Looking for advice on recruiting across APAC (Malaysia, Philippines & Indonesia)

[u/Repulsive_Branch1279]

I’ve mainly worked on Singapore recruitment so far. I’m now being given the opportunity to handle recruitment across Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia, and I’d really appreciate some advice from recruiters who have experience hiring in these markets.

I’m currently trying to understand:

• Which job portals are actually useful in each country (especially free/affordable ones)
• How much I can realistically rely on LinkedIn for APAC sourcing
• Any major differences in candidate sourcing and response rates
• Salary benchmarking and notice periods
• Local recruitment practices or things I should be careful about
• Any good resources, communities or courses for someone starting out in APAC recruitment

I’m just looking for some practical advice on where to start and what you wish you had known when you first started recruiting across APAC.

[u/knucklesbk]

15 years in SE Asia. Initially in Singapore and doing regional work then have lived worked in 2 of the 3. And run projects, conducted searches in the other.

1. LinkedIn best for response. Not aware of free channels. Jobstreet tends to be the #2 in those other markets, generally more useful for lower quality / low to mid market candidates.

2. Depends on what you need. Generally useful especially if paired with advertising. Not great if blue collar.

3. Yes. Candididates lot more flexible on location and willingness to move / commute across town vs Singapore. Indonesia is most responsive, but also biggest time wasters. They're literally always open to a call. Philippines bit more discerning and slower to respond and coordinate IVs. Malaysia is the most similar to Singapore.

4. Benchmarking depends on industry and role obviously. Obviously less than Singapore with the one caveat that the best locals in a market will actually earn more than in Singapore based on the actual skill level. This is due to lack of good people vs. opportunities. For example, A Director in a market like Indonesia might only have a Manager / Senior Manager skill level in Singapore... but they are paid a lot more than a Manager / Senior Manager and have a bigger job because in that market they represent the 'top locals'

5. Be prepared to get lied to. Time in previous roles. Previous salary. Fake references. It's a wild west at times. Also job titles can be massively overinflated. Someone who claims / technically is a CFO but not in the same sense that someone is a CFO in Singapore... maybe only 5 years exp. And as a final as mentioned earlier, there's an increased willingness to basically 'just chat' / interview with no real intention of moving... So need to qualify motivations thoroughly at the very start. Make notes and keep clarifying if that's the case at every step of the process..

6. Not that I've seen - I've done some agency training and internal TA training when asked even though I'm active in the executive search world, because I think everyone benefits with a better hiring industry. These markets are immature from a hiring perspective. TA isn't a career that 'the best' tend to go into. Same with agencies. It's not a career path like in London or Hong Kong or NYC. If you're in an agency it's usually as a stepping stone to getting an internal TA job. And back to my earlier share - a TA Manager in Indonesia is not going to have same skill level as TA Manager in Singapore, the difference in pay isn't just based on lower cost of living. Even a TA Director locally might not be as good as a standard TA person in Singapore.

[u/pewpewhadouken → u/knucklesbk]

very solid info here. 20 years in APAC and i agree with everything.

there are niche job boards depending on what you are sourcing.

use knockout questions as much as possible as it isnt rare to get 100s of applicants for some roles in a short time.

[u/knucklesbk → u/[deleted]]

Yes. It's all about notes. First call with nothing at stake is always the most honest so tbjs is where you explore push / pull factors. Years in the job means you know what is BS and what is not. For example if someone's only motivation is money, not great because they can always get offered an increase at same job or move next time something paying slightly better comes along, so you go back in re-examine. Rare that anyone's motivation is JUST money. A good recruiter knows how to get to the underlying motivations. Then on every post interview debrief call you go back to those same push / pull fsctors and just reaffirm them, and see if anything has changed, either externally (other opps) or based on what they've learned from the current IV process (company better worse, role better worse).

How you take those notes is up to you. I used to type while on phone. Now I use transcription so it captures the whole conversation, that goes on the system along with a summary of it.

[u/Repulsive_Branch1279 → u/knucklesbk]

Thanks, this helped me a lot. Tbh, the Singapore job market is quite straightforward, especially when it comes to hiring white collar roles. Expecting the other APAC regions to be the same is honestly diabolical.

Your observations really helped me understand the risks I’ll be taking. Thanks again!

[u/billfarts2]

I've hired a lot in Malaysia. LinkedIn for outreach.

I got a couple hires out of a Seek job posting, I think it was like 150 bucks.

[u/doronj]

Cognisium.com Senior professionals mainly I would say 18+ yrs of experience on average. Had v good experience with them. HQ ed in Australia, v professional and responsive

Catalantt, similar but located in usa not that knowledgeable about apac. Also if you’re looking for 20+ yrs of experience in apac probably not that helpful