Crafting a Winning Singapore Resume: Tips for Success

Understanding the Singaporean job market

First, it’s vital to adopt a Singaporean mindset. This helps you accurately aim your resume at the country’s job market and working world.

Singapore is shaped by traditional Asian work beliefs, so the job market puts great importance on the following characteristics:

• Formality
• Professionalism
• Education
• Authority
• Efficiency

Of course, this varies from company to company, especially if the business owners are multinational. Many Singaporean organizations are more relaxed due to the diverse population and large number of working foreigners.

We recommend you research the region and the specific companies you’re applying to. This helps you understand their culture and expected level of formality.

Overall, ensure you maintain professionalism throughout your resume and don’t use slang terms or complex jargon.

Resume fundamentals in Singapore

Let’s cover the essentials of a solid Singaporean resume. Think of this as your go-to Singapore resume template – all of the basics so you can fill in details and personalize it as needed.

First, consider which type of resume you need for your job and career level. Singapore uses the following structures:

• Reverse-chronological: Lists work experience before education and certifications. You then provide your most recent role and work backward, ensuring recruiters see your most relevant achievements first.
• Functional: Provides your skills before your work experience and education. This resume is ideal for new professionals or people switching industries, as it focuses on transferable skills instead of potentially irrelevant experience.
• Combination: Uses elements of both the chronological and functional resumes, emphasizing work experience and skills. This is a great choice for mid-level professionals.

Then, include the right sections. Singapore resumes require sections similar to those in other countries, including Contact Details, Resume Summary, Skills, Work Experience, and Education. 

However, they aren’t identical and have a few unique quirks. For example, we recommend you include your nationality in your Contact Details, along with your name, phone number, and email address. Singaporean hiring managers are always looking for new foreign employees, and this helps you stand out.

Keep your language clear and concise throughout your resume, but don’t be afraid to go into detail. Singaporean employers praise in-depth resumes with a lengthy career history, educational background, and achievements. This means Singapore resumes are nearly always over one page long, but we’ll discuss that a little later.

Feel free to write your resume in English. While much of the population speaks Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil, hiring managers are accustomed to receiving English resumes. In fact, English is one of the four national languages of Singapore.

For examples of how to fill out a typical resume like a pro, browse our collection of resume samples. This will build your basic resume skills, and then you can apply our Singapore tips.

Tailoring your resume for success in Singapore

Carefully read and review your targeted job ad and the company that posted it. This gives you valuable information to enhance your resume and make it stand out to employers.

Study the job description and make a note of critical words, skills, and achievements. It’s vital to list relevant skills to show recruiters you have the exact qualifications they’re looking for. For example, a job post requests a professional who can expertly delegate tasks, so you should discuss how you boosted efficiency by delegating specific duties to employees with matching skills.

This practice also helps you build an ATS resume. Most businesses use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan resumes for specific keywords, and including them helps your resume pass through to the hiring manager. This happens frequently with job titles, so if the job ad asks for a Customer Support Agent, use that term instead of alternatives like Customer Service Agent or Support Associate.

Research the organization you want to join, too. While Singapore has general ideals and expectations, every company is different. You may find a business with a relaxed stance on the hierarchy that prefers laid-back communication.

Looking into each business also shows you care about their organization. The interviewer may ask you questions about the company and it will impress them to hear you’ve researched their values, practices, and purpose.

“We recommend you research the region and the specific companies you’re applying to. This helps you understand their culture and expected level of formality.”

Create the perfect Singaporean resume: 3 practices

Here are a few specific tips to help you understand and master the unique Singapore resume format. 

Write a compelling resume summary

A resume summary is a two to four sentence description of your professional skills, aspirations, and accomplishments. This section isn’t always necessary in Singaporean resumes and many natives choose to omit it.

However, even a brief summary gives hiring managers a lightning-fast, succinct description of your qualifications, saving them time and making your resume more notable. It’s a great opportunity to include an impressive metric to catch their attention and encourage them to read more or simply show them that your resume is relevant to their open role.

Decide if you’re adding a photo

In many countries, photographs on resumes are unheard of or unprofessional. This isn’t the case in Singapore, where it’s commonplace and expected at many companies.

However – it isn’t necessary. We recommend you take some time and consider whether or not you want to add your photo. While some companies may expect one, it also invites unconscious bias, where an employer may judge you based on your appearance.

Regardless of your decision, our resume templates will accommodate you. Each one of our professional layouts has an optional spot for photos, so you can add and remove them for each application.

Use the right resume length

Singaporean resumes are much longer than US resumes. While US resumes are rarely over one page, Singapore resumes average two to three, with experienced professionals reaching up to five.

If you’re unsure how to lengthen your resume, don’t try to go beyond two or three. Add extra details and work history, but don’t stuff information in if it doesn’t feel valuable or relevant.

Tips and best practices for writing a resume in Singapore

Let’s end with a quick summary of all the do’s and don’ts of building a successful Singaporean resume. Here’s a breakdown of our top strategies:

• Use the STAR method: The STAR method is when you describe the Situation, Task, Action, and Result of each work achievement. This puts the recruiter in your shoes and shows them your tangible impact.
• Take advantage of templates: It’s a good idea to use a resume template. Singapore puts importance on clear, concise formatting, and a template ensures you have a pristine resume to fill with your achievements.
• Quantify achievements: Always add measurable metrics and numbers to your job accomplishments to provide greater depth and impact.
• Focus on relevancy: Even if your unrelated achievements, work experience, and education are impressive, omit them if they aren’t relevant. Only include them if you can draw correlations and highlight transferable skills.

Write a professional, natural Singapore resume

Entering an international job market is intimidating, but with the right tips (and attitude!), you can write a winning resume and impress Singaporean hiring managers. Just remember these key takeaways:

• Research the area and company you’re applying to. It’s vital to learn about their culture and specific practices.
• Include your nationality in your Contact Details section to signal you’re a foreign hire.
• Expand on your experience and create a resume that’s two to three pages long.
• Maintain formality and professionalism, especially if you’re unable to learn the company’s preferences.

With CVwizard’s resume maker, you can create any length of resume, add an optional photo, and easily edit each document depending on your needs. Try it today to build a top-notch application in minutes.