Enquiry about PR & Advertising Jobs in Kuala Lumpur for Expats.

Hello everyone,

I am helping an European friend of mine who are currently looking for a PR and Advertising job in Kuala Lumpur. I was wondering how and what are the procedures for that and what should he look into in order for him to get the job secured here in KL. Things like applying visa and etc.....does most company provides visa?

Thank you :)

In respect of the employment pass, the company would arrange that, at no charge to the selected candidate. The permission to work is only valid for a specific job and company, stated on the Offer Letter. It is not transferrable to another company or job. Having said that, if a job move is happening, the first company has to issue a release letter to be submitted with a new request to the immigration department. The company has to have sufficient capital in the company to qualify for hiring expats (they are often MSC designated companies) and to be able to prove there were no suitable candidates available among Malaysians.

It can be rather difficult to find work in the PR field, as it is one of the more glamorous sounding professions. It therefore has more than enough applicants from the local market and at salaries that an European would probably not consider. Applying through job databases via the internet is not efficient, as many of them ask that candidates already have permission to work in Malaysia. Not being able to attend an interview at a couple of days notice is also a constraint.

Your best support would be doing what you are now - networking.  Try to reach out to as many people as you can to see if they have any jobs available and always have a VERY GOOD CV from your friend to hand out, to send off. You could ask your friend to enrol with All1KL which helps expats find work. Be aware though, a foreigner needs to be at least 27 years old, have a university degree and several years experience, in order to qualify for a Malaysian employment pass. They also have to be offered a job with a minimum salary of RM5k per month.

Your friend can also take a look at the websites of multinational companies in Malaysia and see if they are advertising any vacancies.

Hello gravitas,

Thanks for the information. Yes he is over 27 years of age and has quite a good job experience, he's from the UN! I will let him know. Thank you :)

As gravitas said it is im effect a Malaysian dominated role. Those in advertising and PR I have met were sent to Malaysia by their companies. Local advertising agencies are local only and by that I mean Chinese Malaysian mostly (as mostly clientele want Chinese style of advertising).

One I know was a very attractive (to Chinese ie skinny and very white) who got a 5k min job. She was treated terribly and expected to "date" the boss for the job. That is a well known local agency. It is competitive to be blunt. Worth trying of course but why Malaysia is the question also? Usually for expat jobs it is anywhere and get better choice of job.

Hello Nemodot,

Thank you for your input and reply.