Singapore startup’s ‘quirky job ad’ gets backlash

Attracting the right talent can be challenging. Often times, how you word a job description determines the kind of people that comes knocking on your door.

While some companies choose to be conservative in their job posting, a recent job advertisement by Sugar, a mobile app which launched recently in Singapore, tries to be different and quirky in its latest job ad.

Sugar app

However, their attempt was met with backlash by some in the local developer community, the same group of people Sugar is trying to recruit to join its company.

The job ad reads:

job ad

The ad essentially mocks Goldman Sachs employees and Ivy League university graduates as “shallow social climber(s)”, and hints that government jobs are for people with no passion.

How not to post a job ad

Hou GuoChen, a software engineer, was displeased with the job ad when he first came across it. In his Facebook post, he rebutted that this is one job description that companies should “never write when hiring talents”. Hou also says that he would never work for Sugar.

“In my capacity, I would also advise all my friends to stay clear of your company as well,” Hou shared on his Facebook.

Here’s the full post by Hou:

Guo Chen's facebook

Guo Chen's facebook

Bryan Lim, another local software engineer, replied to Hou’s thread saying that he felt angry after reading the job description too.

Discriminatory much?

Story: Vulcan Post




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