SINGAPORE: An interviewer has sparked discussion online after admitting that he was surprised to hear all three candidates for a senior role speak in Singlish during their interviews.
He shared the story on the r/askSingapore forum on Thursday (Feb 26), explaining that candidates, who were all far from inexperienced, were applying for a position “with an international scope.”
According to him, one had more than 20 years of international experience, another came from an agency background, and the third had spent about eight years at a multinational corporation.
“To my surprise, all three spoke quite a bit of Singlish during the interview. Even during simple opening small talk,” he wrote. “It wasn’t just one-off moments.”
He shared one exchange as an example:
Interviewer: “Did you come from your workplace? Did you take time off to attend the interview?”
Candidate: “Ya ya ya, I came from my work.”
Throughout the interviews, he also noted that the candidates used ‘loh’ or ‘lah’ in every other sentence, even though he didn’t use Singlish himself
“It sounded rather unprofessional,” he said. “Curious to hear Singaporeans’ perspectives on whether they think this is okay or not and whether people are self-aware of how they present themselves at interviews.”
“When you go for job interviews, especially for senior or international roles, do you consciously switch to professional English, or do you just speak with Singlish?”
“There is nothing unprofessional about it.”
In the discussion thread, several Singaporeans shared that they would only use Singlish if the interviewer also spoke that way. Otherwise, they stick to standard English during job interviews.
One explained, “Okay, hot take—yes, I do, if the interviewer is Singaporean and speaks slightly in Singlish himself. I won’t go full-on ahbeng for sure, but my intention is to let the interviewer feel comfortable communicating with me and naturally like me more.”
“If your interviewer is NOT Singaporean, then of course Singlish doesn’t make sense. Not because it’s unprofessional, but because it’s just not their comfort language. Read your interviewer and understand what’s the best way to communicate with them.”
Others thought that using Singlish is fine as long as it is kept to a minimum. A few casual words like “lah,” “lor,” or “leh” slipping out now and then is understandable since it is part of everyday speech.
However, they said it becomes inappropriate if someone starts replacing proper English terms with heavy slang. For example, calling “good-looking females” “chiobu” or saying “pekcek” instead of “frustrated” would be too much for an interview. Basically, a little is okay, but overdoing it is not.
On the contrary, a number of people pushed back strongly against the idea that using Singlish automatically makes someone unprofessional. Some felt that the mindset was outdated and unnecessarily judgmental.
One commenter pointed out that Singlish is part of Singapore’s identity and culture.
They argued, “Singlish is our national patois and is a proud amalgamation of our history and various cultures. There is nothing unprofessional about it. At all levels, I speak in Singlish, even to the Angmos! Nothing wrong with it, and I am still senior in my role.”
Another added, “Just by using Singlish, you find it unprofessional; it shows that you don’t understand what languages are. Would you call someone with an Australian accent unprofessional? Or an American accent?”
“If no, why Singlish? In the end language’s main purpose is communication. To get your idea across. If the focus is on the right word as opposed to the right meaning of the word, then it’s putting the cart before the horse. La.”
In other news, a man went on social media to vent about a relative who recently switched careers to become an insurance agent, claiming she has been persistently pushing family members to purchase insurance plans.
On the r/asksg forum, he shared that this change has “thrown the family dynamics out of whack.”
Read more: Man asks how to set boundaries as insurance agent relative targets family
