I am a foreigner living overseas. I just interviewed with one of IT companies in Singapore. Everything went well in technical interviews and final HR interview was scheduled to make an offer.
The HR asked me for expected salary and I got confused because I was unable understand her Singlish accent properly (I am sorry, I am not judging Singlish accent, I just don’t have much interaction with Singlish).
In my confusion, I said 8000 SGD and they accepted the offer happily. Now the contract is signed and I came to know from some connection that for fresh PhDs that the company offers 10,000 SGD for graduates with similar credentials.
Since the contract has been signed and they have initiated the EP visa process. What could be good options for me to consider now?
In Singapore, do we have options for negotiation during probation period? Is 8000 SGD fair salary for fresh PhD graduated of Electronics Engineering? Thank you!
Here are what netizens think:
- Got PhD, yet post this garbage. This is why qualifications like PhD are no match for common sense and experience.
- I don’t understand how u can confuse “expected salary” with anything else….So when u said $8000, u meant living expenses? So u expected $20,000 salary?It’s obvious u regret accepted the salary knowing that some others are offered 10,000… in short, u are jealous and greedy now…
- I was unable to comprehend your grammar. In my confusion, I just called your hirer to reduce your salary by 2000 SGD
- Don’t find excuses lah. Even if she has a Singlish accent, what about the contract? You signed it, isn’t it?Seemed to me that you were okay with $8k but you got to know that others can get $10k so you suddenly have a hearing and eyesight problem.
- It’s bizarre to renegotiate without proper reasons. However, there’s a catch if your EP gets rejected. You can convince the HR that the reason for rejection is likely that your salary doesn’t match people with the same kind of credentials and age (yes it’s actually a factor; go read). But if your EP does get approved, then ethically you don’t have much wiggle room with the same employer.
- I don’t think it’s a Singlish issue. How do 8 and 10 sound difficult to understand? In short, OP did not do due his/her due diligence. Suck it up, reject it or negotiate. IMO, they must really like you or feel you are really that special to let you negotiate.