For as long as we can remember, many job listings in Singapore have been populated with a stipulation that requires applicants to have the ability to speak in Mandarin. Essentially, a thinly-veiled pretext for only hiring people of Chinese descent — folks of other races can forget about applying.
But what if a non-Chinese person does fit the criteria of “Chinese-speaking”? Will the employer still want that Chinese-speaking, non-Chinese individual for the job?
Apparently not, as Tharenii Muniandy found out. Currently looking for a job in the IT industry, he’s been fielding calls by companies to head for interviews — but one particular call really pissed him off. According to his now-viral rant posted on Facebook, the caller beat around the bush until the quintessential question was asked: was he actually Chinese? When Tharenii replied no, he was immediately rejected, despite the fact that he, y’know, speaks Chinese.
“What if he did not ask me if I was Chinese and I actually go and show up for the interview — is he going to insult me (to) my face by saying ‘Actually we are actually looking for a Chinese-speaking person.’ Am I supposed to beg and say ‘(yes I really can speak Chinese), please give me the job!”
Tharenii’s rant comes to no surprise really for the many non-Chinese Singaporeans who’ve faced rejection during their own job hunts multiple times — and purely on the grounds that they’re not Chinese.
von says
I strongly believe that companies can prefer some types of employees, for example, companies working with some chinese speaking country where not only the ability to speak chinese matters, but also the knowledge/familiarity of the chinese culture counts. I don’t think it’s discrimination. There are other jobs (tech jobs) that don’t require this requirement. Hey, to the indian dude, you can always look for tech jobs in America, where no chinese language is needed. It’s not necessary to rant just because a company rejected you; you were just not right for the company. Move on and look for companies that suit you and companies that like your skills.
Mahendran says
This has been happening since the 1980s.
One of the ” successes ” of speak mandarin campaign.
Understand if outs a “Cheena” company but this is an IT outfit … no excuse to list preferred language.
Hope that Indian gentleman gets a better job offer.