] Good morning. - Right, good morning! I love how Nicole is always so smiley in the morning. - Morning! I love how Nicole is always so smiley in the morning. We're talking about working overseas actually. We’re like, we need

another perspective. Where are we going to find it? We found Danni and then we’re like “Let's come over to the studio and talk about it.” Then my question to you guys now is have you guys ever worked overseas or ever thought of working overseas? - [Yuheng] I know you have... - I know... yes. - I have not. yes. This is my overseas. - And Danni has. - Yes. - Danni, this is... And this is also my overseas. - Yes, yes. And this is also my overseas. But I've also worked overseas (at another country)

before. - Okay, so she's the most... you're the most experienced among all of us. - She's the most international Ms. Worldwide. - I worked in Shanghai for six months. I did like a short internship and I've always... afterwards, had dreams of working overseas but... yeah, just a little bit scared to take the jump. - Yeah. yeah, just a little bit scared to take the jump. - Yeah. So... - Why scared? I don't know, it's scary. It's scary, no? - It is scary. - Yeah. - It is scary. And I think there's

so many options out there, right? Like, when you're looking at where to go… Do I choose... Vietnam, Bangkok Hong Kong? How did you eventually settle on (coming to) Singapore? And how many years ago was that? And how did you get a job? So many questions! - Okay, that’s a lot of questions. So many questions! Tell us everything! - Okay, number one, (in) Singapore there's not going to be any language barrier issues. I feel like Singapore is a really good financial hub so there's definitely going to

be opportunities in finance here. And I don't know, I just always had a draw to Singapore. Like, I'd never even visited before but my grandad he was Irish and he was actually stationed in Singapore. - It's giving, like, invisible string theory. - Yeah, yeah! - It's giving, like, invisible string theory. - Always connected. Yeah, and I think that was probably before Singapore was even a country officially, right? So, yeah. He always said that it was his favourite place on earth. I think it was pr

obably very, very different back then... with like all the kampungs (villages) and stuff. Yeah. But, yeah. I just thought, okay, why not? I'll give it a go and move here. So, yeah. - Wow. So yeah, I had a job offer So yeah, I had a job offer and then they applied my E-pass (Employment Pass) for me. - So in your experience working in Singapore did you have any culture shock? - Yes, to the point where now when I go back to the UK (United Kingdom) I feel like that is a culture shock for me. - Oh, o

kay. I feel like that is a culture shock for me. Yeah. So like, here I really love how you can just kind of like “chope” a table with a packet of tissues or some random... - Such a CBD (Central Business District) culture. [laughs in CBD] - Or like, I even saw someone when I first moved here, I saw someone “chope” a table with an iPad. And I was like, “Right, okay.” - Singaporeans are a little too comfortable. - We’re so comfy. - No, that would be gone in a second in the UK. - So out of curiosity

, what is your relationship status? Is it difficult to date in Singapore? - So I actually met my husband when I was living in Singapore. So he's Singaporean. - Oh! So he's Singaporean. Yeah. - Wait, wait. Yeah. Is Singlish attractive? As a Singaporean, I don't know. - When he talks to me, at least he doesn't have a very thick Singlish accent. So, “can one”. [squeals] - Wait, so you have... so you do know Singlish? - Yeah. so you do know Singlish? Do you hear it a lot at the workplace? Or is it l

ike... as you walk the streets kind of thing? - More so like in the hawker centres, I would say. - Yeah. - Can lah, this one leh. - Yeah, lah, leh. I don't mind throwing that on the end of stuff. - Okay. - What about you? - My parents came over from Tanzania to Singapore to work and I grew up here so I'm a PR (Permanent Resident). My dad made a bold decision to come here work for a year to just see what the landscape is like in Singapore before he moved our entire family here. - Did he struggle

with integrating? - Interestingly, I think he didn't. He picked up all the slangs, all the... Hokkien, Malay, Chinese so he can converse with (the locals). - Impressive. - Yeah. - Impressive. Because his name is Walter and then it sounds like “water”. So like, “Ah Jiu”. - “Ah Zui.” - “Ah Zui.” - “Ah Zui.” [laughter] - Which is “water” in Hokkien. - That’s quite endearing, yeah! - That’s so good! - Yeah. - That’s so good! Oh my god. - That’s a cute nickname. - Yeah, so like... So that's his nickn

ame when he started working in Singapore. - But that's still a big deal, right? Like, I just moved by myself. I didn't have to think about anyone or I didn’t have any responsibilities whereas that's a really big deal to move with your family somewhere to have a better career and things. - Yeah. you know, have a better career and things. - What do you do then? - I've been living in Singapore coming up to six years now. I'm a Private Wealth Manager. I'm on an E-pass over here. My role is mostly cl

ient-facing. We work with affluent and high net worth clients. - It's not easy, I'm guessing, to... land a job in another country. What's your secret sauce? - I guess, definitely my educational background helps. So I have a master's degree from a good university in the UK and there were a lot of mathematical equations. Those kinds of skills can be transferred to the work that I do now. So I felt that I could bring that and share that with local colleagues. But then they also helped me quite a lo

t because I've never heard of CPF (Central Provident Fund) or anything like that before I moved here. So, I had to kind of learn all of these things as well. - Okay, so I'm quite curious to know because obviously, I've not worked in a different country before but what's the difference between working here in Singapore versus the culture back home? - Yeah, I think it’s quite different actually. For example, in the UK I didn't work in London, so I can't say what it's like in London. But where I wo

rked, it's quite laid-back, you know people kind of clock in, clock out when they're supposed to and go about their day and their evenings without really kind of thinking too much about work. Whereas I think here in Singapore sometimes I feel like the work-life balance is a little bit blurred here. I don't know whether you guys feel that as well. - 100 percent. I don't know whether you guys feel that as well. - I also know that a lot of local companies are still choosing to have employees come i

n every day to work, right? Is that something that you have to deal with in your line? - Yeah, I think, I mean not so much now after COVID, but before COVID especially in my line of work because we have to go out and meet clients a lot of the time, right? So sometimes it's actually counterproductive being in the office. Sometimes I suggested, like “Hey, isn't it a good idea that, you know you don’t come into the office today because you've got meetings in X, Y, and Z places.” So I think this kin

d of flexibility of hybrid work is a lot better. - Love it. So I think, this kind of flexibility of hybrid work is a lot better. Yeah. - One of my ex-bosses… he was from New Zealand. - Okay. - One of my ex-bosses… he was from New Zealand. Obviously, he brought a different perspective. It was quite a culture shock for me as well. It was very different. It's not always about the bottom line. It's always about just making sure that we are happy we are accepted and we are okay with our jobs. - Then

for you, Nicole How was... because you worked in China I mean, you interned in China for a while, right? - Yeah. I mean, you interned in China for a while, right? Was it… very different for you? - Yeah... China has a reputation for being a very... you know, like the “996” culture where they work really, really long hours. I didn't really get that. I was working for a publication, an English paper and they hired a mix of locals, Chinese people and a bunch of foreigners from Australia the Netherla

nds. Quite a mix. And it was very nice because you got that blend of Chinese culture and people who appreciated Chinese culture and were curious about China, right? So... they brought their global perspective mixed with the local perspective and then you... It was just a lot of learning and it felt like a cultural exchange. I really liked that dynamic, diverse environment. - Actually, on that note, I'm also quite curious to find out. Personally for you - Yeah. Personally for you - Yeah. did you

feel like... did you feel like... Were there any challenges assimilating into the work culture? - When I moved to a Singaporean company it was me and three Filipino (colleagues) and everyone else in my team was Singaporean. So that, I felt was sometimes a bit of a culture shock. Especially if locals have never worked with a foreign professional before. They might think that I'm not going to understand their perspective or what they're talking about or where they've come from. But actually, it do

esn't matter where you come from, right? You can still empathise and get to know that person's point of view. - Have you ever felt treated a little differently from your local colleagues... just because you are different from them? - Yeah, but I took it as more of... like a positive thing rather than a negative because I think that they saw that I could bring something different like a different perspective that maybe they couldn't see. When I was working at, where it was mainly Singaporeans I t

hink they thought that I could bring a different client base that they weren't able to because maybe they don't know a lot of foreign professionals or they were still in the process of... figuring out how to connect in that way. So I already know that, right? I am a foreign professional so I find it quite easy to connect with people in similar situations. So I think they saw it as an asset in that way. - Yeah, I reflect on sort of working with non-Singaporeans in my job as well because we're a f

inancial paper. So some of them come from other countries where I guess the way they do finance things is slightly different. So they bring that regional, worldly more global way of thinking. - Like learning about different countries politics - Yeah, correct. that can affect certain things, right? - Correct, because you're very used to how things are done here but you wouldn’t consider how Malaysia does some things, right? How Indonesia does some things. So yeah, it's very interesting. - Exactly

, yeah. And it doesn't always have to be a competition or overlapping of work and skill set. You can still work together and collaborate but bring something different and unique, right? - Yeah. but bring something different and unique, right? - I guess the reason why Danni is here is because, as you know Singapore is a very small nation with an ageing population. So I guess foreign professionals in the workforce are meant to be complementary rather than competitive, right? Because it helps plug

immediate skill gaps and seize economic opportunities for companies. And I think it also helps us as a country attract more enterprises and global founders to come look for a safe and trusted hub to set up their companies in. And this also helps us create more job opportunities on the ground so it benefits locals as well. - Exactly. I heard that over 54,000 jobs were created by foreign investments and all that. - So we need to remain open to these complementary professionals so our workforce can

be diverse and productive. - Well said. - What was the moment when you realised “Oh, I'm one of them now.” Or, like... - One of us. - Like, they have accepted you. You're one of us now. Is there a moment like that? Like, “Ah, I'm a Singaporean.” - After work and stuff we go to very Singaporean places. And then maybe like, go sing KTV (karaoke) afterwards - Cute! and stuff like that, yeah. - Go sing K (karaoke)! - That’s very Singaporean. - Go sing K (karaoke)! - That’s very Singaporean. - Yeah.

- So Singaporean. - If they invite you there... you are in. - Yeah! you are in. - You're in the circle now. One of us, one of us. - Especially if they ask you to sing Chinese songs as well. - Do you sing? - Well, I try. But... - Wow! That's impressive. Okay, okay. - Do you have Singaporean friends? And do you guys hang out on the weekends? What do you do? - I joined a dragon boating team. And they also do outrigger canoeing. - Wow! And they also do outrigger canoeing. - Okay, that is so cool. A

nd they also do outrigger canoeing. - Yeah, yeah! - That is so cool! - Yeah, yeah! - I met a Singaporean girl at a pub quiz. And she was like, “Hey, you should try dragon boating with me.” And I was like, “Okay, sure, I will.” Yeah, so I went along. She was like, “Oh, there's free beers after training.” - That was the selling point. - That's why I went. But no, I really enjoyed it. So now I do it properly. - It's so cool. - Yeah! - It's so cool. I feel like most Singaporeans don't even want to d

o dragon boating. - Yeah! don't even want to do dragon boating. - I'm very proud of my fellow countrymen - Yeah. - I'm very proud of my fellow countrymen (for) being so proactive. - Yeah, pitching this as a sport you should get into. - Yeah exactly. - Yeah, pitching this as a sport you should get into. - Yeah. - Yeah, pitching this as a sport you should get into. - Yeah, pitching this as a sport you should get into. - So it's like a real mix. You know, there's locals, there's people from the UK

even Kazakhstan. So it's a really great way to meet people and then we just kind of hang out afterwards and chill. So, yeah! - And how has it been so far living in Singapore? Has it been easy? - I won't lie. I think when I first moved here, I really struggled. I found it really lonely. And maybe that's my own fault because I didn't kind of put myself out there and meet new people. So I found this Facebook group for young Singapore foreign professionals and now I'm in charge of it. And I met load

s of friends from this group so I thought it was important to kind of pass that on and ensure that other people meet nice people from the group as well. - So what are your plans for... - Long term. the long term? Yeah. - Yeah. As long as I can work here, I want to live here. My husband's Singaporean so I feel quite rooted here like my “now” family is here. So... yeah, I want to continue living here until I'm ready to retire I think that's the plan. Fingers crossed. Yeah. - Do you have any advice

for our dear friends here who want to work overseas? - Help us. who want to work overseas? who want to work overseas? - Travelling really helped me explore the different cultures and do a test run to see where I wanted to live. And I guess, just always be on the lookout and always be open to upgrading your skills and just giving it a go. Because I always think if you don't do it like, for example, if I didn't move here and I was still living in Birmingham I would probably really, really regret

not having that experience. - Yeah. Right? So I think just do it whilst you can, you know? Don't leave it until, say “Oh, I'll do that next year next year, just do it.” - All right. Okay. Thanks so much, Danni, for sharing. - Oh, thank you! Okay. Thanks so much, Danni, for sharing. - Oh, thank you! It was so interesting to hear everyone's perspective. It was so interesting to hear everyone's perspective. - Yeah. - Yeah, working with different people and yeah, I love that. I love the diversity he

re. - Thanks guys for having me. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Thank you. - That's all for Tea Talks. We're doing Nicole's signature. Bye!