Finding a Job in Singapore

The job market, in-demand fields, and how hiring works

Hiring in Singapore is fast, English-language and credential-conscious, but it now operates under a policy framework designed to give local candidates a genuine first look. Employers must generally advertise professional roles on the national jobs portal before applying for an Employment Pass, firms with a heavily foreign professional workforce score worse under the COMPASS framework, and a published watchlist regime exists for employers whose hiring practices are judged discriminatory. In practice a candidate is competing not only on merit but on whether a particular employer's workforce profile can absorb another foreign hire.

The Fair Consideration Framework, in practice

Before applying for an Employment Pass, an employer must ordinarily advertise the role on the national jobs portal for a prescribed minimum period and consider local applicants fairly, with published exemptions for certain salary levels, intra-corporate transferees and short-term roles.

The requirement is procedural rather than a labour market test with a formal outcome, but it is enforced. Employers judged to have advertised in bad faith or to have discriminated can be placed on a watchlist, which slows or blocks their future pass applications, and fair employment obligations have been strengthened in legislation.

Why the employer matters as much as the candidate

Because COMPASS awards points for the share of professionals in a firm who are local and for the diversity of nationalities among its foreign staff, an employer's existing workforce can decide an application. A small firm whose professional staff are almost entirely foreign, or heavily concentrated in one nationality, scores poorly and may be unable to hire a candidate that a larger, more balanced firm could hire without difficulty.

This is worth establishing early in a hiring conversation, because a candidate has no way of influencing it and no visibility into it from outside.

How hiring is conducted

• Recruitment is conducted in English, and CVs follow a broadly international convention; a photograph and personal details are commonly included in local practice, though this is changing.
• Recruitment agencies play a large role, particularly in finance, technology and professional services.
• Notice periods of one to three months are normal, and employers plan around them.
• Employers are subject to fair employment guidelines that discourage stating nationality, age or gender preferences in advertisements.
• Salary is generally quoted as a fixed monthly figure, often with an annual wage supplement, and the fixed monthly figure is the one that determines pass and dependant eligibility.

Where demand is concentrated

The Economic Development Board's published priorities and the shortage occupation list used within COMPASS are the closest thing to an official statement of demand. Finance and asset management, technology and digital roles, biomedical and pharmaceutical manufacturing, advanced electronics, logistics and regional headquarters functions recur consistently.

Regulated professions including medicine, dentistry, law, nursing, pharmacy and accountancy require registration with the relevant Singapore professional body, and foreign qualifications are not automatically recognised. Law in particular is largely closed to foreign-qualified practitioners outside defined areas of practice.

Roles that are essentially local — public sector, most teaching in national schools, and anything requiring security clearance — are in practice reserved for citizens.

Official sources

• MOM — Fair Consideration Framework
• Economic Development Board

Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.

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