SINGAPORE: A local man has sparked backlash online after claiming in a viral video that he rejected every Singaporean applicant who applied for junior and mid-level roles at his company, allegedly because they lacked initiative, personality, and the ability to clearly communicate their ideas.
The man, who goes by the username leethenomad, shared the video earlier this month on Instagram and TikTok with the title, “The Singapore Premium is weakening.”
In the video, he asserted that the employability of Singaporeans is “declining very rapidly,” arguing that they no longer stand out in an increasingly competitive pool of candidates.
“I’m saying this out of concern, not out of contempt for my fellow countrymen,” he said.
“These days, it’s not about academic intelligence. It’s not about what kind of degree you have or first-class honours, what scores you have in your O or A levels or university.”
“I do not care about that. I care about your personality. I care about your character. I care about your values. Who are you? What makes you different from everyone else?”
He added that many candidates struggle to express their ideas and thoughts effectively, which he sees as a key issue when assessing suitability for a role. As someone hiring for a business, he said he needs people who are willing to step forward and take risks.
“I need people who are daring enough, who have the courage, who have the conviction to go out and network and talk to my partners or even suggest fresh, new ideas.”
However, he noticed that a lot of Singaporeans failed to have this characteristic. According to him, a lot of them are “yes men” who are simply “waiting for instructions to be passed down from the top.”
“I don’t know what is causing this. Is it the education system that prioritises academic knowledge rather than real-life experiences?” he asked. “Is it the way that we teach our kids? Is it the mindset? Is it the entire culture? Is it the way the kids are brought up within the family?”
He also said he would not hire someone simply because they share a similar background.
“I’m not hiring someone who’s cut from the same cloth,” he continued. “I’m hiring someone who thinks differently, who dares to do things differently. So if you’re listening to this and you’re looking for a job, my recommendation to you is work on something that differentiates yourself. A lot of times it’s not about skills, it’s about your personality.”
In the video’s caption, he added: “Let’s work on differentiating ourselves as Singaporeans. We have the potential to do better.”
“Maybe he is bitter no local showed interest in his job listing…”
At the time of writing, the video has garnered more than 181,600 views on TikTok and 242,000 views on Instagram. It has also been reposted on the r/singaporespeaks subreddit, where it received 466 upvotes and 327 comments.
Many netizens expressed negative views about his remarks, with one Instagram user saying the clip “came off excessively pompous and hollow.”
The user elaborated, “Your ideals, while genuinely great and noble, fail to recognise the other side of this whole problem: which is that being “yes-men” and rigid cogs of the machine (I know, sadly) are exactly the kind of life-lines that many aspiring workers of yours and my generation need to survive and have any hopes of thriving eventually with the ideals you espoused in here.”
They added, “The system is stale, banal, yes, but straight-up lamenting and complaining about it doesn’t help either. This is exactly the type of posts and comments that drive the local grads to depression, that even with their esteemed certs and grades, they are not able to land themselves any gig at all. How, bro?? Have you bothered to ask them if they are willing to learn these on the job, rather than dismiss their ’employability’? Please tell me you have.”
A Reddit user also shared their perspective, saying that as someone who has worked in tech and interviewed candidates for software engineering roles, there are many brilliant local talents.
“I have encountered brilliant junior engineers that were local. I have also encountered supposed experienced foreigners, but they were bad,” they said. “The talking head in the video is full of crap. Maybe he is bitter no local showed interest in his job listing and therefore the hit piece.”
Another user who interviews fresh grads for entry-level roles in their company wrote, “I categorically disagree with his observations. There are plenty of extremely outstanding Singaporeans out there who are both academically smart and full of good ideas.”
“In fact, I often find it hard (good problem to have) to choose who to advance just because of how good they are. I feel so freaking hopeful for the future generations after each interview season, knowing there are such capable people out there.”
“It’s difficult to even justify hiring them.”
Still, despite the overwhelming criticism he received, there were others who sided with the local man.
One TikTok user argued that the country is indeed full of “yes men” because the “whole triple system of family, government, and education [in Singapore] is designed to create robotic mindsets. Thinking outside the box ain’t encouraged and rarely rewarded.”
Another commenter added, “As an interviewer myself for the tech industry, what he’s saying is spot on. We have dozens of candidates coming in. I can tell you the Vietnamese guy, the Malaysian guy, and the Pinoy guy most likely can do better than my fellow brothers, even though I’m trying to give them (us) opportunities.”
Based on his experience, he said foreign candidates tend to be “more hungry, their skills more refined, they deliberate on problems more precisely, their attitude way better, and they take initiative to expand into what’s required to be done.”
“Yes, not every SGrean candidate is bad, we have some good ones too, dedicated to their craft and better than the foreigners, but they are rare,” he continued. “It’s difficult to even justify hiring them.”
What employers are looking for
In 2024, nearly 8 in 10 job openings in Singapore did not list academic qualifications as a key requirement, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s Job Vacancies Report.
About 78.8% of vacancies placed more weight on skills and experience rather than grades. This trend was particularly evident in PMET (Professional, Managerial, Executive, and Technician) positions, where employers are increasingly focusing on candidates’ practical capabilities.
So what does this mean for jobseekers? Recruitment agency Reeracoen Singapore says those looking for work should focus on building industry-relevant experience (project-based or freelance) and pick up certifications in their field of expertise.
They also recommended that jobseekers strengthen their soft skills (communication, critical thinking, and adaptability) and continue upskilling through courses offered on platforms like SkillsFuture and Coursera.
Read more: She did everything right: 8 years’ experience, MBA, between jobs, but still can’t land a career
