Reservist discrimination in JobsDB.com?

Saw this post on omy’s forum by a person called 我的天 who claimed that local job search portal, JobsDB added a “reservist” option in their selection fields under “Personal Details => National Service”.

Please see screen captures as below:

This is a very touchy issue as it concerns all Singapore male CITIZENS who have served National Service. Does the additional field implies it may be used as a screening criteria for potential employers?

I have heard rumours that some companies have discriminatory hiring practices with regards to males with reservist liabilities, but chose to dismiss them as unfounded. I hope this is not happening as it will be extremely unfair to Singapore born males like me who have this extra burden saddled upon us.

Anybody have such experiences to share? Do voice your concerns or opinions in the comment box below.

Technorati Tags: singapore, citizen, discriminatory hr practices, saf, reservist, job search portal, jobsdb, jobsdb.com, singapore army, hr practises, national service

alvinology

Alvin is a marketer by day and blogger by night. He is a 100% geek who spends too much time surfing the web.

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  • I don't think it should have any impact on employment issues... or that employers are using it to screen potential employees. If that's the case, they can then wipe out hiring any male under 35 years of age, since most would still have reservist liabilities.

  • Beg to differ... they can hire foreigners, females as well as males who are of PES C and below status. There are many people who downgrade themselves after completing their mandatory two years. Is there anywhere we can get statistics of the percentage of Singapore males who downgrade and are exempted from reservist?

    In any case, the 'reservist' field would also seem quite redundant if what you mention is true - why do you need to include a field that won't be used at all? Isn't the other fields - completed, exempted and full time suffice?

  • I believe it is largely due to the fact that in recent years, a number of Government Agencies do use Jobdb's services and such inforamation are required by them.

  • On the flip side, employers can access the reliability of the Singaporean male candidate when all hell breaks loose, when shit happens, whether they will chao-keng, siam training or go super siao on, etc.

    I think employers actually want to see how far you push yourself and how far you went in the worst of predictaments (i.e. National Service).
    Think of it as an additional edge in your resume.
    I mean, why you want to employ someone with a history that suggests he chao-keng? What if he chao-keng at his job in your company?

  • Shu Yen: hi dude, how are you doing? :)

    Thanks for pointing out an alternative angle to this, it makes sense too actually. But then hor, like that is also discriminatory - this time, against those with NO RESERVIST. hahaha

  • Hmm... is "NS" a mandatory field in employment application forms? If it is, then it probably explains why it's there. Until we have someone is still a reservist but declared "Completed" and joined a company, it'd be anyone's guess on whether there's any bias. Then again, the company could fire the guy on grounds of making false declarations.

  • Some trivia : Your NS can be counted as work experience when applying for jobs abroad or for a Green Card.

  • celluloidrealitys: Thanks for sharing! that's an interesting point. It is a shame that it is not recognised much locally though...

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