S’pore recruiter, 42, says companies are letting go of S’porean workers for workers in M'sia, Vietnam, Philippines as they are 'hungrier'

A recruiter warned that companies are letting go of Singaporeans in favour of hiring workers overseas as they are “hungrier”.

The claim was made in a podcast episode on CNA uploaded on Apr. 30, featuring guest speaker Shulin Lee, a 42-year-old former lawyer turned recruiter and founder of Aslant Legal.

The premise of the episode centred on why younger workers are leaving stable careers just a few years in.

Hungrier

The 42-year-old warned young employees to be “paranoid”.

She drew from her experience that the companies she worked with had let go of Singaporeans in favour of hiring employees from countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Lee stated that it was not necessarily because they were more skilled, but rather due to their “hunger”.

“That hunger is now irreplaceable.” She said.

Relationship-building skills

The 42-year-old also advised listeners to “double down on their relationship-building skills”.

“No amount of enrichment classes will make my children smarter than AI.” She said.

She claimed that job seekers need to be able to carry on a conversation during an interview.

Lee also drew from her observations that many Gen Zs were unable to carry on a conversation or explain themselves.

“That scares me.” She said.

Advice to employers

Another guest featured in the podcast was Edwin Tan, Centre Director at the Institute for Adult Learning Singapore.

Tan advised employers to understand their employees' aspirations and skill sets.

“Hiring may not be the answer. Sometimes it's about looking within the organisation to see if some of the skills are located elsewhere.” He said.

Online backlash

In comments on the podcast snippet uploaded on social media on May 1, netizens expressed frustration over her claims, while others supported her.

Some said she was just talking about the realities of the job market in Singapore, while others criticised her for using the term “hungrier” when describing workers.

Watch the entire podcast here.

Lee’s response

In a video from Lee uploaded on the same day, she responded to detractors’ online comments.

She claimed that the online responses to her claims might have “hit a nerve” and that some might not want to “face the truth”.

Lee added that she witnessed the trend of Singaporeans being let go for employees not only from developing countries, but also in countries such as New Zealand, Hong Kong and China.

She emphasised that viewers should be paranoid and that "the entire world is going through disruption”.

Lee then warned viewers not to be complacent.

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