I recently got a Gold Card (skilled engineering track, specifically embedded devices and batteries) and I am now getting ready to look for opportunities in the IT field in Taiwan. I know from experience that every country is different when it comes to seeking employment, thus I’d like to ask you some advice on how to best move.
My first obvious choice would be to check out positions on LinkedIn, but I have heard that recommendation is king in Taiwan, so I guess I’ll have to attend more social circles in my field.
This aside, are there any local job seeking platforms that I should focus on? Are there big things I shouldn’t do or say when introducing myself? Any key social circles to attend? Are there specific layouts to follow in your CV/resume? (For example, in some countries showing your picture on it is considered bad, sort of showing off, but in others it is actually the norm).
are you looking for managerial or engineering positions ?
what seniority level?
the biggest local job board is a website called 104, but not too many top level jobs posted there, mostly entry level to mid level.
you can also search LinkedIn for head bunters and recruiting agencies.
I have about 4 years of experience in engineering positions and reputable master’s degree, with my last job being lead engineer in a startup in which I also managed a small 3 person team. I really enjoy working on engineering challenges, yet I think it would be good for me to exercise my management skills more.
Will try to get in touch with some headhunters, I actually never tried such approach before.
1- Try 104 job bank. Do not pay attention to the stated salaries. Total none sense, they basically act as placeholders. The actual offers are much more reasonable.
2- Your CV can have photo or not. It’s miss or hit here. They won’t be mad at you for including one though.
3- Try to make it as concise as possible. Preferably 1 page.
4- If it’s hard to fit your background as a list, you can have short sentences or paragraphs explaining what you did. Totally acceptable and in fact very common.
5- When it gets to the interview try to see it from their side. In all likelihood you are going to be either the first or one of the first foreigners they are hiring. They are gonna want to make doubly sure you are easy going and can fit in the team. This is too complicated to sum up here but just “don’t be intimidating” is maybe what I can say. Taiwanese get stressed in social situations too easily.
6- Do not pay attention to the language of the ad itself. Lots of times it’s in English but the actual job needs you to be fluent in Chinese. And vice versa.
I’m in almost exactly the same field as you, so I’ll be watching this with interest
My observation so far is that there are precious few jobs of this nature in Taiwan, or at least very few that offer a good salary. “Embedded” is down at the bottom of the pecking order, relegated to low-level engineers.
