Is it just me or foreigners have no opportunites whatsoever here ?

I know plenty of expa lecturer earning 3k per onth wirh w p.other blue collar for 1.5 k per month w wp.

I'm sorry but I don't really understand your English.

Mike that is what happens when someone attends a local University staffed by cut price lecturers paid illegally 

Nemodot wrote:

Mike that is what happens when someone attends a local University staffed by cut price lecturers paid illegally 

And is used to texting and not actually writing. 

There are a number of criteria that employers all over the world, not just in Kuala Lumpur, examine when interviewing prospective candidates to fill any position - educational background, previous experience and inter-personal skills being the three most important.

One can hardly expect that an employer would fill any vacancy with anything less than the very best candidate that is available. It's easy to blame somebody else for an unsatisfactory outcome. It's interesting that the OP, herself, admitted that she had no experience and was not able to speak the language. Really, would YOU hire someone like that for YOUR company? If you were interested in staying in business and making money you certainly wouldn't.

If you have difficulty finding employment anywhere in the world, the first thing you need to do is conduct a rigorous self examination. You need to ask yourself WHY this is happening and come up with some very honest answers, many that you may really not like to admit.

It serves no useful purpose blaming others and crying about the situation if you don't have the educational qualifications, experience or inter-personal skills such as language necessary to land the job. You can continue searching until you starve to death and you still won't succeed. What you need to do is improve yourself in those 3 key areas. Take courses, learn the local language, work at other related jobs in the field in order to work yourself up to the position that is your true objective, while gaining valuable experience.

Don't just assume that if you don't get the job offer it's because you're an expat. Look around you, the person that got it was the most qualified - and that has no bearing on nationality. You may just as easily have lost the job to another expat than to a local.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team

No language skills and no experience = no job.

Read what wjwoodward  has written.

This is crazy ! Xxx

stumpy wrote:

No language skills and no experience = no job.

Read what wjwoodward  has written.

It is the modern generation. They never wanted for anything, spoilt by parents, spoilt by teachers and society, then the real world hits them. And they can't cope with the fact they won't get what they want when they wail like babies. If their Latte is too cold they have a depression and need a psychologist!

What we used to call an "useless muppets" but these days that is what most graduates are generally. No skills, no drive, no determination or resilience; and in many cases even for UK English standards that are appallingly bad.

U no w@ i mean bro, gimme job

BTW Stumpy you don't travel much do you.....

marvelous explanation really
but for me , the problem is to reach the stage of interview !!

Hahaha...I guess so 

@Nemodot

No I have never traveled much at all.   

stop chasing high salary... money you can't take to grave.... go back and live life in your own country even if it means lesser salary... learn to enjoy life... Life is Short... dont waste time chasing money as Death is chasing you instead...

Perhaps you should consider moving to the UK to study and work and go on from there. Seems that is what so many foreigners seem to do these days.

hi ..i just finished my bachelor in hotel and restaurant management and i had many experience in my industry og study, i would to apply a job here in KL but so hard for me..hope someone could help me through..im F,22..thanks

Well join the queue with 30 million unemployed young Fillipinos looking for work anywhere. Malaysia's population is 28 million.

You do the Math! Or get very lucky and approach lots of hotels/resorts and do some real job hunting.

Hey reemz, i am also struggling from past 7 months to get job in malaysia. The main obstacle is work permit. Feeling like they dont hire expat.Feelng like my all qualifications and experince just got dumped while i enter mamalaysia. I am not blaming the country but i am so much irritated. But still have hope and trying my best. Wish u goid luck too.

You need some unique skill and some luck too. I believe there are companies looking for foreigners with expertise language skills.

am called Rose en am looking for a job,i can do office  work and any other sort of work

Rose - look out for jobs that need your language skills - that is the best way to try and find work in Malaysia that has immigration status.

thank you. am fluent in english so that means i shld look for english speaking jobs

No I actually meant languages other than English. That is because you will probably have skills that are not found among Malaysians - that is a criteria to qualify for a work permit (if you need one). The salary levels for office work are usually too low to qualify. There are many English mother tongue speakers in Malaysia. But if you have experience teaching English, then that would be a possible avenue.

excellent

There could be a number of reasons you're not receiving a positive response. I've done hiring for companies here before and there is a lot you need to know as an employee while looking for employment and an employer especially when needing a visa. I also do professional career development here for non-profit organizations, if you would like some help perhaps i may be able to assist. I've lived and worked in KL for 6 years. You can drop me an email at [email protected]

Dennis

thank you gravitas,,can i meet you some day there en brief me abt it dia

thanx my dia
am coming to malaysia this month but i wld love to help of geting a visa and a job  easily

Reemz wrote:

I have been hunting for jobs for more than 3 months now and i have been called to a dozen of interviews yet no positive feedback whatsoever, i mean it is just frustrating how people are just so nice to you on the interview and then they just bail you for little reasons like being a foreigner with no experience .

Unless you will not give opportunities how a person is supposed to gain experience in the first place.

Dissapointed

Help me out!

Have you considered relocating to Thailand?

Unless you failed to provide full-disclosure, re: your "experience level", then HR personnel already knew they would nothire you for that position, well in advance of your interview. In that case, the HR personnel demonstrated unethical behavior, by giving you hope, and wasting your valuable time by interviewing with you, in the first instance.

Considering the historical source, we're not surprised to read the content of your post. Best regards, and good luck in the future, hopefully with a lesson well-learned 

i dont know what do you mean

can we meet when i get to malaysia?

Which post are replying to, either by stated post number or quote 

Actually, I also am curious of "how the HR employers is thinking about hiring foreigners?".

For my case, the process of hiring was very fast, I applied 100+ applicants, and after 1-2 weeks, only 2 wanted to do interview with me, and I was hired at the same day too (One is in Malaysia which I accepted, and the other is in Philippines also accepted me). They are willing to give me visas. However, besides 2 companies, I was rejected by 98+ companies in the CV stage.

I heard from my current employer is that the process of hiring foreigners is very tired which many companies avoid. So I wonder what are the main factors that a company hired you (a foreigner)? (Besides language teaching, and rare skills such as IT, engineering + rich experiences).

Don't they think that if they hire more foreigners, diversity will enhance the culture and profits for them?

Kim - there are two different recruitment systems in Malaysia. For nationals of countries within the greater Asian area there is far more openness towards employment and development. Those countries are: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Phillipines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Nationals from other countries have to meet different requirements.

kimluuthien wrote:

Don't they think that if they hire more foreigners, diversity will enhance the culture and profits for them?

NO! 

The company I work with has 24 staff, but 6 different nationalities which has Indians Vietnamese Nigerians Iranians Syrians and of course Malaysian. Before this, there was also British and Japanese and Indonesian. It's quite a diverse and nice work environment.

You must find the right kind of employers I suppose.

This thread is very old but I read from the start to look for points that could be updated. Here are some out of order comments.

First and above all, its wrong and a mistake for expats to come and try to make their logic and sense of things fit into the place. Stop saying, "they should do this, why wont they do that, whats wrong with them?" You wouldnt like that in your own country. Learn this place and work within its ways.

Employers share things in common. One is they are dollars and sen oriented and driven. They dont care to target diversity, that happens in the by and by of their existence, if at all. They want to hire the best person at the cheapest price.

If you dont have experience, or the right color, age, whatever, you sure better have something else. Nearly all applicants simply show up and their message is, "im here and im going to cost you, so hurry and pay me." No. Whatever you are lacking, you have to make up in whats important to THEM, not you. You have to say, "i have no experience but I have a plan to double your sales in the next 12 months. I also have a plan to cut your costs by 50% in the same period, with minimal pain to the company. Here, let me outline the plan for you. Ive done my research." Its in that general vein of thinking that an employer wants to talk to anyone. Does this mean you have to be a marketing or fiscal expert? NO. What it means is that you care about the companies future and want to work towards a bright light because the good you produce comes right back to you in things like getting the job, promotions, job security, personal expansion. Stop making them do all the work to please you, start thinking like they do. Create your VALUE to them. Be valuable and they will not let go of you.

Regardless of color, age, background, etc., companies hire who they LIKE to hire, thats going to be a cheerful person who can blend right in and not be a troublemaker. SADLY, there also are many companies here who only hire from the inside by taking recommendations from other staff. Outsiders have no chance. I know AT LEAST a few totally unqualified staff who got their jobs through friendships with insiders. For this, you have to network whether you like it or not. How? Start at the bottom, host and go to every expat get-together and meeting possible. Join clubs, join Meetup, parties, and start gaining an ever-widening group of friends. You must and have to be out there circulating. Think of ways to do that, to put yourself in the path of others so that they cannot avoid you.  Do NOT sit at home in front of the PC emailing CVs. Yes, its possible to get interviews that way but its extremely time consuming. You have money and time? Generally this method isnt your friend.

As a tangent to the idea of circulation, early in my Malaysia adventure I opened a shop in KL. I never expected to meet anyone, just do my work. Within six months I had so many offers and opportunities they couldnt be counted. Offers of assignments, partnerships, positions, memberships, jobs. And I was a nothing nobody from no place. When I never expected to meet anyone, it turned out i met them all, people in Malaysian society from A-Z. How? By literally putting myself right in their path and they couldnt avoid me. But how this? Because if you ASK for a job, you will be turned down. But  people, human beings, those outside of you and seemingly silent, have brains constantly in motion and they are constantly looking for places for their ideas to land. If you happen to be there at the right moment, those ideas will land on YOU. Stuff like this happens a lot more frequently than you think. Get OUT there! Dabble in everything, meet everyone. You could wind up a celebrity

Early in this thread Nemodot wrote some great posts. Go find them, Good information there.

Last thing, a change from the five years of this thread is that foreigners are steadily being pushed out in favor of locals who the government wants to have the jobs. Simple as that. There are and always will be hirings but compared to five years ago its lessening. More frequently there are project jobs in which they need you for very short term and then byebye. Then there are the usual available jobs in construction, guards, dish washing, rubbish collection but we are not talking about those. Its never been this tough. I think about rising population amid fewer jobs and wonder whats going to happen. To get a job here now, you have to be very visible and very special. Desire per se doesnt count.

cvco wrote:

[...]
But  people, human beings, those outside of you and seemingly silent, have brains constantly in motion and they are constantly looking for places for their ideas to land. If you happen to be there at the right moment, those ideas will land on YOU.

[...]
To get a job here now, you have to be very visible and very special. Desire per se doesnt count.

I am on with you.
What you said remind me of when I discussed with my friends who work in HR/ Consultant field about.... "how a fresh graduated student can land a high paid job?" - Many young people want to have a good start and it blinds us from many important factors that left aside. They just want us give them the result but rather than looking at their case specifically. Many tips, advices, articles are written to "help" but turn out the reality is still a "bitter mysterious market."

(Eg: a junior in my university asked me how to land an internship oversea without concerning and researching deeply about his own case... He just wanted me to "help" but how can I help while he has to be the one who "do it not me")

.... Besides money, there are something deeper to win over a recruiter's heart. However, it is changing everyday... Some have it from luck, from relationship, from many factors, anyway.... there is either better nor worst method, just that it comes easy to their own case.

Unfortunately, each company has different requirements, and each country has different culture too.... We cannot say anything because it is just assumption, some people can make it, but with the same method, some cannot do it.

You have to figure out your own unique way to win over a recruiter.. that is the most precise answer....

Come back and ask within you, work hard for yourself first before asking others accept you... Researching is skill that it seems easy but not anyone can do it...

After researching, someone get it, some don't.... I have no idea what will come after your searching. If I know, I wouldn't be here to read for advices and see how people think of it in term of their cases.

.... People have desire of going abroad for a job, turning out the reality kicks out and we realize that it is not easy like we thought.

I spent more than 9 months to go to Europe for an internship. Failed from Germany, USA, India too, Failed in interview alot until I got accepted by a Romania agency, but well I still could not understand they way they thought, they worked and many things too.... except, my co workers treated me open minded enough to accept diversity in creativity. Some are open minded, but some are not.... I was back to my hometown, worked in a Foreign-invested based agency and my English boss surely were not the type of "open-minded"

But it is a process.... not a result.  I am still curious of how each country thinks, how each country and nationality works, why some got accepted, some could not.... but I still have no idea.... Hope that I can have the answer of the question "Why I cannot get a job in some countries...? and how to make them hire me?" before I die... 

Great write-up - and very true.

What surprises people is that Malaysia is not like middle eastern countries, where the labour force is predominantly foreigners.

The other difference is Malaysia is part of ASEAN and thus there is a priority among those countries to cooperate.

Thirdly, there are controls put in place by immigration that only permit some companies to recruit non-Malaysians.

Lastly, there is protectionism in many sectors, so it's pointless just turning up in Malaysia to look for work in some cases.

But as kimluuthien says, If you can convince a Hirer by an excellent CV and interview, then finding work will be possible. Pay particular attention to ENGLISH skills - bearing in mind that for some Malaysians it is actually their first language (yes - some families actually speak English as their daily language).