Suddenly, The Singapore Media Discovers That Gays Are Human Beings After All

A vaguely amusing article from Today:

Banks and the pool of pink talent
Wednesday • January 30, 2008
By Neo Chai Chin

AMERICAN investment bank Lehman Brothers is planning an unusual initiative in Singapore, Financial Times reported recently. It is specifically targeting gay and lesbians who aspire to be bankers. This follows the success of a presentation and buffet dinner for 50 gay students in Hong Kong.

Today has learnt that the banking giant is not alone. Global banks around Asia are breaking new ground to attract and retain the best and brightest. Increasingly, their hiring and diversity policies are taking into account the homosexual community, which makes up as a significant part of the talent pool.

At UBS Singapore, for example, benefits including health insurance are extended to a staff's "significant other", defined as "a person who has cohabited with an employee for a continuous period of 12 months". The couple does not need to be married, and sexual orientation is not an issue.

Money is a factor in the competition for talent, but keeping up with social changes is also important.

"This is why our benefits policy is designed to be as flexible and inclusive as possible," said Ms Leona Tan, UBS Singapore's diversity advisor.

Merrill Lynch, on its part, has four professional networks in the Asia-Pacific region for its staff, one of which is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender network, set up last April. The other networks are for women, young professionals and parents. The firm even has an annual diversity week, when it hosts speakers, events and conferences for the various networks.

"Our efforts in the area of diversity are about how we can create the most effective and inclusive environment, one in which we value diversity rather than simply tolerate it," said Mr Roman Matla, spokesperson for the bank's diversity and inclusion team.

I suppose this article is useful for public education purposes in Singapore. On the other hand, I could not help finding it somewhat funny.

The article suggests that by taking gay people into account in their HR policies, foreign banks are doing something really unusual and innovative – “breaking new ground”.

Actually, this is nothing new at all. Practically all US and European banks have global HR policies recognizing the rights of their gay employees worldwide. Such policies would have been in existence for many years.

For example, my current employer has a HR policy which promotes fair and equal treatment of all employees. Among other things, the policy says that no employee is to be discriminated against on the basis of his race, nationality, age, religion, gender, marital status, disability or sexual orientation.

As a matter of fact, this isn’t even unique to banks. You see it across different industries, among a wide range of global MNCs. Here are a few examples, from the world’s best-known corporate names:

Microsoft: “It is our policy to recruit and hire applicants for employment opportunities based solely on the qualifications. We do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, marital status, age, or disability in any of our recruitment, hiring, training or promotion practices.”

British Airways: “British Airways offers an inclusive environment to all of our employees, whether gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. British Airways has for many years included sexual orientation in its the diversity policy.”

Deutsche Bank AG: “We think of Diversity in its broadest sense, embracing all of those differences that make up the exciting, challenging world in which we live. These include age, culture, ethnicity, gender, nationality, personality type, physical ability, religion, sexual orientation, and work style."

General Electric: “GE's commitment to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender communities is supported by the GLBT Forum, as well as our offering of benefits for domestic partners.”

BP: “Our code of conduct, distributed to all BP employees, states that the company will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation and identity.”

Nike: “Nike works closely with Stonewall, Britain’s leading gay equality organization, and other members of the program, to improve the working environment for our lesbian, gay and bisexual employees.”

Nokia: “Among those rights that Nokia views as fundamental and universal are: freedom from any discrimination based on race, creed, color, nationality, ethnic origin, age, religion, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation ....”

If the above surprises you, it’s only because you live in Singapore. “Gasp!” you say. “How could all these respectable companies openly employ criminals?!”

Well, yes, the Dark Ages still prevail in Singapore. However, most other developed countries moved on long ago. They already discovered that gays are human beings too, you see.

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Hopping As a Survival Strategy (And I Don't Just Mean Frogs)

For the past five years or so, headhunters have been calling me quite regularly.

Typically, they begin by introducing themselves and their search firm. They then ask if this is a convenient time to talk (they know that you might be in your office area with your boss or colleagues nearby).

If convenient, they say that they have an interesting job opportunity and could they please have a minute to tell you about it.

Next comes a quick rundown on the JD ("job description") - the role, the responsibilities, the required experience, the reporting line and so on.

At this stage, they won't reveal their client's name, but they will give a general description - for example, "one of the biggest UK banks" - which, coupled with the JD, is often enough for you to make a good guess.

If you say you're not interested, they'll ask you why. If your reason is not particularly compelling, they'll persuade you to reconsider.

If your reason is compelling, and furthermore conveyed in a firm, no-nonsense tone, they will say,''Okay, fine then. But do you happen to know anyone else who might be suitable for the role?".

Here you have a choice. Either you can curtly say, 'No, I do not' and hang up, or you can try to be helpful. I always opt to be helpful. If I know of people whom I think could be suitable and interested, I pass their names on to the headhunter.

It is a good idea to be nice to headhunters, because you never know when you might want or need their help in finding a new job.

Just last Friday I had lunch with a headhunter. We have lunch every few months or so.

We have known each other from uni days, so we are also old friends. However, I shall be frank - if I were not currently in the banking sector, and he were not currently a banking headhunter, we would not have bothered to keep in touch with each other.

As usual, our lunchtime conversation was mostly me telling him what I know about who works where now doing what kind of work, and him telling me which kind of banks are interested in hiring what kind of people in the foreseeable future.

It is important for me to get regular updates on such market conditions. If there are really significantly superior opportunities elsewhere, it would be foolish not to try for them.

By "superior opportunities", I don't mean just money (although that is definitely very important) but the total package of all relevant factors. For example, these factors would include the opportunity to learn new skills, join a top brand name, move up the management ladder, join a place with better working culture, and so on.

Contrary to what Minister Lim Swee Say recently said, job-hopping is neither necessarily greedy nor necessarily short-sighted. In fact, it is the far-sighted people who would regularly review their career plans, options and strategies.

Many parts of the banking industry have done very well in the past few years. However, some parts of the banking industry have been doing very badly in the past few months. That's all thanks to the US subprime crisis, and the spillover effects.

As a result, a significant number of very high-flying banking professionals overseas have suddenly lost their jobs. They include no less than Chuck Prince and Stan O'Neal, the now ex-Chief Executives of Citigroup and Merrill Lynch respectively.

And of course, many others lower down the food chain.

So the question is how long the subprime crisis will last; how bad the spillover effects will be; and how severely Asia will be affected.

And whether, say, sometime in 2008, banking professionals in Singapore specialising in certain types of banking work (CDOs; structured finance; credit derivatives; debt capital markets; perhaps even IPO work) will also start losing their jobs or suffering drastic pay cuts.

Of course I hope the answer is no, but at this point in time, well, who can say for sure. So I'm looking ahead, getting news from my headhunter friend, finding out the trends in the banks' hiring plans for 2008.

If I suddenly have to move, at least I have a few backup ideas and I have got some sense of which areas still have demand and where I can quickly try to move to. In other words, I won't be caught off-guard and wrong-footed.

Unlike 2WO Henry Minjoot.

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Realities of the Working World

ST Nov 7, 2007
Labour chief calls job-hopping, poaching short-sighted
By Marcel Lee Pereira

NO SOONER had Mr Kalaichellvan Krishna been crowned the service 'superstar' of the restaurant sector than new job offers began trickling in.

Minutes after the 26-year-old, who works for the Jack's Place steakhouse chain, was given the SuperStar Award at the Excellent Service Award (Exsa) ceremony held at the Raffles City Convention Centre yesterday, the poachers pounced.

They offered him jobs at other restaurants and hotels, but he turned them down politely.

His reason? His first loyalty is to his customers.

'They know me. Without them, I couldn't have won this award,' said Mr Kalaichellvan, an assistant manager at the chain's West Coast Recreation Centre outlet.

This business of loyalty and poaching of staff is something that concerns many employers these days.

The red-hot job market - figures announced last week put the jobless rate at 1.7 per cent, a 10-year low - is causing a scramble for talent and pushing up wages, and some companies are finding it hard to hold on to workers like Mr Kalaichellvan.

The problem is serious enough that Minister Lim Swee Say, from the Prime Minister's Office, who gave out awards to 10 winners in different sectors yesterday, touched on it during his speech at the ceremony.

Warning that the labour market is set to get tighter as major events such as the Formula One race come to Singapore, the labour chief urged service staff not to job-hop, and told employers to refrain from poaching.

'For workers to job-hop for a few dollars more during good times is a very short-sighted move, because the journey towards excellence is a long one,' he said

……… Turning to employers, he said: 'Every time we give out the awards, when the superstars appear in the newspapers, many employers will want to take a short cut and go after the winners, ask them what is their pay now, offer another 20 per cent.

'I think it's a very short-sighted move on the part of employers, and I hope that the Exsa superstars today, no matter how hard your competitors try to poach you, say no to them,' he added, to applause.

Isn’t this ironic? Minister Lim Swee Say tells you that it is very short-sighted to change jobs for the sake of earning more money. But for years and years, the PAP has been saying that if we don’t pay our ministers the world’s highest ministerial salaries (and give them further increases after that), then they’re all going to run away to join the oh-so-lucrative private sector.

If PAP ministers can’t be expected to serve out of a sense of loyalty to the nation, why would we expect people like Mr Kalaichellvan to serve out of a sense of loyalty to a steak restaurant.

But what do I know. Maybe loyalty to restaurants gets you further than loyalty to the nation these days. See how the Singapore Armed Forces discarded this old soldier (and he isn’t even that old):

ST Nov 6, 2007
Warrant officer asked to retire 5 years earlier

I WAS a regular serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). I served a total of 32 years, comprising full-time national service, reservist and regular service, from 1974-2006.

I was one of more than 200 regular servicemen and women in the Army who were notified in May last year that we would be given Special Early Transition. Some of the reasons cited included difficulty in offering us 'suitable jobs' in the long run, restructuring and possible 'stagnation'. We were given only six months to transit.

Having attained the rank of a warrant officer in 2001, it meant that I was able to serve till the compulsory retirement age (CRA) of 55. I transitted last November after just turning 50, five years short of the CRA.

The Control of Personnel Centre announced that we were not under-performers. I was still PES 'B' and I received my performance bonuses annually without fail. I had also met all other requirements, i.e., Individual Physical Proficiency Tests, Annual Trainfire Programme, Body Mass Index, and Annual Proficiency Knowledge Test.

I also did not have any discipline or medical problems. The latter meant that I was still combat fit and still deployable. There are some who have not conformed to one or more of these requirements and yet are still serving in the organisation.

Till today, I am still somewhat in a state of depression at how the organisation had overlooked all my years of loyal and dedicated service.

The SAF Management Philosophy states:

'The SAF is concerned with the well-being of its people and their families, the SAF values its people, looks after them and their families so that they can give wholehearted attention to their assigned duties.'

The Defence Minister himself said last year:

'Every soldier is precious to us. Every national serviceman, every operationally ready national serviceman, every regular who serves with us is a precious and valuable person.'

The organisation failed to honour its word to allow me and many others to serve till the CRA of 55. I have a wife and two young children still attending school.

Second Warrant Officer (Retired)
Henry Minjoot

“Special Early Transition”, ha. Sounds more like “Extended Notice Period” to me.

Dear Henry, I am sorry for you. There is an important lesson to learn here, and this is it – Singapore doesn’t really care about you. You have to care about you. And your family.

Next time – if there’s a next time – keep your eyes wide open for a good job opportunity. And as soon as it comes along, hop. Make it an IPPT gold-star award-winning Standing Broad Jump.

Regardless of what Lim Swee Say has got to say.

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Getting Women Back in the Workforce

An ST article about getting women back into workforce, by offering them flexible work arrangements.

ST Sep 26, 2007
Job crunch? Attract women back to work

COMPANIES are hungry for workers yet are slow to turn to an 'under-utilised resource', said MP Halimah Yacob.

This resource: women at home, who should be lured back into the workforce with flexible options.

She urged companies to put in place arrangements such as part-time work or allowing them to work from home, replying to a question from a member of the
audience at the Singapore Tripartism Forum.

Ms Chang Shook Leng , a human resource consultant, had asked if the Government had any strategies to attract women back into the workforce.

Madam Halimah, who is leading a new tripartite group tackling the issue, appealed to the bosses present at the forum.

'We need to create a lot more opportunities... which are tailored to meet the needs of these women,' she said.

Currently, many quit their jobs when they are about 30, to take care of their family.

...... 'Women in Singapore are quite an underutilised resource. There are so many jobs... and everybody is screaming for workers, and there is this pool of women who we can tap,' she said.

Here's a strange little observation. I know more than a few women who have flexible working arrangements (my wife is one of them). However, I don't know any women who have actually asked their boss for flexible working arrangements, and have actually been turned down.

Of course there can be various explanations for the above phenomenon (for example, the total number of women that Mr Wang happens to know is statistically insignificant). However, I suspect that many female employees have not obtained their desired flexible working arrangement simply because they didn't open their mouths and ask for it.

And the reason why they didn't ask for it is that they didn't think their employer would give it to them ("the company has no such HR policy", "it's not possible because it's never happened before in my workplace" etc). And since these women never asked for it, they never got it.

If you don't believe it's possible, it won't be. If you believe it's possible, it will be. That's the simple reality.

Ahh, my TAR theories at work again. However, even without going into reality-bending concepts again, I'm sure you can see the plain-vanilla common sense of what I'm saying.

Because once you start believing it's possible, you'll start thinking about how it will actually be possible. And you will get new ideas, of how to manage your work if you were to work a four-day week, or two days from home, or whatever it may be. And eventually you can take to your boss a convincing proposal that this is all for his best interests as well as yours.

There are all kinds of jobs out there. They can be structured and restructured in numerous ways. Handphones, emails, fax machines and the Internet link people even when they're not all sitting in the same office. There is no Divine Law out there which says that the optimal way to employ employees is to make them come to office five days a week, from X a.m to Y p.m..

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Salaries in Singapore

I found, through Tomorrow, an interesting blog that's all about salaries in Singapore. Here it is - Salary.sg.

There are lots of interesting posts on that blog, including this nifty one which allows you to benchmark your own annual income (or anyone else's) against the general population of taxpayers in Singapore. Anyone tried typing in PM Lee Hsien Loong's annual income yet? Heheh.

The post featured on Tomorrow was this one - Median Income By Age Group. It tells you the median gross monthly salary of managers (the generalists) and professionals (the specialists), by different age groups. To get a more complete picture, you would want to plow through the original MOM report, but Salary.Sg's graph does give a quick, convenient snapshot.

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Ahh, the Foolish Masses

They simply do not know their own society. Here's an excerpt from Warren Fernandez's article "All societies have elites, but some become elitist", in the Straits Times on 19 May 2007:

".... perhaps the most striking finding was that when asked what contributed to a person's success in Singapore, the vast majority, whether from top schools or otherwise, said it was hard work, ability to do well, talent, intelligence, in that order.

Only 2 to 3 per cent of those polled from all backgrounds cited family wealth as a major factor in someone making it to the top."

So 97% or 98% of Singaporeans do not believe that family wealth is a major factor in determining one's success in Singapore. But is this true?

Well, let's take living in a private home (as opposed to a HDB flat) as an indicator of family wealth. And let's take the achievement of getting a PSC scholarship, as a symbol of success in our society. I did a little googling, and this is what I found:

Only 15% of Singaporeans live in private homes; the other 85% live in HDB flats. However, it turns out that about 47% of of all PSC scholars live in private homes.

In other words, almost half of all PSC scholars belong to the richest 15% of the population.

Details here.

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A Worried Mother

Another email from a reader:

" .... I have yet to read your opinion on stay-at-home mums who are aspiring to return to career later. This is exactly my situation. My husband and I migrated to Singapore and now are PRs. After working for a couple of years as professional officer in a stat board, I decided to quit to take care my son full time, since we do not have relatives to help us take care of the baby. We're also hesitant to rely on maids or childcare, and intend to provide the best conditions for breastfeeding and care, with me staying at home.

However I felt that it may be difficult for me to return to workforce when my son is 3 years old. Employers would question the gap in my resume, and "taking a break for family" is just not acceptable here in Singapore.

What are your thoughts about that?"

Personally I wouldn't be too worried.

When you take an extended break from work and then try to get a job again, the difficulty is that your skills may be a little out-of-date. You may be somewhat out of touch with industry trends and developments.

However this is a challenge faced by anyone who has taken an extended break from work. For that matter, similar challenges face those people who are crossing from one industry to another.

So the problem is not unique to women who have taken some time off to be full-time mothers. It may simply mean that you have to accept a lower salary than if you had not stopped work at all (which is fair, because if you had not stopped work at all, you would be more experienced and have more up-to-date skills).

In fact, if a job candidate had a gap in her resume, one of the best explanations reasons would be "I decided to stop work for two years, to look after my little baby." Everyone was a kid, and everyone has a mother, so at some level, we can all relate to that.

What really frightens employers are candidates who can't or won't disclose any reason for a protracted gap in their resume. Were they in prison? Did they have some mental breakdown or illness? Etc.

Incidentally, some employers are definitely more family-friendly than others. So it is good to do your homework. UBS, for example, is well-known for its flexible HR policies. Employees are welcome to propose their own working arrangements, to best accommodate their family needs. For example, you can propose to work a 4-day week; or to work 2 days from home; or whatever else.

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Work, Study, Money, Freedom and Maslow

In conjunction with New York University, the NUS Law Faculty is offering a new master's degree course. You get two master's degrees in law, one from NYU and one from NUS, for the price of one. And getting the two degrees takes only about the same time as getting one.

ST May 17, 2007
NUS-New York uni law course draws 'rainbow' group
42 students from 23 countries enrolled; programme awards 2 master's degrees
By Jane Ng

MISS Marie Dalton could have done her master's in law in New York, but she chose to attend a 'more valuable' programme in Singapore instead.

She signed up for a course offered jointly by New York University (NYU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) and - in 10 months' time - will have two master's degrees.

Ms Dalton, a former associate attorney at a Los Angeles international law firm, chose to come here as it will give her a 'broader understanding of the economic and legal realities of doing business in Asia'.

This will help her advise clients better when she returns to her firm, said the 25-year-old NYU law graduate.She is one of five United States citizens enrolled in the NYU-NUS tie-up, which has a 'rainbow'' group totalling 42 students from 23 countries, including Chile, China, Rwanda and Uzbekistan.

All have basic law degrees and many have significant work experience.

The programme, which kicked off on May 7, is conducted in Singapore but taught primarily by NYU faculty members.

The course is taught in Singapore, but the tuition fees are based on NYU rates (that is to say, very expensive). However, to kickstart the programme, the universities are offering a very generous and large number of scholarships (including full scholarships). These scholarships won't be there forever - in fact, they will cease to be offered by 2010/2011.

Last year I seriously considered applying for this course. In the end, I decided not to.

Singaporeans tend to get a little fixated about paper qualifications. I admit I have this tendency too. But the truth is that one year of quality working experience will often be worth more than one year of further studies. And a master's degree, or two, does not necessarily add anything to a person's market value.

Market value, of course, is not the only reason for pursuing further studies. I had various reasons for considering this NYU-NUS course. One big reason was that I just felt like taking a one-year break from work and spending more time with the kids. And yet not live like a complete bum. Therefore the studying.

Incidentally, I remember Jimmy Mun describing me as a "financial ascetic", in the comment section of this post. He was referring to my simple lifestyle (relative to my income). I draw a 5-figure monthly salary, and my last bonus was double-digit, in terms of number of months. Mrs Wang, a lawyer, also commands quite respectable income. However, we live in a HDB flat and don't own a car.

Now the great thing about being a financial ascetic is that it makes many options available, if you need them. For example, if I really wanted to, I could just quit work and go study for a year. Or if I really hated my boss (I don't), I could just toss in my resignation letter without bothering to look for another job first.

Money can't buy happiness. It can buy freedom. And freedom is usually better than a condo or a BMW.'

I digress - but increasingly I begin to see that financial ascetism can possibly be a factor that leads you to enjoy your work a lot more. When you don't really need ALL that money you're earning, you start finding other reasons to work (or you find work that fulfills those reasons). Like, to challenge yourself, or to learn, or to contribute, or because you have a Vision or a Dream that you seek to fulfil through your work.

You know what I mean - it's self-actualisation. The work becomes meaningful for its own sake. The money ceases to be the point. Passion becomes the driver. And that is approximately the stage when individuals start achieving all the very best things they'll ever do in their lives.

Of course, our ministers are not there yet. Far from it. Because you see, their minds are still very much on money, money, money.

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Job Hunting

A reader just sent me his resume. Okay, folks - please note. I can't possibly know everything about every industry in Singapore. So much as I would like to be helpful, I really don't think I am in any position to give specific career advice to all of you.

(Wow, that sounds so INTJ. See the 1st paragraph here).

If you wish to get a job in Industry A, you should talk to people who are already working in Industry A. They will be the best people to give you a sense of what the job market is like, for Industry A.

You can also try talking to job agencies and recruiters who work within that particular industry. For example, if you're an IT guy, talk to people like this blogger. These are the guys who will really know what kind of jobs and what kind of salary you can get, based on your experience and qualifications, and what kind of employers would be interested in you.

Also, people, if you're not sure how to make your resume look good, please do yourself a favour and borrow one of those "how to write a good CV" books from the National Library. The resume does matter. Use yours, to present yourself in the best light possible. Good luck.

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The Art of an Inexact Science

Readers often send me emails. They ask all sorts of different questions, but career advice is a fairly common topic. Recently one reader, JW, asked me for tips on how to get a job in investment banking. Well, here’s a tip about job interviews at investment banks.

In most other industries, to get a job, you go for one interview, maybe two. Very occasionally, three. Then either they offer you the job, or they don’t. But investment banks are a little different. To get the job, you typically have to go through five, six, seven or even more interviews.

This can be a little exhausting, if you are simultaneously pursuing opportunities with, say, three or four investment banks. As you can see, you could easily be doing more than 20 interviews in two months.

My little tip for JW is that after each interview, you should quickly make a note of which bank it was, who the interviewers were, and what you spoke about. Otherwise everything can soon degenerate into a blur in your memory.

It would be embarrassing if you went for your 6th interview with Bank A, and the interviewer asked you something about your 3rd interview with Bank A, and in your mind you confused your 3rd interview with Bank A with your 4th interview with Bank B.

Why do investment banks have so many interviews with their job candidates? The key consideration is usually not your technical expertise. They already have your resume. With two interviews and a few careful questions, they can already have a good sense of your technical skills. You probably wouldn't get to the 3rd interview, if they thought you didn't have the right skills.

The key consideration is your personality. You go through half a dozen interviews with one investment bank, so that different people in the investment bank can “smell” you. All of them are trying to see if they would be happy and comfortable working with someone like you.

And yes, definitely there are some candidates who don’t get the job, because an interviewer later said, “I just didn’t like that guy. He didn’t give me good vibes.” The poor candidate may have made it through seven earlier interviews, but in Round Eight, he met an interviewer who didn’t like him. And that was that.

Is this unfair? Well, I would say that personality is very important. The fact that there is no 100% reliable method of testing personality doesn’t mean that it’s not important, or that prospective employers shouldn’t try to make a subjective assessment.

Some employers do use personality tests, which in theory is clearly a more objective method. The problem is that in practice, job seekers are likely to give answers that they think the prospective employer wants to see, rather than the most truthful answers about themselves.

So I do not believe that personality tests are particularly useful, in the recruitment process. The best use of personality tests, in my opinion, is still for the purpose of self-knowledge and self-improvement.

No, that’s not an exact science either. It never will be. But then again, that’s no excuse for not trying to understand and improve yourself. Is it?

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Mr Wang's Exam Surprises

While studying for my CMFAS exams, I had two surprises.

My first surprise was that the CMFAS syllabus requires students to study the rules on who is required to take the CMFAS exams. This is an examinable topic.

'Well, now, isn't that silly?" I thought. "If you are already studying for the CMFAS exams, surely you must be required to take them."

My second surprise came shortly thereafter. While studying this topic, I discovered that I am not actually required to take and pass the CMFAS exams. In other words, these exams should not be compulsory for me.

Duh!

Generally if your job is to provide "financial advisory services" to the average client in Singapore, you will need to take the exams. But:

(1) most of my clients are not even in Singapore,
(2) they are all "accredited investors", in other words, sophisticated investors with high net worth, not your average HDB grandmother ; and
(3) I do not advise my clients on anything.

My typical client is a hedge fund or a bank. In fact, every document that I send to my client contains "big boy" language. In this industry, "big boy" language means language that makes it clear that both sides are sophisticated parties; both sides are able to understand and assess the risks for themselves; and neither side is advising nor relying on any advice from the other side.

But since I have already been registered for the CMFAS exams, I'll just take them anyway. Even. Though. I. Really. Shouldn't. Have. To.

This is annoying.

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Exams for Mr Wang

I received my textbooks today. My new job requires me to pass certain exams, held by the Institute of Banking & Finance and also the Singapore College of Insurance. Rather annoyingly, most of the syllabus has no direct relevance to what I actually do at work.

So these are exams that I'll have to pass for the sake of passing. If I fail, the MAS will not allow me to work in Singapore and who knows, my employer may have to transfer me to Hong Kong (heheh) .

There are, however, some positive aspects to these exams. Some parts of my required syllabus are actually meant for personal financial advisers and insurance agents. I'll have to study in detail certain things like how to conduct a financial needs analysis; how investment-linked insurance products work; the CPF Investment Scheme system; the Supplementary Retirement Scheme; how unit trusts operate etc.

None of this will be completely new to me, as I have, for many years now, been quite hands-on and interested in managing my own money. But this will be a good time to organise the higgledy-piggledy personal financial planning knowledge in my head into a more formal framework. The studying won't be relevant to my job at all, but it will be useful for my own money.

In the coming weeks, I may blog more about such money matters. One of my readers, Ling, had written: "I'd like to get advice from you on how Singaporeans can prosper under the current situation in our country". Personal financial planning would certainly have something to do with that.

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce one of my regular readers, Christopher Ng Wai Chung. Christopher is an expert on personal financial planning and has published a book, "Growing Your Tree of Prosperity", on the topic. The book was previously reviewed on the Singapore Entrepreneurs blog.

This book is useful particularly because it is written for the Singapore audience. There are always many money-related books available in the stores, but most are by overseas authors (so they wouldn't address Singapore-specific aspects of financial planning).

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Tomorrow's Model

In response to my previous post, a reader wrote:

Any comments on the legal industry in general and why you have chosen to leave the legal industry?

I enjoyed my previous job, and I like my ex-colleagues (a few of them, including my ex-boss, even read this blog from time to time). I left for reasons which I think they respect and understand very well: (a) new learning opportunities, and (b) better remuneration prospects. They wish me well, and so do I. And that’s that.

My father, who has retired, is always a little alarmed to hear that I’m changing jobs again. He belongs (obviously) to an older generation. For more than three decades, he worked for the same company. I don’t think it ever seriously crossed his mind to change jobs.

Times are different now. My current organization gives out “long service” awards for employees who reach the five-year mark – in other words, five years of service is already considered long. Another anecdote - during my recent induction course, each new employee received his security access pass, which had a five-year validity period. Someone quipped, “Wow, this bank sure is optimistic.”

Employee loyalty is dead, because employer loyalty is dead. This is the reality of the modern working world. People are just digits, and departments are just little square boxes, on a corporate organisation chart. Tomorrow, the organization chart could change - because of a merger or acquisition; or an outsourcing of jobs into India; or a restructuring exercise to cut costs. And some employees will just have to go.

So the modern employee must learn to take care of himself. Employability is more important than employment. You have a personal responsibility to keep your own skills and knowledge relevant. If a better opportunity comes along, take it if an objective, hard-headed analysis tells you that you should.

In my opinion, there is a common mistake that many people make when planning their careers - they rely on yesterday’s model of the world. In fact, they should rely on today’s model of the world, or better still, tomorrow’s model. Of course, no one can predict the future with 100% accuracy. However, because the world is changing so quickly, yesterday’s model, even if true today, will almost certainly be wrong by tomorrow.

I left the legal industry for my new job, because I felt that this was the strategically optimal move for me. Of course, yesterday’s model of the world would suggest that I’m making a bad move. After all, in yesterday’s model, Singaporeans who can should always strive to be doctors, lawyers or PSC scholars, shouldn't they?

However, in a possible tomorrow’s model, Singapore will be flooded by hordes of doctors from India, and doctors' salaries will be dampened. The noble aspects of the profession will become increasingly obscured by the profit-driven, commercial aspects, as Singapore strives to become a regional medical hub.

Meanwhile, PSC scholarships may become viewed as career traps for the bright but unwary. Outstanding young people may become tied down to a little red dot, even though they are so talented that the whole world could have been their oyster.

As for lawyers in private practice, they may continue working harder and worker to help the investment banks make more money. Their personal lives suffer, and yet in the end, they may end up earning considerably less than the investment bankers themselves.

Some would say that I am wrong. Others would say that my model of tomorrow has already happened today. What do you think?

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To Join or Not to Join

Recently I said that I would change the focus of my blog. I had planned to make it more practical and useful for the average Singaporean, taking into consideration the prevailing social trends, government policies etc in this country.

Well, here goes. Today we look at HR policies in the civil service. There are certain things you ought to know, before you decide to join or not to join the civil service.

ST April 14, 2007
Promotion in Civil Service based on merit

I REFER to the letter, 'Is promotion in Civil Service based on tenure?' (ST, April 11), by Ms Elsie Tan Hwee Lian.

To be promoted, a civil servant has to show potential to handle a bigger job. A person with a high potential can expect to progress more quickly, provided he is also a consistently good performer.

An officer who does not show the potential to take on greater responsibilities will not be promoted, even if he has many years of service. Promotion is based on merit and not automatic, according to his years of service.

Ms Tan also noted that there are officers who continue to perform the same job after promotion. Unlike the private sector, civil servants are paid according to their salary grade and not by job appointment.

It is not unusual to have officers doing higher-level jobs while still in a lower grade. This is to stretch and test them. They will be promoted to the grade commensurate with the job size only when they are able to handle the higher job competently.

All Civil Service salary schemes have a performance-bonus component. Those who do well will be paid performance bonuses, with the better ones getting a higher quantum. Those who just meet the job requirements or under-perform will not get any performance bonus.

Most of our graduate schemes have a variable merit-increment system, where the annual increments are linked to performance.

In short, the appraisal system ensures that officers receive salaries that are commensurate with their contributions, abilities and potential.

Ong Toon Hui (Ms)
Director, Leadership Development
Public Service Division
Prime Minister's Office

This letter is well-written. It is a very careful, very deliberate gloss, over actual reality. Nothing that the letter says is actually untrue. Yet the overall picture that the letter does paint is quite misleading.

To understand how the system works, you first have to understand that performance and potential mean two completely different things in the civil service. They lead to very different, very distinct consequences in the official appraisal system.

For example, a civil servant may be judged to have very high potential, even though his performance is very poor. Alternatively, his performance may be judged to be utterly outstanding, and yet his potential may be judged to be extremely low.

Performance is linked to your annual bonuses and increments. Whereas potential is linked to your promotions. So Ms Ong Toon Hui is correct to say that those who perform well in their jobs will get bigger bonuses.

What Ms Ong isn't telling you is that those who perform well in their jobs may never get promoted. That's because promotions depend on your potential, and potential has nothing to do with performance.

Okay, then. How is a person's potential assessed or measured? It is measured by your CEP score. "CEP" stands for Current Estimated Potential. Theoretically, CEP measures the level of certain inherent, long-term qualities in each employee.

What this means is that once you have been assigned your CEP score, the civil service is probably not going to change that score (at least for the next seven or eight years, if ever). After all, CEP is a measure of certain inherent, long-term qualities in you - which cannot change.

Now, the civil service will assign you a CEP score, on your first day of work. Actually, that is untrue - your CEP score is assigned to you, even before you start work. Thus you can see that in terms of actual work, nothing that you actually do (whether it is utterly brilliant, or utterly dumb) can actually affect your CEP score.

The civil service generally does not tell individual employees what their CEP score is. (If such disclosures were made, no doubt some people would resign in double quick time. Then who would be left to do the donkey work?)

CEP scores depend largely on your educational qualifications (one or two ministries will also consider other things - for example, the Defence Ministry would consider your OCS performance) . There is a pecking order. PSC Scholars automatically get an extremely high CEP score, even before they start work. Non-scholars with a basic degree, no honours, go to the bottom of the pecking order.

I hope that by now, the implications are becomng clear.

If you do badly in school, and then you join the civil service, you will have a low CEP score. Even if you subsequently produce the most utterly outstanding performance year after year after year, you will still get promoted very slowly, if at all.

That's because your potential has been assessed to be low, and CEP is a measure of your inherent, long-term qualities which can't change.

In contrast, suppose a PSC scholar performs quite badly year after year after year. He will not get good bonuses, because bonuses are linked to performance. However, since his CEP score is high, he will still get promoted year after year after year. That's because CEP is a measure of his inherent, long-term qualities which can't change.

Thus how much career success you can achieve in the civil service, by the age of 45 or 50, has already been determined. It was determined when you were 22 or 24 years, at the time you first joined the civil service, on your very first day at work. Sorry, before your first day at work.

Below is an excerpt from an essay written by a US military officer, who had spent some time studying the Singapore Armed Forces. This part of his essay focuses on how SAF scholars and non-scholars are promoted differently. Note that the Government of Singapore uses essentially the same appraisal system for all government ministries (including the Ministry of Defence). So the excerpt below gives you a good idea of how the entire civil service, in general, operates:

"After being awarded a scholarship, scholar officers are commissioned four months ahead of their peers amd miss the second half of their professional military training during OCS. Although they make up some of this training during their academic summers, they are still very inexperienced compared to their peers who have spent four years in operational service.

Despite this vast difference in experience, scholar officers still will be promoted to captain one year after graduation at approximately the same time as their nonscholar peers. This program results in scholar officers being promoted far faster than their nonscholarship peers, despite the fact that they have considerably less operational experience.

.... The SAF uses a system in which officers have a currently estimated potential to determine how far an officer can go and terminal rank during his or her career. For the most part, this CEP is formed during OCS based on the officer's cadet performance and educational background ....

An officer's CEP spells out his or her career path for assignments, education opportunities, promotion and attendance at military schools. The result of this system is that officers are selected and groomed for even the most senior leadership positions in the SAF based on little more than on how they performed as a cadet during OCS and the strength of their high school transcript."

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The Stayers Keep Getting Raped

L is a headhunter with many years of experience. Until recently, she was an expat in Singapore. Now she has relocated. My wife and L are friends and so last week, L called Mrs Wang to talk about her new life in Hong Kong.

At some point in time, the conversation transformed into a discussion on future career options.

According to my wife, L was very interested to know about my new job. Furthermore L was quite excited when she found out which area of investment banking I'm now working in.

L declared that investment bankers in this particular area are in very high demand in Hong Kong. Furthermore, she said, they would command significantly higher salaries there. (This is no doubt true - in general, bankers, lawyers, doctors, accountants and many other categories of professionals earn more in Hong Kong than in Singapore).

"But he can't possibly move yet," said Mrs Wang mildly. "He just started in his new job."

"Sure, sure. Maybe not now." said L. "Move in 2008 then, or by 2009. But better move quick, while the market is hot."

"Well, what about ME and my job?" asked Mrs Wang.

"Oh, I'll find a new one for you in Hong Kong, if you like. ," said L breeezily. "That will be quite easy. You'll also earn more. Or if you prefer, you could be a tai tai, at least until your kids are settled in. Now, let me tell you about the education options ...."

The conversation went on and on, and Mrs Wang became more and more excited. Now she has it in her head that Mr & Mrs Wang and the little kids should all pack their bags and boxes and head off to Hong Kong. Where L will no doubt visit us on the weekends to tell us more about schools, restaurants, supermarkets, banks, clinics and other need-to-know places in Hong Kong.

"But I don't want to go to Hong Kong," I said. "I just started in my new job."

"Sure, sure. Maybe not now." said Mrs Wang breezily. "Move in 2008 then, or by 2009. But better move quick, while the market is hot. Now, let me tell you about the education options ..."

* * * * * * * *
I still don't like the idea of moving to Hong Kong. Firstly, I don't want to be too far from my parents. Secondly, the air pollution in Hong Kong is quite bad. Thirdly, I don't speak Cantonese very well. Fourth, the whole idea of relocating my family, the sheer hassle of moving and uprooting everything ..... is daunting.

But from the strategic big picture, as China steadily continues to transform into a global economic powerhouse, it could be better in the long run, for my kids to grow up closer to where the action really is. To me, this idea does have strong appeal.

And I know that in my own head, I am probably exaggerating the adjustment issues. Seriously, every day at work, I meet foreigners who have come from all over the world to Singapore. Many of them come with spouse, kids and/or pet dog in tow. They all seem to have adapted just fine. It is NOT, after all, such a big deal to relocate/emigrate and adjust to a new life.

Mrs Wang happened to have raised the topic at the time when the PAP ministers had just announced their latest plans to rape taxpayers. This does make me just a little more inclined to consider the possibility of moving to Hong Kong.

It really shouldn't be that relevant. But with each passing year, the Singapore government just keeps finding new ways to undermine my sense of rootedness to this country. Why stay? - if indeed one day I will end up feeling like a stranger in my own home.

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On Life, Work & Study

ST March 15, 2007
Kids, it's your life, so plan for it
Kai-Alexander Schlevogt

OPEN houses showcase not only the host but also his guests. University fairs therefore are a crystal ball on the nation's future.

Two student archetypes dominate: the specialist and the existentialist. Members of the first category know exactly what they want. Without taking note of anything else, these youngsters dash to the business faculty's booth. They ask the delighted officer to admit them to a BBA in accountancy and extra courses in derivatives.

In contrast, the existentialist, clueless about his future, wanders around until some staff member grabs him. To appear less awkward, he mumbles a supposedly intelligent question, such as: 'What exactly is business?'

Both approaches to career planning are problematic in view of the national objective to raise innovativeness and job satisfaction. They lead either to premature closure or endless drifting. It is therefore imperative for students to take corrective measures at an early stage. They need to be supported by those who have a stake in their future, including parents, politicians and educators.

Students should start with the end and reason backwards to what needs to be done now. They need to plan their lives, not only their careers.

An effective approach is to write an imaginary newspaper article to be published on their 100th birthday, outlining their legacy. Instead of striving for specific titles ('I want to become prime minister'), they should develop a broad and noble purpose that makes them feel passionate and will outlast them. On their life journey, they need to step back often and assess their progress.

Even with broad aspirations in place, students should strike a balance between specialisation and openness. If they choose the wrong slot at an early stage, job satisfaction will plummet.

I recommend building a portfolio of options. When some roads to the destination become blocked, there will be alternative routes. So even if a student is passionate about accounting, he may consider studying other subjects first and specialise later.

Such flexibility contrasts with the early pragmatism of many Asian parents. They want their children to become bankers because of the high earning potential.

Oh, what a coincidence. It so happens that Mr Wang is just about to become an investment banker. This is quite a big change for Mr Wang. For the first time in his career, Mr Wang will not be working as a lawyer.

Yet the change is not as big as it may appear. You see, Mr Wang is currently an investment banking lawyer. So now he's going to cross over the legal side, into the business side. From investment banking lawyer, to investment banker. There will be many new things to learn, but it won't be completely alien territory.

Kai-Alexander, in his article, talks about building a portfolio of options. In my opinion, this is good advice. Keeping your options open is a good strategy because the future is constantly in flux. Ideally you should position yourself such that the possibility of taking alternative routes stays open to you.

My best single piece of advice for young Singaporeans is that you must never stop learning. It sounds cliched and you've heard it many times before, but it's true.

Personally, I review and update my resume every six months, even when I have no intention of changing jobs at all. I do this to check on my learning progress. If after any six-month period I have nothing new to add into my resume, then I know I am in danger of stagnating.

Bear in mind most people spend the greatest part of their life working. How terrible must it feel to drag yourself to work every day, longing for the evening when you can pursue hobbies with great enthusiasm? It is far better to use one's energies on the job. Money will not pour in by itself if you do not work for it.

Second, students should think about how they can rise above the noise level by acquiring distinctive competencies. Take a consulting firm like McKinsey & Co, the ultimate dream for many graduates. Every year, thousands of students with similar academic qualifications apply, but only a few are chosen.

Recruiters look for what is truly special about an applicant's life story. The educational system rewards examination performance, but students need to step out of this narrow box to succeed in life.

How about founding a pioneering company while studying? Why not learn at least five world languages? These objectives seem a tall order given academic pressures. But smart multi-tasking can help to alleviate the workload.

For example, more students should study and work abroad. Instead of defaulting to the United States, they may want to consider Europe, which is winning the soft power contest and offers more diversity. By going abroad, they can pick up a foreign language as easily as an infant acquires his mother tongue.

The key point here is "acquiring distinctive competencies". I've seen the resumes, and I know the track records, of some young outstanding Singaporeans. Indeed it's not just about grades - it's also about the distinctive competencies.

The problem with the strategy of "acquiring distinctive competencies" is that in the context of prevailiing Singapore culture, it may degenerate into a "pick the best CCA" strategy - for example, the one that looks most pleasing on a scholarship application form.

The word "distinctive" is likely to be forgotten, in the drive to "acquire distinctive competencies". One example is how large numbers of Singaporean parents used to (or still do) foist piano lessons on their children. This is fine, if the children happen to have an interest in music. It is not fine if the children have no such interest or aptitude, and hate having to take their piano exams. It just becomes a shameful waste of time and effort.

People start to develop truly distinctive competencies when they are permitted to be individuals, and to pursue their own interests. See my earlier post, about respecting your own unique strengths.

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