Search for the perfect match for that job

Companies now look not only at academic qualifications, but also at 'softer' skills.

AS companies look beyond pure academic qualifications to focus on other — softer and less easily quantifiable — attributes of a potential employee, getting that job increasingly means more than filling out a form and tackling a few predictable questions in a job interview.

To find the perfect match for that position, employers are now turning to other forms of assessment, such as character tests and scenario-based appraisal.

Mr Wong Kwai Wah, vice-president of the Singapore Human Resource Institute, observed that such measures are fast gaining popularity.

"It sends a strong signal to the candidates that the company takes its hiring process very seriously and only wants the best," he said.

One well-known petroleum firm here has been known to put its interviewees through numerous rounds of interviews over the course of a week.

Said Mr Paul Heng, founding president of the Asian Association of Career Management Professionals: "They meet with peers, subordinates and high-ranking managers throughout the day. It can be very stressful for the candidate as it's tedious and time-consuming."

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