Looking For Employment

[lordsux]

Hi All,

As the topic says im looking for employment in Thailand.

I have lived here for 3 years and have recently married my long term Thai girlfriend.

Due to difficulties with obtaing a visa for my wife for Italy I am starting to think that staying in Thailand would be a much better option all round.

I am a 36 year old Englishman but have not lived in England for 19 years, most of my working years have been spent in Denmark, working mainly in the tourist industry, hotel management and incoming where my main job was promoting Scandinavia for the Japanese market. I am computer literate and very adaptable.

I speak fluent Danish, am very punctual, sober and presentable, and like to give 110% in all that I do.

Should further information be required or if you have some good advice please PM me or post here.

[bolognamare]

Due to difficulties with obtaing a visa for my wife for Italy I am starting to think that staying in Thailand would be a much better option all round.

I speak fluent Danish, am very punctual, sober and presentable, and like to give 110% in all that I do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sincerely i don't understand what kind of attraction have you seen in Italy, and i agree with your decision, Italy is the last place where to have a peaceful and happy life with a thai girlfriend, specially today, i can assure you!

I speak fluent italian, english, good russian and i understand a bit of spanish.

I'm available to reach a good job opportunity too, if there is space for a 120% good working 32 y.o. italian man with good skills and commercial experience and no family problems.

[ThaiPauly]

I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but don't build your hopes up of getting a job from this forum.

Have you got enough capital to start something yourself?

If you had an idea of what business you would like to go into, then you will have many TV members telling you why you should'nt!

Unfortunatley unless you want to work illegally (not something I would recommend) it is very difficult to get a job here from what I can gather,

BUT not impossible.

Good Luck and Happy Christmas

[JimsKnight]

I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but don't build your hopes up of getting a job from this forum.

Have you got enough capital to start something yourself?

If you had an idea of what business you would like to go into, then you will have many TV members telling you why you should'nt!

Unfortunatley unless you want to work illegally (not something I would recommend) it is very difficult to get a job here from what I can gather,

BUT not impossible.

Good Luck and Happy Christmas

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll echo those comments but add that its not just what you know but who you know as well...

[bendix]

There's so much doom and gloom on this subject generally. I would like to add a different perspective. I strongly believe that if you smart, intuitive, presentable and educated, it's not mission impossible to find a job here. I'm not talking about teaching roles; neither am I talking about the full expat packages.

In addition to me, my office employs 7 farang in a variety of junior and middle management roles. From what I can gather, their salaries range from a low of 60k to a high of 150k. These are farang who find themselves here for a variety of personal reasons. None of them tell me they found finding a job particularly onerous. One has been here 9 years. He tells me he has had 5 jobs in that time and been out of work for only 2-3 months in that time, a month of which was voluntary.

I know of two other people (one girl, one guy) who have found good jobs in Bkk in recent months after deciding to come here for a life-style change. The girl was snapped up in a 90k a month job within days of being here (she's an arts administrator), and the guy found work within two weeks.

My best friend arrives to live here on 16 February. He already has line up six months of consulting work and one job offer, the latter of which he has turned down.

Don't always believe the naysayers.

[samran]

There's so much doom and gloom on this subject generally.  I would like to add a different perspective.  I strongly believe that if you smart, intuitive, presentable and educated, it's not mission impossible to find a job here.  I'm not talking about teaching roles; neither am I talking about the full expat packages.

In addition to me, my office employs 7 farang in a variety of junior and middle management roles.  From what I can gather, their salaries range from a low of 60k to a high of 150k.  These are farang who find themselves here for a variety of personal reasons.  None of them tell me they found finding a job particularly onerous.  One has been here 9 years. He tells me he has had 5 jobs in that time and been out of work for only 2-3 months in that time, a month of which was voluntary.

I know of two other people (one girl, one guy) who have found good jobs in Bkk in recent months after deciding to come here for a life-style change.  The girl was snapped up in a 90k a month job within days of being here (she's an arts administrator), and the guy found work within two weeks.

My best friend arrives to live here on 16 February.  He already has line up six months of consulting work and one job offer, the latter of which he has turned down.

Don't always believe the naysayers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I second that. If you have good experience, a professional qualification of some sort, you have a good chance of getting something thats not teaching. Having said that, I know a few people who have made teaching their career here and have done very very well out of it but simply working there @rses off and being highly professional.

I hate to say this too, but if your motiviation for coming to Thailand is the women (or at least you are unable to clearly seperate work and pleasure and keep the latter extremely discreet), then I think your long term employment chances are less than they otherwise would be.

[bendix]

To elaborate on this a little.

To me, the key is you have to add something EXTRA to a local employer. In most cases it will simply be the advantage of having someone educated and used to working in the west (in addition to the english language skills). I hate to generalise but those who work in western business environments tend to be more expressive, more independent thinking, more prepared to offer opinions than their Thai counterparts who - for cultural reasons - don't want to be seen to be getting above themselves.

So many people on here think their IT skills will be snapped up here. Wrong. An IT specialist is an IT specialist is an IT specialist . . be they Thai, Farang or from the Planet Mars. It is basically the same skillset and as it can be acquired so cheaply here, why hire a farang?

But in more intuitive areas of business (eg Marketing, communications, General Management etc), I think we can add something different over a Thai applicant.

[bolognamare]

But in more intuitive areas of business (eg Marketing, communications, General Management etc), I think we can add something different over a Thai applicant.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have always had the same idea, so from the last year i put several adds to find a job opportunity in the sales/marketing field, but the "best" offers i have received are timeshare/representative based, have i been unlucky?

Can you suggest me a good path? I have a 5+ years experience about sales and marketing (without degree), what kind of door can i knock?

Is it possible to plan that first to go in thailand?

I have seen Bangkok and sincerely it seems a maze where the solution is deeply hidden.

Thanks for any suggestion!

[Ijustwannateach]

Friends have mooted non-teaching jobs to me, but though the average wages are higher the people I've seen in those jobs really work their buns off- more power to 'em. I like having the job finished at 4-5, with occasional homework.

"Steven"

[Polymer Head]

To elaborate on this a little.

To me, the key is you have to add something EXTRA to a local employer.  In most cases it will simply be the advantage of having someone educated and used to working in the west (in addition to the english language skills).  I hate to generalise but those who work in western business environments tend to be more expressive, more independent thinking, more prepared to offer opinions than their Thai counterparts who - for cultural reasons - don't want to be seen to be getting above themselves.

So many people on here think their IT skills will be snapped up here.  Wrong.  An IT specialist is an IT specialist is an IT specialist . . be they Thai, Farang or from the Planet Mars.    It is basically the same skillset and as it can be acquired so cheaply here, why hire a farang?

But in more intuitive areas of business (eg Marketing, communications, General Management etc), I think we can add something different over a Thai applicant.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Glad to hear the upbeat news as I'm also considering moving to Thailand from Japan.

Searching by internet yields very little for a research/project management engineer (polymers). Most jobs state an age limit (my sell by date expired long ago) and leave the salary blank (learnt now it's a monthly figure). As I'm not quite ready to move yet do you (or anybody) know of any good websites or excutive search firms in the research/process materials engineering field that can be contacted in the meantime?

To round it off, fluent in English, intermediate in Japanese and Cantonese and zilch in Thai. Slightly burnt out and in need of a lifestyle change hence, the desire to move.

Thanks for any feedback.

[Doza]

You need to make contacts. Its the only way. Go to every chamber of commerce networking event on (doesn't matter if its your country or not), play in every charity golf day, go to every ball held, play as many sports as you can and MEET PEOPLE.

Present yourself professionally. Talk up your experience and skills. Let people know what you are looking for.

DONT say you are looking for a job because you like Thailand and want to stay, or you have a Thai bird. Sends the wrong signals.

It will take a while but there are jobs there if you make the right connections (no travellers / retirees / drunks / losers / dodgy types).

[thebream]

But in more intuitive areas of business (eg Marketing, communications, General Management etc), I think we can add something different over a Thai applicant.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have always had the same idea, so from the last year i put several adds to find a job opportunity in the sales/marketing field, but the "best" offers i have received are timeshare/representative based, have i been unlucky?

Can you suggest me a good path? I have a 5+ years experience about sales and marketing (without degree), what kind of door can i knock?

Is it possible to plan that first to go in thailand?

I have seen Bangkok and sincerely it seems a maze where the solution is deeply hidden.

Thanks for any suggestion!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

jobsDB.com have a go dude

[The Mask]

The best expat jobs in Bangkok are all controlled through the Freemasons. How many of you experts here knew that there is a huge masonic lodge in BKK?. PM if you want more information.

But in more intuitive areas of business (eg Marketing, communications, General Management etc), I think we can add something different over a Thai applicant.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have always had the same idea, so from the last year i put several adds to find a job opportunity in the sales/marketing field, but the "best" offers i have received are timeshare/representative based, have i been unlucky?

Can you suggest me a good path? I have a 5+ years experience about sales and marketing (without degree), what kind of door can i knock?

Is it possible to plan that first to go in thailand?

I have seen Bangkok and sincerely it seems a maze where the solution is deeply hidden.

Thanks for any suggestion!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

jobsDB.com have a go dude

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[bolognamare]

You need to make contacts. Its the only way. Go to every chamber of commerce networking event on (doesn't matter if its your country or not), play in every charity golf day, go to every ball held, play as many sports as you can and MEET PEOPLE.

Present yourself professionally. Talk up your experience and skills. Let people know what you are looking for.

DONT say you are looking for a job because you like Thailand and want to stay, or you have a Thai bird. Sends the wrong signals.

It will take a while but there are jobs there if you make the right connections (no travellers / retirees / drunks / losers / dodgy types).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This post remembers me the poker game, the suggested rules to win are:

- betting on future contacts (that you haven't now) done in unknown places (the table);

- sell yourself, your skills, your experience, your hoped job as better as you cannot do in your actual living country, without saying the sad truth about the real reasons of working abroad (the bluff);

- it takes time to win (bet and loose a lot of games, so a lot of saved money);

- you can be lucky to found the right connection not travellers-retirees-drunks-losers-dodgytypes based (you can win the match with a Straight flush!)

I suggest to bet your saved money on an online business (better if more than one) to test and make grow it/them in advance from your western country first to expat, so you can play to another game instead of poker, a game of skill, where the luckyness and masonic lodges haven't a bigger role.

Happy 2006 to everyone!

May this post help other good guys that want to dream a better life in the LOS!

Edited December 31, 2005 by bolognamare

[mbkudu]

There are many factors involved in finding work in a foreign or unfamiliar place.

Contacts, education, experience and luck all play a part. I have a friend who on a whim six years ago decided that he would go to Bangkok and find work as a DJ because that was his only real skill. My brother and I had had experience living there so we encouraged him to do it. He knew no one there at the time, was only a high school graduate and had about US$ 2,000 with him. He immedeately found a job just by emailing a few clubs before he left. He started work as soon as he arrived at a small club on Pat Pong and know is the head DJ and in charge of the entertainment budgeting and organisation of a major club in a four star hotel.

He was just at the right place at the right time and met the right people. Others toil for years with nothing gained and leave on the plane penniless. There are no true guidelines to making it. That's what Bangkok does to people.

[The Muji]

Agree with almost everything that's been said. It took me 6 months and over 300 applications before I got the job I wanted in Bangkok. Jobsdb.com is decent but I got the most responses from jobs that were advertised in the BKK Post and the Nation. Also: many medium sized companies only advertise a position once or twice, and only in one paper so I suggest you read the classfieds of both papers every day

Also, you won't be paid very well, at least until your probation period of 4 months + is up.

Best of luck