What it’s really like to work contract job in Singapore?
Contract job, ah, I’ve never really thought of one until the time suddenly comes when I sign up as contractor in one of the MNCs in Singapore. Since contract jobs are usually advertised by recruitment agency, I kinda had my doubt during the hiring stage simply because I have never go through any recruitment process via recruitment agency before. Plus, I heard that some recruitment agencies can be all talks and empty promises so it’s better to read your contract twice or even thrice to make sure it covers all your risks and benefits.
To cut story short, I signed up for a 6 months contract job and currently halfway throughout my contract. Although I don’t think doing contract jobs for 3 months qualify me to share my experience but I figure I’ll just share it anyway. Do bear in mind that everyone’s experience may differ from one to another depending on the nature of the job, the culture of the workplace and of course, the people you are working with. So these are a few “discoveries” that I found out during my three months at my contract job:
1. It has start and end date
The end date kinda makes me feel that I should enjoy my working life day by day because you know it may end/ ends. I guess this is the feeling of someone who has been declared only have a few months of living by the doctor. Oh gosh, live your life like it’s your last day, people. Dark analogy aside, contract jobs generally last from 6 months to one year because the need of contractor usually arises due to a permanent staff going for long leave (such as maternity/ recovering from critical illness) or a one-off project which require more manpower. So yeah, although it’s not wrong to have hope and expectation, but I feel that I should always bear in mind that this contract may end...
2. But that doesn’t mean you can just slack
...because words travel. Even though you probably only work at that company for a brief moment, your work ethic and the way you treat your colleague will linger with them for a while (especially if you are extremely good/ lousy). If the nature of your contract job is kinda niche, you may even be more careful in how you behave because well (1) Singapore is small and (2) people bound to know each other even without being in the same industry. Sometimes I wonder if I need to exile myself for a few years to start afresh in Singapore but then again, I don’t think I have criminal record or something which require me to go “into-the-wild”. Plus going into the wild costs $$$, and hence the need to work and voila, we are back to square 1. Ok, just behave. Really.
3. Don’t over-behave though
The need to impress is definitely there especially when conversion/ extension is at stake but eventually, your skill is not the only factor the company will consider upon converting/ extending. The utmost important holy grail of their decision is definitely pointing all the way to the dreadful word of “BUDGET”. Maybe I should start praying for the company to make a lot of money and allocate additional headcount to hire me. Amen.
4. You are technically not the company’s staff
Although this may differ from case to case, but generally a contractor is contracted by the recruitment agency and then “seconded” to the company. So don’t be surprised if your annual leave is only 6 days for 6 months contract and 12 days for 1 year contract. And you won’t be entitled to staff benefit from that company as well. So yeah, prepare your heart not to be jealous, ok.
5. People tend to be nice/ ignorant of you
The good news about being a contractor is at least you won’t get involved in some kind of Game-of-Thrones political story. After all, you have no power to be in some use/ threat to the permanent staff. In my previous workplace, there’s a permanent staff who is way way way less capable than the contract staff and guess what, the useless dude still there. So I suppose your colleagues would be more willing to teach you stuff (in which they need your help). However, some people may not want to teach you so much because after all you may not stay for good, so ignorance is bound to exist as well.
6. Don’t forget to fill and submit your timesheet
Ah timesheet. Yes, you won’t be able to escape this additional admin task. But thankfully, mine’s only need to be completed on a monthly basis. And my salary does not really depend on whether my timesheet is approved or not. However, some contractors are only paid when their timesheets are approved by their boss. So I think it’s very important to check how the salary arrangement is with the recruitment agency.
