Although the job market has improved over the past year, many employers are still reluctant to make a long term commitment to growing their employee rolls until it is clear that a solid economic expansion is underway. They need new staff to handle the increase in orders and customer demands but are loath to hire permanent workers who may have to be cut in a few months if business stagnates. Any reduction in force carries major headaches for a company: employee morale falls, lawsuits arise, precious time is eaten up in non-productive meetings, and severance packages cut into narrowing profit margins.

Their solution is often to rely on temporary agencies to provide needed manpower without any precipitous long term commitment. It is estimated, by a well-regarded labor research group, that fully 25% of the jobs created during the past year have been temporary positions!

How can this work to your advantage?

Working for a temporary agency has some drawbacks but also a number of positive aspects.

The primary negative is the lack of investment in your future. While the hourly wage may be similar, or even better, than a permanent employee would receive, you remain on the periphery of the company’s organization. Temps are often assigned the more routine tasks which require less intensive training. This makes it more difficult for your competence to be recognized. You are not seriously considered for promotional opportunities nor invited to advanced training or management classes.

It also has personal repercussions. You are uncertain how long you will be needed and tend to develop a strong sense of insecurity. After all, your contract could be terminated without warning through a quick telephone call to the agency. Because you want to minimize the emotional devastation of a sudden departure, you tend to avoid becoming too close to coworkers and perform your duties in something of a vacuum, one step removed from the camaraderie of the permanent work team.

All that being said, there are some pretty inviting advantages to exploring temporary assignments.

Within the framework of your long-term career goals, a temporary position nicely fills in that void on your resume caused by a lengthy period of unemployment. It demonstrates to a potential employer that you are an individual who is vested in being productive even under circumstances where your true talents are barely tapped.

Temporary agencies seldom require extensive background investigation so if there is a blip or two on your work or personal record, it will probably be overlooked. When a future permanent position presents itself, the more distant the blip, the less weight it will carry in the hiring decision.

Entering a workplace as a temp puts you in a very different framework than any mere applicant for work. You become privy to the company’s ethics and philosophy so you can better determine if this is somewhere you would be interested in for permanent work. If you find the atmosphere comfortable, you will perform well. Assuming that the company is growing, and the local economic expansion continues, you are in an excellent position to be considered for permanent retention.

Many employers see temporary workers as individuals undergoing a lengthy interview. After weeks or months of good productivity, timeliness, consistent attendance, and reliability, you no longer present the risks attached to the hiring of new employees after only an hour or two of interviewing. Many agencies will let you know in advance that this is a “Temp to Perm” assignment, meaning that if you cut the mustard, you will be offered a permanent position.

On the other hand, if you find that company goals and procedures are at odds with your personal values, you can get out before any commitment is made. Since your employer is actually the agency, you can cut and run from any assignment without it impacting your work history. You take a different position through the same agency and your resume is unflawed by your decision to make a change.

Assuming that you are working in an industry of interest, temporary work provides an invaluable opportunity for networking. Make the effort to get to know your new coworkers and it is highly likely that they either know of opportunities in similar companies or know someone who has such inside information.

Finally, there is the old saw of “Everyone wants to hire you when you’re working but no one is interested when you’re unemployed.” There is certainly a grain of truth in that rather cynical observation. No matter how bad the local economy may be, or how the effects of offshore job flight have affected your industry, there is always a little kernel of doubt in an interviewer’s mind: what did you do wrong to lose your job? Could you possibly have been fingered because you were the weak link? Was the choice of you, over someone else, related to interpersonal or disciplinary problems that made you an easy target?

When you are actively working, even if only on a temporary basis, such doubts don’t even enter an interviewer’s mind. They are more concerned about whether you will be willing to make a change – a point of speculation that bodes well for you in a potential hiring situation.

If you are offered alternative permanent work, you are sitting in the proverbial catbird’s seat. You can accept the position if you find it tempting. You can decline if you don’t think it’s a good fit, knowing that you still have your temp job to keep food on the table and allay that desperation of “I’ll take anything” that sets in after a few months out of work.

And, finally, you have the option of going back to your temp work and letting your present boss know that you have been offered a position elsewhere that you are seriously considering. If the company likes you, let them negotiate a counter-offer and then go with the best opportunity for you.

This article was first posted here on July 2009.

Written by: Gilbert Goh

I have listed seven industries which the newly retrenched can try on to jumpstart hopefully into a  new career. Some of these industries have being tested by me and others were related to me by people in transition.

Hopefully, you can find something that will interest you to try it out first before turning it  wholeheartedly into a career.

1. Commission work

Commission work is  easy to start off but need alot of perseverance and efforts. Initial fiery efforts sometimes can only carried us so far but the rest is up to a dogged persistence to hang in there when the chips are down.

Commission jobs are like being your own boss as no one pays you a salary. In fact, sometimes, you pay your boss a cut of your commission and it is called over riding commission.

I am sure by now you know what commission jobs are. Property agents, insurance advisors and MLM agents all belong to this category and need to sell something before you pick up a cheque for your commission.

Strong marketing skills and good PR are all important criterion for those keen on doing commission jobs. Property and insurance agents all need  to pass stringent qualifying exams before they can start to sell. As it takes about a minimum of three months to pass all qualifying exams, it is encouraged that those who are  interested in this career have some savings to tide over a transitional period.

We have all heard of how some property and insurance agents earn six or even seven figure salary in their career. Do not be fooled as this group belongs to a minority. Most struggled as the industry is very competitive and  many drop out as they could not last the pace. Commission work also needs people with drive and passion. Those who make it are frequently people that are very motivated and driven.

I have been an insurance advisor for four years and fortunately have done well from 1994-1999 attaining the coveted Million dollar round table award twice. I have also travelled widely because of the industrial prizes that came with certain awards.   I could not persevere after four years as  I found the work boring and monotonous.  However, I have throughly enjoyed my four years’  journey  as an advisor as not only do I have a lot of freedom but it also freed me to do alot of personal stuff on my own. It was also the first time that I managed to get out of the 9-to-5 work cycle.

The insurance sector also introduced me to the power of positive thinking and goal setting.  Being a rather negative thinking person, I am glad that those motivational seminars that I sat through many hours  provided me the impetus to do things that I have never thought of doing before. For me, life has being an adventure since the day I became  an insurance advisor.

2.  Teaching

I was fortunate to be introduced to the teaching industry and was posted to China for a one-year term teaching English to the Chinese students in 2007-2008.

It was an eye opening industry as I have never taught before. Though there was a syllabus to follow, often, we have to improvish along the way.  I remembered I brought my class out to the football field one morning and taught them there. We shared alot during that period and that session somehow broke the ice for all of us.

I urged all who are transitioning to take up the opportunity to work abroad if offered that chance. It is not only ground breaking but also mind stretching.  While working abroad, you are exposed to a totally different culutre and your mindset tends to change and reshape.

If you are keen to teach English to foreign students, do take up a diploma in TESOL – teaching English to students of other languages.  It is almost a pre requsite due to a tightening of requirement by the educational ministry. A tiertiary education is also helpful here.

When I returned  to Singapore from Sydney last year, I continued  my teaching on a part time basis. Though teaching is lucrative, it is short term and often temporary. There is also no CPF here and no medical or other monetary benefits.

Most educational centres pay between $30 to $50 an hour depending on qualification and experience. One can earn around $4000 a month teaching about 5 hours a day.

A passion for teaching is  required here as sometimes it can be boring and the class may give you problem. Classroom management also is important here as students tend to “bully” teachers who are soft and lenient.  Sometimes, your class may give you enough problem to quit the industry halfway and totally.

Networking is important here as it is rather tough to get into closely knitted this industry without any referral. The two teaching contracts that I had were all recommendation made  by friends on my behalf who knew the bosses in the educational centres.

You can also try out relief teaching in our public schools. I heard that for experienced retired teachers, there is a need to fill up relief teachers in our schools here.  Relief teaching is also temporal and only pays upon work done. There is also an absence of other work benefits such as medical insurance or bonuses.

3. Telemarketing

Telemarketing is an industry that  is recession-proof. Any company will need telemarketing services to push through products to the market. It is mostly paid hourly and rates of between $7 to $10 an hour are commonly quoted.

I have done a few telemarketing contracts during my transitioning period from 2000-2001.  I enjoyed the work as I liked  talking and interacting with people. Some even provide a one-day course to orientate the new worker to the industry. Many simply allow you to start work once you have sign on the dotted line.

Most telemarketing work here involves marketing of the financial products such as credit cards or lines. Suffice to say in any marketing job, there is always the sales target to meet. Some companies pay a small commission on top of the hourly rates to attract workers to meet the sales quota.

Most people take telemarketing job as  temporary work and I do not blame them. The work can be strenuous and monotonous. You also need to talk alot and competition among fellow telemarketeers do not allow one to be too cordial in the work place.

There are many telemarketing companies in the market and one needs to search for them in the internet to surface out a few of the bigger better ones.

People who are retrenched and  are desperate may want to consider taking up telemarketing as a stop gap measure until you find something better.  It is better than sitting at home waiting for the next job. A take home pay of around $1500 a month for rookies is achievable here.

4.  Tuition

This is a  traditional bread and butter job for many undergraduates and retired teachers. Many could make a few thousand dollars a month just by giving tuition to a crazy population. As many as 80% of our studying population have some form of additional learning services that go beyond their normal teaching curriculum.

The starting off however can be rather difficult as it is an industry that operates by word of mouth. If you are good and responsible, you will gain credibility and popularity very fast.

Rates of $30 an hour for teaching to a primary school kid with travelling is achievable if you are good.  Those tutoring A level students can fetch up to $70 an hour especially if it is very near to exams.

It is an industry that favours the females as many parents are cautious of male teachers handling their children at home.

Some people  in  transition  I know have tried giving  tuition with variant result.  I guess alot depend on how passionate the person is in helping the child furthering his academic potential.

Moreover, during holiday season, most kids switch off from tuition and your income nosedives during that period.

In my opinion, giving tuition may only provide you some form of monetary incentive  but can never replace your main source of income unless you are really good at it.  An income of around $300-$500 is achievable if you have a few students to start off with.

Alternately, you can try out at tuition centres first though the starting pay is pathetic. Hourly rates of between $20-$30 is often quoted and you have to handle a class of between 5 to 15 students in the centre.

Personally, I have not try giving tuition to school going children  as I am not keen in this industry at all.

5.  Laborious menial work

I have heard that most kopitiam and food stalls need workers and they always have vacancy due to the work nature and shift hours. For an eight hour shift, rates of between $40 to $50 is attainable.

The job  is laborious and is considered dirty work. You not only need to clean tables but also even drag rubbish bags to the rubbish point.

I feel that  this kind of work appeals more to the matured blue collared workers who have not much choices in their career due either to their education or work skills.

There is also a need for drivers both in the class 4 and 5 category. As the work is tough and  often involves carrying goods up and down the vehicles, the person needs to be fit and hardy.

I know that some retrenched people take up cab driving but with different success. Some manage to persevere whereas others give up. As Singaporeans tighten up and many switch to public transport, cab drivers need to work doubly hard to make ends meet.

Moreover, new drivers need to pay up a refundable deposit of around $1000  before they could enrol for the taxi driving course. This is a deterrant measure and many people simply fail to cough up  a thousand dollars to enrol for the course.

6. Security work

Many people I know also try their hand at security work after failing to  land a job for a while after being retrenched.  Frankly, I see nothing wrong in that and it remains a personal decision for those in transition.

One needs to take a 3-month course and some c ompanies are willing to let you do it for free in return for a 6-month bond.

The security industry is always in demand and there are several thousand vacancies right now. PMETs can go for the supervisory security course affliated with WDA and can earn close to $1800 as a security spervisor.

One major bugbear of the security industry is the working hours.  Most contracts need you to work a 12-hour shift with an off day a week. Those who need to go for worship services in church have problem settling down in this industry. The pay is also nothing to shout about.  A new security officer can earn about $1300 a month working a 12-hoour shift cycle.  For those working in 8-hour shift, the pay can be as low as $900 a month.

People in transition considering security work needs to be reminded that people with criminal records are usually disallowed from such industry. Moreover, some who have little education have failed in their security industrial tests as they could not comprehend the course details properly.

Security companies also are infamous for the way that they fail to pay their workers promptly and correctly due to a cashflow problem.

I would encourage those considering  security work as a career to sign up for the bigger companies such as Cisco or Premier Security. They are better run and managed. The odds are that they will not fail to pay promptly or correctly.

7. Part time temp work

Part time work is always a sought after service especially in a recession. Companies prefer to provide work only for a designated period and  they do not have to provide for any medical or other extra monetary allowances.

Adminsitrative part time work is more popular with women workers and  rates of anything between $7 to $10 an hour is achievable.  One women friend I know likes to do temp work as she gets to try different work environment and industry.

There is also less politics here as no one cares to engage politics with a temp worker. Some companies also pay temp workers higher as compared to permanent workers due to the short term work nature.

Of course, the flip side of temp work is that there is a lack of benefits and more importantly minimal work security. After every assignment, one has to wait for the next one and unless one is financially sound the wait could be a long and weary one.

Many people I know are doing some form of temp work while in transition. It is a form of income  for many thoughis  less stable than a permanent job. A temp worker can earn close to $1500 – $1800 a month performing clerical work.

One can get more money from doing direct temp work for a company  than getting it from an agency as there will be a cut in money provided for the job deducted by the agency.

I hope that I have provided some form of asssitance to those who are  considering what to do next immediately after being retrenched. More importantly, before taking the plunge, it is good to consider what you are passionate about.  Often, those who last longer tend to do something that they like.

 http://www.mbaonline.com/social-job-search/

This post first appeared here on 15 April 2010.

7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Job

Written by: Gilbert Goh

I have heard from many friends that they fear for their job. Every month, someone will be laid off and they sweat while sleeping at night wondering whether they will be the next to go. Some dread going to work and find that they are unable to log into their PC – the sure sign that HR will call you next into their dreaded office announcing the nail-on-the-coffin news.

I have pen down 7 ways to recession-proof your job. Hopefully this will help you to stay on your job as long as possible.

1. Have a positive attitude at work

People always  like workers with a positive attitude at work. Bosses always try to retain those who light up the work place with their optimism and light-hearted spirit. Having to choose between laying off someone who is  always smiling  and those that work  passively, it is clear who will get retained.

So always smile and ackonwledge others at work. Even when the company is doing badly, your affectionate attitude will help to light up the office environment and even help you stay on the job.

2. Volunteer for tough assignment

A friend told me how he manages to held on to his job by accepting a posting overseas. They have given him an either-or option and he has  taken the plunge to a third world country with both eyes closed. Things turn out to be not so bad and he told me  that life is slower there. More importantly, he is still working on when his colleagues are being retrenched.

So, volunteer for  hard-core work projects that others shy away from.  Sound out to your bosses that you do not mind being pass on projects that others avoid.  Most bosses will prefer to hold on to executives who are not fussy about their work scope. They are seen as an asset that no one wants to let off.

3. Be indispensable

A friend who works in the bank told me how she became indispensable by trying to learn more about the others’ job scope and became a multi-tasking  worker in the process. Whenever someone is sick or on leave, she will cover their duties and became a regular covering officer on top of her own duties.

Bosses  like a worker who is an all-rounder and dependable.

Do your job so well that no one can replace you also helps here. Some workers I know are experts in their own field. This is especially so for sales or marketing job. If you are the top salesman in your field, I am sure that you will be the last to be laid off.

4. Network with your bosses

Short of saying that you are boot licking, it is important that you network more with bosses in your own company. Often, before deciding who to lay off executives, managers will come together  and discuss on each individual worker. Those who care to network with the bosses at work often get a reprieve provided if their work performace is undented. Managers, being human, will prefer to keep someone that they know than those that keep a low profile.

So,  go and network more with your bosses. Invite them out for lunch and chat with them about anything under the sun.  You may never know that lunch appointment with your boss will ave your job in the near future.

5.  Go for bond-tied  training

The last time I went for a diploma course provided for by my company, I was told to sign a bond for two years. Though initially reluctant, I was glad later that it provided me almost with two more  years of work. To get out of the bond, one has to pay back the full course fee which can be a few thousand dollars.

However, I am sure that such bonded training courses havel  cease now as many companies are cutting down on training cost.  If your company still provides such bonded courses, it may be good to go for it. You can go for free sponsored upgrading plus you have work stability at least during the duration of the bond. It’s a double bonus here.

6.  Network with your suppliers and even competitors

Learn to network with your suppliers and others who visited your company.

A friend of mine was laid off last year in Sydney but was fortunate to be rehired 3 weeks after by a competitor company. As he knew  the manager in charge, the employment was smooth and without any other competition.  Not only that, he even has a pay rise with the new job! How fortunate can you get?

So expand your network and email them when you have their namecards. Keep them informed of your progress and when you are retrenched, they could be the people that will provide you the leads to your next job.

7.  Prepare yourself for the next job

I have friends who are already planning for their next job when they are still currently working. For example, a friend of mine is helping out at his friend’s western food stall as a helper frying chips and grilling chicken chop in the evening to prepare for the day when he is being  laid off as a banking executive.

He told me that he has plan to set up his own western food stall and the experience at his friend’s  stall  helps him alot to  reduce the setting up time if he is really being  laid off.

I hope that I have provided you some beneficial tips to stay at your job in this turbulent time.  However, some may inadvertently still be laid off despite working hard in their job. Companies simply fold up when they do not have enough business to substain their operation. Hopefully, those hours spend at networking with friends and business associates will pay off. The saying goes that you will reap what you have sown  is often provened true.

Susan Adams, 12.14.10, 04:45 PM EST – Forbes.com

India and China lead the list, followed by Taiwan and Brazil.

On CBS’ 60 Minutes last Sunday, the Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista told correspondent Steve Kroft that he’s hiring Americans to weld his oil platforms. “To weld the platforms?” Kroft responded incredulously. “Yes,” replied Batista, explaining that his country’s booming economy is at almost full employment, and Brazil needs to import workers. “Already we have created this year 1.5 million jobs,” continued the world’s eighth richest man according to Forbes’ most recent tally. “It’s unbelievable.”

That unbelievable job growth is reflected in the latest global employment outlook survey by the staffing firm Manpower ( MAN – news - people ). Brazil rates fourth on the tally of the nations with the greatest optimism about hiring in the first quarter of next year. Brazil’s net hiring outlook–the number of employers surveyed who expect to increase their employment rolls minus the percentage who expect to decrease them–is 36%. That’s driven by a 7% gross domestic product growth rate, three times higher than in the U.S.

Manpower surveyed 64,000 human resource directors and senior hiring managers from public and private concerns worldwide to come up with its list. It asked each of them about their expectations for hiring in the first quarter of 2011. Almost half, 47% of them, came from 10 countries in the Americas, 24% from eight countries in Asia and the Pacific, and 29% from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “This is very much a macro-economic look at new job creation,” says the staffing firm’s chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey Joerres.

The results are striking, if not surprising. India has pulled ahead of China since last quarter to take first place, with a whopping 42% net hiring outlook for the first quarter of 2011. China follows close behind at 40%, a 2% decrease from last quarter. Taiwan comes in third, with a net employment outlook of 37%.

Next in line, after Brazil: Turkey, at 27%.”There are 75 million people in Turkey,” Joerres notes, “more than people realize.” And so, despite a lingering debt overhang, there are plenty of consumers buying stuff and driving growth and hiring. Next up after Turkey: Singapore, with a net hiring outlook of 26% for the first quarter.

Are these new jobs ones that should prompt Americans to consider moving? Possibly, says Joerres, though much of the demand gets filled by people from neighboring countries. Outfits like Manpower, which has offices in 82 countries, and the plethora of online job listings make the international job market ever more transparent.

While many of the openings are for low-paying jobs, there are also plenty of opportunities for highly qualified professionals, especially in fields like geoengineering and information systems, Joerres says. Oil and gas engineers are in high demand, for instance. That’s a minority of the workers who relocate internationally for jobs, he adds, but it’s a minority that’s growing: “It’s still on the margin, but the margin has gotten bigger.”

The countries rounding out the list include Peru, Costa Rica and Argentina as well as Australia and Hong Kong.

How does the U.S. rate? Better than you might expect. It has a 9% net hiring outlook.

Working (Part-Time) in the 21st Century

By KATRIN BENNHOLD

Simon Mortlock

news.efinancialcareers.sg

6 December 2010

The whole world is currently undergoing a recession  including  oil-rich  countries in the Middle East but not Qatar… it is  one of the few countries that is still going strong and is expected to come out of the current economic gloom stronger than ever.

Some of you may even be considering getting a job in Qatar. Feel free to do so – afterall, almost 80% of the workforce here are migrant workers from outside of Qatar and they range  from the top professional manager to the middle engineer to the lowest laborer.

There is likely to be a suitable position for you whatever your background is  because every Qatari organisation - foreign or local  at every level -  requires migrant workers.

You can get a job by referring to the many on-line jobsites, international job agencies, Qatar newspapers on-line classifieds, industry discussion forums and professional magazines. The vacancies are there… just make the effort to hunt it down.

One word of advice though -  the immigration and labor laws in Qatar are pretty unique and may be quite different from the country that you are  coming from. Be sure to research on your prospective employer and the complex  Qatari immigration and labor regulations before you sign on the dotted line.

While there are many happy stories of migrant workers and expatriates who have found good employers, there are also many who have suffered under bad employers. So, carry out  your research well…

Anyone wants to be an ice skating instructor in a shopping mall?

If you want to cook, you’ll find that many  foodstuff you can easily purchase  in your home supermarket is not available here. It does not matter where you are from as  I hear the same  complaints from my Lebanese, American and British colleagues.

For those who regularly have pork as part of their diet, you may suffer from ‘pork-withdrawal symptom’ –  if there is ever such a symptom. Sufferers of such symptoms are known to take flight over the weekend to nearby Dubai or Bahrain to satisfy their withdrawal crave.

Some will try to sneak some pork back after their weekend mouth-watering rendevous and hide-and-seek stories with airport custom officers are well regaled adventures.

Not only is  pork  not available in this strict Muslim country but common vegetables such as Kailan, Bak Choi, Bean sprout, Kang Kong are rarely  available and  if its ever available,  you have to purchase them  at a high price.

Americans will complain that their favorite snacks are not available, Lebanese the quality of Yogurt, Italians the selection of olive oils, Englishmen the availability of sausages, Singaporeans the choice of vegetables, etc. Even though  the supermarkets here are huge, they can never satisfy the variant needs of the different nationalities who have congregated in this small country.

Food is certainly  another  challenge also for those who do not cook.

You’ll find restaurants and food courts only at the malls and hotels. There are  a sprinkling of restaurants along some roads and petrol kiosks. However, it does not matter where you find them –  your choices are always limited to:

1. American Fast Food (They are everywhere!)
2. Middle Eastern Fast Food (Almost everywhere!)
3. Indian Food

Fast Food – Invented in the Middle-East?

Middle Eastern Fast Food – Sharwama

Indian Bryani

For those who abhor fast food, you are in deep trouble. Your next best bet is the Shawama (if you do not get sick of it) or the Indian Bryani (if you do not mind getting clogged arteries).

Once you want to move past these 3 choices, you will now face the other challenge of:

1. Finding parking spots
2. Pay the high price

What has that got  to do with having your favorite food?

Well, the better restaurants, be it Italian, American, Chinese, Thai or Japanese are inevitably located in malls or hotels where parking is almost always a hassle and food prices are 50% or more what you would  need to pay in your native land for the exact same food.

You either live without your favorite food or you can go through the hassle of finding parking lots and/or paying through your nose for the privilege of indulging in some comfort food.

For some, the indulgence of their favorite food in hotels come with the added benefit of having alcohol -   the only place in Qatar where you can have food with alcohol outside of your home.

For the rest of us, where money does not fall from the sky or spurt from underground, I hear that Instant Noodles, Pasta and sandwiches are perennial favorites.

2 November 2010

Ananya Mukherjee

3rd Quarterly WordPress Wednesdays Meetup

WordPress freebies from Automattic will be distributed at this meetup.

Programme

7.00pm: Networking
7.30pm: Welcome Address
7.45pm: Presentation 1 by Damien Oh from MakeTechEasier.com
8.10pm: Presentation 2 (TBC)
8.40pm: Call to Action WordCamp Singapore 2011 Sponsorship pitch
9.00pm: END

RSVP here (Facebook).

Race-Bias Discriminatory Hiring Practices Exist In Singapore?

Written by: Gilbert Goh

Lately, I have being wondering if there is any race-bias discriminatory hiring practices in Singapore – its a sensitive topic but one that certainly needs addressing.

I can’t feel it as a Chinese but some comments made by the minority races in socio-political  blog site on discriminatory hiring practices have  kept me thinking.

To it’s credit, our government has always promote  hiring based on merit with no particular race to receive any special consideration. Though this seems ideal,  what happens on the ground may prove otherwise.

Mr Shafie in his article Jobseeker Account Of A Day At The Job Fair  commented:-

“I  narrowed down those companies which did not specify ethnicity  and age as their selection criteria. I also ensure that  I would be eligible for the vacancies based on my qualification and skillsets. In all fairness, there are other companies that did not employ based on race but they were looking for newly-minted graduates.”

To reiterate my concern, another netizen going by the moniker Bungkus commented in one of my articles: “I am a Singaporean and I used to live in Perth for two years. I am now an immigrant in Canada. I am a Malay facing so much discrimination for jobs from the Chinese Singaporeans in Singapore. Even with 3 degrees,  I could not get me a small time job in Singapore.” His story  however could not be verified.

Mr Shafie’s  statement has particularly struck a chord within me as being someone from the majority race, I have never really bother to check if the employer is hiring based on any race preference.

Hiring based on race alone, abeit done subtlely, is seriously wrong and carry grave  societal implications especially in our multi-racial diverse society.

The minority races will feel sidelined and discriminated against and if this is allowed to continue unaddressed,  may bring forth widespread  social disharmony within the general population. Already, we have heard widespread stories of how a large contingent of our   Malay community has migrated to Perth due to a lack of employment opportunities in Singapore. This allegation is however unverified.

Over time,  large-scale discriminatory hiring   may  also develop into sectoral employment – a potent situation whereby certain jobs  will  be performed by specific groups of the population. In a worse case scenario, this may degenerate into  a certain race controlling specific  sector of the  economy resulting in serious long-term adverse repercussions for the country.

We have  also witnessed recently how  social polarization has erupted into civil unrest in Xinjiang, China  when the Chinese-native  population began to migrate there amass and  took over the economy of the Muslim-dominated province.  Prices of basic necessities were jacked up by these Chinese-dominated businessmen resulting in widespread unhappiness among the Muslim population.

It is apparent that when one particular race takes over the economy in a multi-racial society, there is always the danger of social disharmony as a result of widening income disparity and mismatched expectations.

More worrying, we have seen how our Muslim and Indian minority community have  continued to lag behind the  Chinese community in our country:-

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [8]

It will be inappropriate  however to link this income disparity to solely race-based discriminatory hiring practices even though this trend may have existed for a long time.

Other factors such as educational qualifications    and the right skillsets are also crucial factors that will influence the employability opportunities of our minority races.

Minority Races Felt Marginalised?

The fact that Mr Shafie bothers to do a special check on discriminatory hiring  before he ventured into looking for work  at the job fair makes me wonder if the minority races have all along felt sidelined and more disturbingly marganilised  when it comes to seeking  re-employment especially  from our Chinese-dominated business employers.

A random check on our online  employment websites revealed some disturbing trend. I realized that certain groups of employers have stated that they preferred “Mandarin speaking candidates only” or “Chinese working environment”.  Does this constitutes racist hiring practices?

I guess for someone  from the minorities race  like Mr Shafie, the criterion of “Mandarin speaking candidates only” must have meant zero employment opportunities for him as he only speaks Malay and English.

This is probably one big reason why we heard of  the non-Mandarin speaking community registering for Mandarin classes in droves in the hope of enhancing their re-employment chances when the need arises.

This is understandable as most small and medium (SME) businesses are operated by our local Chinese community.  They will prefer to employ Chinese-speaking crew members if it’s a Chinese eatery or a business that particularly handles only Chinese customers.

However, strangely, I have heard from a local Chinese friend that  he is a minority worker in a Indian-owned foreign company that hires mostly Indian professionals.

Moreover, the Indians that work there are mostly foreign professionals  with   Employment Pass work permit.  He happens to be one of the three non-Indian local staff that works in the company with a staff strength of around fifty employees.

It is not surprising to find people of the same race wanting to work alongside one another.  There is this  cultural understanding  and  bond which people from another race will not be able to identify with.  Many companies will specifically  employ the same race if given a choice especially so if their target customers are mainly from that particular race. It makes sense to hire an Indian professional to handle the accounts if most of their customers orginate from India.

Reasons for Discriminatory Hiring

Employers, who advertise for positions specifying a preferential race, have wisely state their reasons for doing so.  For example, some may state on the advertisement that they can only employ non-Malays as their work involves handling  food materials which are not halal. Others specify that they need their workers to speak Mandarin so they can only hire Chinese workers which seem fair on the surface. However, if this is allowed to go on as a common practice, the situation may degenerate into blatant discriminatory hiring practices.

I have also heard that some non-Chinese candidates were rejected by potential employers even though they spoke good Mandarin. No reasons were given on why they were not selected. One suspects that some employers may use the  “Mandarin speaking only” excuse to hire selectively so that they will not get into trouble.

To be fair, Singapore employers as a whole have all along being very non-prejudiced in the way they hire workers. They are more concerned with whether the person they hire can do the job  than paying specific attention on his race.

Moreover, our authorities are very strict when it comes to discriminatory hiring base on race alone due to the multi-racial makeup of our population.

The Ministry of Manpower webpage has adocated the following five guiding principles for fair employment practices (source: www.mom.gov.sg):-

1. Recruit and select employees on the basis of merit (such as skills, experience or ability to perform the job), and regardless of age, race, gender, religion, family status or disability.
2. Treat employees fairly and with respect and implement progressive human resource management systems.
3. Provide employees with equal opportunity to be considered for training and development based on their strengths and needs, to help them achieve their full potential.
4. Reward employees fairly based on their ability, performance, contribution and experience.
5. Abide by labour laws and adopt Tripartite Guidelines which promote fair employment practices.

So far, we have not heard of anyone from the minority race going public on a case of  race-bias discriminatory hiring. However, we could  hear them occasionally on socio-political blogs ranting away and blaming our  Chinese employers for being discriminating against the minorities race.

Discriminatory Hiring Prevalent Worldwide

Australia,  which is a far more polarised society than us, has  obvious hiring discriminatory practices  made worse by the huge immigrant intake during the past decade.

In a research done recently by the Australian National University on discriminatory hiring practices based on a jobseeker’s race, they found that applicants with Chinese names fared the worst, having only a one-in-five chance of getting asked in for interviews, compared to applicants with Anglo-Saxon names whose chances exceeded one-in-three (source: thebigchair.com.au).

Typically a Chinese-named applicant would need to put in 68 per cent more applications than an Anglo-named applicant to get the same number of calls back. A Middle Eastern-named applicant needed 64 per cent more, an indigenous-named applicant 35 per cent more and an Italian-named applicant 12 per cent more.

In another classic racial bias case in the United States last year, a federal judge has given final approval to a $17.5 million settlement of a discrimination lawsuit that accused Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of not hiring black truck drivers.

Members in the class-action suit applied to drive for Wal-Mart between 2001 and 2008 and were turned away in disproportional numbers. Of the approximately 4,500 plaintiffs, those that applied earliest stand to receive the greatest settlement payments (source: www.msnbc.msn.com).

All this shows that race-bias hiring is prevalent in many societies where there are different races living together and competing for jobs. The best man may not win here if you don’t belong to a certain race.

Conclusion

So does race-bias discriminatory hiring exists in Singapore?

You bet it does as so long there are different racial groups living together, there will always be the preference to hire someone of a similar race based more on personal and cultural preference than anything else.

Many employers will  do so because of work-related reasons like food handling difficulties for certain minorities race and specific  languages required  at work.

There will unfortunately be the  few  who will discriminate against certain races and hire their own kind because they have personal deep-seated prejudices against other races.

I feel that our minority races should be more concerned about  the competition posed by  foreign workers than employers practising race-bias hiring at the job front.

Employers still remain the king here as our government has allowed globalisation to flourish in our economy  and that means more foreign workers will be allowed in our country to compete for jobs with the local population.

The minorities race should also take heart that many jobless people from the predominant Chinese community have  faced intense re-employment challenges due to structural  changes in our economy.

The more serious problem for our country to tackle now is  to properly manage the challenges faced by a rapidly  ageing workforce that possessed  skill-sets that were obselete and useless for the new economy.

NB: I apologise if this article has offended some people here. Please write to me personally and I will offer my sincere apology to you.

A New Awakening

Written by: Shafie

Posted: 10/06/2010 by wheresmymanual in My Journal (reproduced with permission)

I was at a job fair recently. I have a better idea of   the job market  now and the possible discrimination I may face. I made a conscious effort to plan carefully as I do not wish to spend another fruitless day at the fair.  So,  basically,  my plan was to avoid companies that employ based on ethnicity and age.

Posted by Jeffrey: October 15, 2010 at 8:21 pm

This comment appeared in  the article “Jobless PMET collects tin cans to survive”

I do not believe Singaporean employers are practising biased hiring based on the  race of a candidate.

If not, we would not be hiring so many people from other races.

Bearing in mind that most local businesses are started up by different communities  and are mostly SMEs. Do you think a Malay catering boss will hire a Chinese to handle his food?

This can only happen if the Chinese proves that he is clean in his ways when handling food in the Muslim context (halal), which requires certification, compliant on paper, etc.

The key question to ask is really this: do you still want to stay in that industry while holding on to the same relevant certification/experience?

For most people, I believe the answer is yes because  not only will it bring you more money but also  with the relevant industrial/ academic certification and experience then you are hired for that job.

That is unfortunately only in theory though. In practice, things can be very different.

HR people on the hiring only have one thing in mind: your certfication versus the hiring cost and if you are worth the pay you are asking for.

Mr Shafie has only A Levels. The first thing HR will  ask him is his certification (applies on advertising), which is considered non-relevant. But you can say he has ample  industrial  experience which calls for a good (higher) pay, however this factor  has already failed the first HR hiring filter. Let me explain why.

The HR will compare him  with a younger  graduate, or one with proper certification and a couple of years of relevant  working  experience.

Judging by hiring cost factor and hiring by paper alone, Mr Shafie would have lose out to the younger/lower qualification/well-qualified candidate.

That’s 2/3 factors against 1 good factor of longer years of working experience for him.

Yes, Mr Shafie can choose to collect cans and I can respect that.

However,  if he wants a job again and   employers ask him what was he doing the past few years, do you think he will say he’s been collecting cans? Even if he said so, what would an employer think of him?

This is about being adaptable in the working society. And being adaptable is all about making the right choices.

I really admired Mr Shafie, as if you ask me to do what he is doing, I think I rather be working as  a fast-food crew.

As long as anyone working on a job is agreeable,   as to what he  is doing, who cares as long as he  is doing his job well?

But obviously, I believe he needs more help if he wants to go back into computer programming again. Employers may be particular due to his past medical history of having stroke, especially so for big companies with medical benefits.