Unbelievable, they really practise this

(01-11-2011, 10:16 PM)tanjm Wrote: Sorry but this does not sound believable. Why would HR tell you things like this? And I can tell you from personal experience that I never tell anyone why I reject them.

Also it would be highly unusual, to say the least, for a "high level senior position" to be taking a test for the job interview.

Hi tanjm,

1. Its up to you, if you want to believe it or not. I am just relating my experience.

2. To your question as to why the HR lady would tell me these things, I can only guess that I had created a good relationship with her as I went for about 3- 4 interviews and she was telling me this as I was very emotional when she told me I didn't get the job, as by the last interview it was almost certain I was going to get the job and we discussed the pay etc..and then I got the news.

3. The test I mentioned were the many rounds of interviews and Q & A I had to go through with the hiring manager as the different people he brought along to evaluate me. However there was a online character evaluation test i had to take.

I just wanted to relate my experience but its up to you to believe it or not.

Thank You.

(01-11-2011, 10:16 PM)tanjm Wrote:

(01-11-2011, 11:10 AM)flinger Wrote: I can give you my own experience. This was for a high level senior position at a local bank. I passed all their tests and had skills that surpassed their needs. However they rejected me only with the reason that I did not respect one of their female team members as I did not look at her and talk.

I asked them for feedback on what exactly did I do that gave the impression that I did not respect her. They did not reply.

I found out later from the HR that the Senior high ranking foreigner who was hiring has been rejecting all locals and finally got someone he knew from Australia and was given a high pay although the no. of years of experience and education was lower than most of the local that went for the interview.

That day I felt very low to be discriminated in my own country and losing a post that I have been working very hard to get for the longest time.

It left a mark in my heart and mind.

Sorry but this does not sound believable. Why would HR tell you things like this? And I can tell you from personal experience that I never tell anyone why I reject them.

Also it would be highly unusual, to say the least, for a "high level senior position" to be taking a test for the job interview.

Why can't HR tell the candidates that ? My brother is in HR and he always explained to the failed candidates if they called him. It is a matter how professional they are in their jobs . Well , one can always choose to be very unprofessional if he/she wants.

Nothing will change and the ruling party will do nothing until Singaporeans wake up at the ballot box.

Let me say a few words on this.

Usually for rejection, I notice that it is job agents and headhunters who liaise with the company to find out the reasons for rejection, then feedback the information to the candidate (interviewee). I've had some occasions where I was not successful for the interview and I asked the agent to find out why, and how I could improve.

So probably the indirect way makes it easier for the Company's HR to share their rejection reasons. Then again, such methods may result in vague answers or the message may get somewhat distorted as it is not coming from the direct source. But it's still constructive feedback, and therefore better than nothing.

(02-11-2011, 11:40 AM)kichialo Wrote: Nothing will change and the ruling party will do nothing until Singaporeans wake up at the ballot box.

Hope this is not another big wayang ?

Don't discriminate against Singaporeans
New guidelines to end practices biased towards hiring of foreigners

By Kor Kian Beng

THE Government has sent a strong signal to employers that Singapore will not stand for foreign managers who hire and promote their own kind, at the expense of qualified local candidates.

Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin yesterday announced new guidelines taking aim at such discriminatory practices. These include job advertisements that indicate foreigners are preferred, and preferential hiring of foreigners over suitable Singaporeans.

Drawn up by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep), the new guidelines are a response to a spike this year in the number of cases about unfair treatment based on nationality - 51 in the first nine months of this year.

Speaking at a tripartism forum, Mr Tan stressed that while Singapore stays open to foreigners, its own citizens must remain the core of its workforce, a point the Prime Minister had made in his National Day Rally speech in August.

Yesterday, Mr Tan said the Government is taking steps at the national level to moderate the demand for foreign labour, by raising levies, qualifying salaries and qualifications for work permits.

But on the ground, it is for employers to watch what they do. Many Singaporeans have expressed anxiety over discriminatory practices in their workplace, 'including allegations of foreign managers hiring their own kind'.

'Let me emphasise that discriminatory practices have no place in Singapore,' he said. Companies, he added, have a responsibility 'to attract, recruit and develop Singaporeans so that Singaporeans remain at the core of our workforce'.

On why laws are not being enacted to combat discrimination, Mr Tan said complaints about discrimination are not straightforward. To address them involves changing employers' mindsets, which is better done through moral suasion.

Anti-discrimination laws would also reduce flexibility in the labour market, a strength for Singapore, he said.

Still, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will act against errant employers who persist with discriminatory practices, Mr Tan said.

If an issue cannot be resolved through consultation, MOM has other ways to 'encourage an employer to do the right thing'. It can, for example, slap demerit points on employment agencies for such practices.

Tafep will hold workshops to educate employers and help them adopt the new guidelines.

Both labour chief Lim Swee Say and employers' group chief Stephen Lee threw their support behind the new guidelines.

Mr Lee, president of the Singapore National Employers Federation, said employers recognise that having Singaporeans at the core of their workforce strengthens their long-term competitiveness as foreign workers tend to be more mobile.

He also noted in a dialogue that Singapore's cap on foreigners - which stands at one-third of the three-million workforce - is already one of the highest in the world. Mr Lee said employers accept the cap. Companies, he added, must take steps to nurture Singaporeans as their core.

'If you replace your core with all foreigners because of short-term expediency, then I start to question the viability of the company in the long run,' Mr Lee added.

Mr Lim, NTUC secretary-general, said the guidelines give companies access to foreign manpower, yet help Singaporeans benefit from good jobs and wages.

He said employers and workers need to change their mindsets of each other. Some employers seem to believe that Singapore workers are not willing to take on low-level jobs, not able to take on high-skilled jobs, and that there are not enough of them to fill mid-level jobs, he added.

As for Singaporeans, many of them say employers are not willing to pay better for low-level jobs, are not doing enough to help them move up to higher-level jobs and view them as not able to take on mid-level jobs.

Said Mr Lim: 'So as long as we're caught in this mindset on both sides, we'll forever be in a no-win situation.'

kianbeng@sph.com.sg

It's already happening for the past 2 years... i see it everyday... :O

Nothing we can do actually. It will go on and on and on...

It's a fact of open economies and open-door policies...

(02-11-2011, 09:02 AM)tonylim Wrote:

(01-11-2011, 10:16 PM)tanjm Wrote:

(01-11-2011, 11:10 AM)flinger Wrote: I can give you my own experience. This was for a high level senior position at a local bank. I passed all their tests and had skills that surpassed their needs. However they rejected me only with the reason that I did not respect one of their female team members as I did not look at her and talk.

I asked them for feedback on what exactly did I do that gave the impression that I did not respect her. They did not reply.

I found out later from the HR that the Senior high ranking foreigner who was hiring has been rejecting all locals and finally got someone he knew from Australia and was given a high pay although the no. of years of experience and education was lower than most of the local that went for the interview.

That day I felt very low to be discriminated in my own country and losing a post that I have been working very hard to get for the longest time.

It left a mark in my heart and mind.

Sorry but this does not sound believable. Why would HR tell you things like this? And I can tell you from personal experience that I never tell anyone why I reject them.

Also it would be highly unusual, to say the least, for a "high level senior position" to be taking a test for the job interview.

Why can't HR tell the candidates that ? My brother is in HR and he always explained to the failed candidates if they called him. It is a matter how professional they are in their jobs . Well , one can always choose to be very unprofessional if he/she wants.

I never tell anyone why I reject them. And if HR ever asked me to provide a reason, I would certainly not give a reason that could cause reputational harm to the company and HR would certainly not pass it on if I did.

I do give reason a few times before directly when it does not put myself in unnecessary trouble.

One candidate got rejected when my HR manage to get contact in her previous company which she left in a not so pleasant manner.
I told her not to burn bridges but did not divert who the contacts or information from. Hopefully she learn from it. She deserve another fair chance i thought.

Guidelines are just guidelines, not enforceable. No bite.

(02-11-2011, 10:10 PM)tanjm Wrote: I never tell anyone why I reject them. And if HR ever asked me to provide a reason, I would certainly not give a reason that could cause reputational harm to the company and HR would certainly not pass it on if I did.

Even when you feel that the reason is very valid, true and yes, will damage the company reputation?

:O