FINDING GRADUATE IT AND TECHNOLOGY JOBS IN SMES FINDING GRADUATE IT AND TECHNOLOGY JOBS IN SMES

While big-name companies can offer prestige to your resume, smaller companies can offer you experience and skills you may not gain anywhere else. You just have to find the company that suits you and your needs.

Singapore’s dynamic economy makes it attractive to multinational corporations (MNCs), and they often set up their regional headquarters here. Their good reputations, extensive career opportunities and solid employee benefits (as well as the prestige and glitter it can lend your resume), though, mean that a good number of graduates typically vie for limited entry roles and graduate schemes.

However, MNCs only make up an estimated one per cent of the local economy – with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups filling up the remaining 99 per cent – as of 2020. As such, competition for limited numbers of graduate openings is intense, and more and more graduates have come to recognise the benefits SMEs offer.

But here’s the thing: deciding to work for an SME and actually making contact with and applying to an SME (and successfully landing a position) are two different things. It’s easy to track down available roles in MNCs; you just need to hop onto their websites, or even the first job portal you can think of.

SMEs, however, don’t always put up vacancies on their home sites or portals. For some, budgeting may be an issue, so they don’t always maintain their websites, and may be unwilling to pay the amount needed to create a job posting on a portal. And that’s not counting those in niche areas that only rely on word-of-mouth.

Read on for some tips on how to find great IT jobs in SMEs!

The (great) deal about SMEs

The background

Although successfully landing a role in MNCs like Google and Facebook have their perks – like the aforementioned glitter and sparkle to your resume, on top of international career benefits and rubbing shoulders with successful technopreneurs – the reality is that MNCs can’t offer you the wide breadth and depth of experience SMEs can. SMEs have some unique advantages, and they’re worth exploring.

Learning hands-on

You’ll learn A LOT. And most of it will be on-the-job, because SMEs typically don’t have access to the level of resources MNCs have, and usually bring on less employees (200 employees or less).

This means that those who work in SMEs tend to wear different hats within the company no matter their title and area of expertise, with some even finding themselves doing things they never thought they’d ever do! (Like, for instance, an engineer experimenting with marketing strategies to reach out to more clients.)

Most of the time, if you work for an SME, you’ll find yourself quickly building crucial and practical skills fast. While it may not be too obvious at first, later, as you continue on your career journey, you’ll notice that your experience will become more well-rounded than others who have only been moving around MNCs.

A closer-knit and more relaxed company culture

This is another positive SMEs offer. Most days, you’re more likely to turn up for work in more casual clothing (like an office shirt or t-shirt, and jeans and sneakers). Drinks and dinner after work, as well as bonding activities (like office ping pong) are other aspects of the relaxed culture more prevalent in SMEs. Often, this relaxation extends to work arrangements as well, as SMEs have been noted to offer flexible work arrangements.

Wider range of responsibilities and higher level of autonomy

The fewer headcount in SMEs mean that there aren’t that many people who’ll be able to hover over your shoulder and guide you every minute of every day. Even if there’s some degree of hovering and mentoring involved (usually during the onboarding process), it’ll usually be done by your direct boss (so make sure to tap into their vast experience and expertise!).

As soon as you’ve completed your training (typically within a week or two), the apron strings will be cut, and you’ll be left to your own devices.

Recognition

Due to smaller teams and wider spheres of responsibilities on projects, working for SMEs makes it easier for your efforts to get recognised, as opposed to if you’re working for an MNC. And the resulting “feel good” factor will translate into greater job satisfaction and motivation!

Applying to smaller companies

As mentioned before, IT and technology SMEs don’t always put up hiring notices for various reasons that range from budgeting to different hiring practices (like only taking in candidates recommended by word-of-mouth, for instance). But really, all this means is that you just need to know where to look. Here are some options to start you off:

Career centres

Your school’s career centre will have partnerships with IT companies. Leverage their contacts base and connect with someone within the company you have an eye on.

Specialist job boards

Your school’s career centre’s partnerships with SMEs also mean that they’ll upload specialised job listings for students on career services websites, so don’t be afraid to trawl them.

Start-up meet ups and SME career talks

These sessions are useful resources you can fall back on, as you can gain more insights on a company’s work culture and hiring processes (as well as how to ace them). Just as importantly, you can approach company representatives and ask if their companies have any possible openings for full-time staff or interns.

Networking

Talking to your second aunt once removed about your job search over family dinners may sound completely unappetising, but the truth is that she’ll be able to get the word out that you’re on a job hunt. If you don’t want to talk to said aunt, you can turn to immediate family, friends, lecturers, tutors and course mates instead. You never know where your network can lead you!

Applying speculatively

If you’re looking to join SMEs that don’t have partnerships with your school, and don’t put up job listings on portals either, you can rely on speculative applications. However, take note that the onus will be on you to do your own research and pinpoint the skills needed by the employer before you draft your resume and cover letter.

Customise each resume and highlight relevant skills and experience in your applications to get a better hit rate. When you’ve sent in your application, make sure to follow up with a call a few days later to ask about the status of your application. But take note to not harass the company! Call them once a week for two weeks. If they still have no answer for you by then, it’s likely they won’t have any.

Conclusion

Working for SMEs can accelerate your learning curve when you first cross over to the working world from your academic life. Even if your end career goal is to work for an MNC, consider this path to build your skills and experience!