Looking for IT/Business(SAP) job in Jakarta as a German Expat

If you do a little online research you will quickly and easily find out which headhunters and recruitment companies are located in Asia. Most of the big ones are there. Choosing to work in Jakarta would be my last choice. You'd be better off looking at Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur rather than Jakarta which would come way down my list of places to live and work. However, any job in Asia is better than no job in Asia.

My advice is to find a job in Asia, any job as long as it gets you out here, then start looking for a serious job. People in Asia switch jobs often continually until they find their niche, a position where they have good prospects and are rewarded appropriately. Aim always to  ultimately work for yourself as this is the only real way to be successful. Also know that job opportunities and partnerships present themselves to you all the time when you are in Asia.

The other thing is that in many of these countries you can buy property under your own name whereas in Indonesia you cannot. In my opinion, the road to success must include buying properties (I bought one in the UK where I am from, two in HK, six in Kuala Lumpur and one in Singapore), all the others are in my wife's name in Indonesia. The point is that in Asia, with a good salary you can easily get mortgage loans whereas in Indonesia not only are the interest rates ridiculously high, but you cannot own under your own name. And buying property is as important in building wealth as a decent salary.

abdulkhalil wrote:

Choosing to work in Jakarta would be my last choice.

There are advantages - Salaries tend to be very high in comparison to local wages so living can be good.
That and you have the opportunity to save a lot of your income.

Interest rates are reasonably high, very handy if you put your spare cash into something like BRI's Deposito (Expats on a KITAS can do so legally)

abdulkhalil wrote:

The other thing is that in many of these countries you can buy property under your own name whereas in Indonesia you cannot. In my opinion, the road to success must include buying properties

Foreigners can't buy property in Jakarta (with exceptions), but who the hell would want to anyway?
Prices are stupid at best, interest rates on loans are way too high, and a lot of the properties are undumpable as they are overpriced when you buy and everyone is pushed to buy new so the second hand market is limited.
Short term expats would be crackers to even consider buying here, and I have to disagree about property buying being a measure of success in anything.
Estate agents tell us it is, but they're hardly people I'd take advice from about property.
That would be very much like walking into a lion's cage and asking for menu recommendations.

Read my words Fred, I did not say it was a measure of success.....

Buying property is about building wealth in the long term. You should read one of the thousands of books on how to get rich on real estate. The value of my HK apartments have increased 6 or 7 times since I bought them in 1990 and they are rented out all the time. One of my Malaysian apartments has increase three-fold since 2004. Singapore is the same. Even the properties I bought under my wife's name have appreciated in value a lot but that is more to do with buying at a very cheap price or renovating/rebuilding the properties and of course buying in a good location.

But you are correct about not dealing with property agents in Indonesia. Scout around and deal directly with the owner. Negotiate hard, So many people sell out of desperation. However, since the OP cannot buy property in Indonesia with the exception of highly overpriced apartments, this is not really relevant.

More important is to consider looking for a job in other major cities in Asia rather than in Indonesia.

abdulkhalil wrote:

Buying property is about building wealth in the long term. You should read one of the thousands of books on how to get rich on real estate. The value of my HK apartments have increased 6 or 7 times since I bought them in 1990 and they are rented out all the time. One of my Malaysian apartments has increase three-fold since 2004. Singapore is the same. Even the properties I bought under my wife's name have appreciated in value a lot but that is more to do with buying at a very cheap price or renovating/rebuilding the properties and of course buying in a good location.

But you are correct about not dealing with property agents in Indonesia. Scout around and deal directly with the owner. Negotiate hard, So many people sell out of desperation. However, since the OP cannot buy property in Indonesia with the exception of highly overpriced apartments, this is not really relevant.

More important is to consider looking for a job in other major cities in Asia rather than in Indonesia.

HK and Malaysia aren't Indonesia, as Singapore isn't.
Property prices have also increased in this country, but pretty much everything is overpriced and the supposed resale values make them unattractive to buyers.
You only have to look at the number of empty houses and failing shops to realise buying is a very bad idea at the moment.
Right now, buying property here is a way to lose money, even if it was possible for the OP.
As I said, the OP is able to buy some property legally, but there's no way in this world I'd buy any of those.
Buying isn't anything to do with success in the real world, unless you define success as paying in for years to own something you can't sell.
Basically, the idea of buying at the moment is extremely bad unless you buy cheap land, build, then sell on, but only Indonesians and some very few foreigners can do that.

As for "many people sell out of desperation" - True, because they can't dump the places so they have to sell at a loss - very successful.

As a note, unless you are buying in your spouse's name, have bought a flat without land, or run a PT, any property an expat owns is under threat of confiscation without compensation.

Anyway, back in the real world and to the OP.
Indonesia has its charms as a place to work, even in the big city, and there are very likely suitable positions for someone of your experience.
This is specialised stuff and I expect you'll know the players in the game better than most here, so it's time to get onto Google and see which companies are either here, or looking to expand into Indonesia.
Work permits are unlikely to be an issue in a field such as this.

Fred, I am sure your knowledge and experience of property investment far exceeds my own very limited experience and knowledge on this matter, as does your corporate management experience. It is for this reason that we with limited ability admire having someone such as you who knows everything that can always give the best advice.

Given the OP hasn't expressed any interest, perhaps this is a little off topic.
Feel free to start a new thread about it where you can debate the subject on topic.

Well. "A little offtopic" is good 

But hey, that's what you have to be prepared to experience in Forums probably every time. You ask a question, one gives or tries to give an answer and then ppl jump in and discuss that answer leading to a completely different topic.(not counting in trolls writing random stuff).

So thanks for the input on Property and restrictions and possibilities linked to it in SEA region.

But trying to get back to topic:
Me, specialist, worker, want to relocate to SEA, want to find work there, have in mind how complicated visa regulations are or can be, in combination with bureaucracy, looking for help, tips, ppl who know ppl who know the right ppl, of course, I AM using LinkedIn and Google and whatever sites and job portals I can use FROM HERE.
(now think of me having a friendly smile and asking for help, so it doesn't look disrespectful  )

Same advice goes as in my first post, consider places other than Indonesia. I have lived/worked in Singapore, Malaysia, Taipei and Hong Kong. Indonesia is the worst. Take it from someone who has owned companies in HK, Malaysia and in the EU. Contact the big headhunters, job recruitment agencies and management consultant firms. They all have a presence throughout Asia.

Working in Indonesia is easy if you have skills unavailable from the local workforce, and you appear to have those in abundance.

Once you find a company, they apply for the work permit, then a limited stay visa known as an ITAS, the card being a KITAS.
The lot will cost a company around 1,400 USD (give or take) so it's chicken feed considering the industry you're looking at.

Malaysia has its charms, especially because so many people speak English, but Indonesia has other advantages, especially if you like a little adventure.
Regardless of that point, specialist expat salaries tend to be very high, more so because the cost of living (away from the stupidly priced stuff) is very cheap, that meaning saving can be high and reasonably high interest deposit accounts with no minimum investment time are easy to find. You'll easily get 5%, probably more, and all hassle free.

I admit a liking for Indonesia, much more so than other countries I've visited, therefore there's a little bias in my posts.

With the new government and the cut backs exercises they are currently doing, it will be rather hard for expats to find jobs in Malaysia soon.

It is already much more difficult for expats to get jobs in Malaysia than before. There are less and less expats there all the time.

You could well have more success contacting one of the many PMC's within Asia especially China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand.

Indonesia do use these but are usually controlled and contracted between (for a current and long term example) the UK, USA, Australia governments
(Vietnam are currently screaming for them due to many billions invested in Oil and Gas all the above totally rely on the aviation sector (if that is of course the route you want)
But from first hand experience it's usually very demanding mentally

tiganasfx wrote:

With the new government and the cut backs exercises they are currently doing, it will be rather hard for expats to find jobs in Malaysia soon.

Sudden and massive political change always brings a level of instability in some form and commonly changes the situation as far as expats are concerned.
It looks as if Malaysia is going to remain reasonably political stable and generally safe for expats, but there might very well be big changes for working expats as attitudes change and corruption is addressed.
We're seeing changes here at the moment for expat workers, but the changes are mostly positive as there's a push towards foreign investment.