Global Courant
A fortune teller who predicts the future to a passerby.
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SINGAPORE — When it comes to looking for perfect employees, it’s not just work experience and CVs that come under scrutiny. For some employers in Singapore, the day and time the candidates were born are just as important.
To determine whether a candidate was a good fit for his company, a CEO would have consulted a “feng shui” master.
“If the feng shui master doesn’t give a good reading, it may not be strongly considered,” said former employee Benedict, who was part of the marketing company’s recruiting team. He declined to use his real name due to the sensitivity of the matter given the manner in which it was conducted Singapore’s recruitment principle is based on merit.
Feng shui involves the art of reading a person’s fate and temperament based on their dates of birth, and falls under the broader umbrella of divination, an ancient practice that seeks to predict people’s future and fate using methods such as tarot cards and palmistry .
According to Benedict, consulting fortune tellers narrowed the pool of people eligible for the role because the candidates had to emphasize “alignment with the company” in their reading.
The HR manager has to do his job. But then we become one of the focal points when they decide to hire someone, especially for important positions.
Mark Tan
CEO of Way Fengshui Group
“If (they) first relay the date of birth through the feng shui master and it is an unfavorable reading, then the candidate is eliminated before an interview is even scheduled,” he said.
From who to hire to where to put their money and when is the best time to get married, more and more people are turning to fortune telling in Singapore.
The industry has grown steadily between 2017 and 2021, with the number of fortune-telling businesses in Singapore increasing by 32.6%, according to the latest statistics from Singapore’s Ministry of Statistics.
The sector’s total operating revenue rose nearly 70% to 76.2 million Singapore dollars ($56 million) over the same period.
Who to hire?
According to CEO Mark Tan, about 100 companies use Way Fengshui Group’s service every year to inquire about who to hire.
“The companies can send me the ‘ba zi’ of the candidate and ask me if this is a person who is suitable for the position they are hiring,” Tan said, referring to the eight characters that indicate a person’s date of birth. to the hour, according to Chinese customs.
However, the company would still have to make its own final judgment after an assessment on whether the candidate is a good fit, Tan said.
A person reading a tarot card
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“The HR manager has to do his job. But then we become one of the focal points when they decide to hire someone, especially for important positions,” he added.
“Especially if it’s a C-suite hire, or if it’s a very important hire and the companies aren’t sure. Or if they’re really sure, they just want to see if there are any blind spots they need to look out for .”
In response to CNBC’s request for comment, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower and the Tripartite Alliance Limited pointed to Singapore fair employment guidelineswhich states that employers must recruit employees based on merit.
The country’s Association of Small and Medium Enterprises did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Where to invest?
Some Singapore companies also turn to the advice of fortune tellers before making important business decisions.
Jing, who works for a metal manufacturing company in Singapore, said that in addition to hiring decisions, her company also consults fortune tellers when it comes to investment opportunities in new factories.
But such consultations usually take place in conjunction with their own research, she confirmed.
The most common question people ask is: ‘When will I be rich? How come I’m not rich?’
Chase Woo
managing partner at Hoseiki
“It is usually a clear internal business decision backed up by numbers and once this is decided the feng shui master will be consulted as to whether this is the right time,” said Jing, who declined to give her real name because she is not authorized to speak. to media on behalf of the company.
The captain will take into account criteria such as the height of the land, whether there are “undesirable structures” nearby, such as an electricity house, among other things.
“Once they give the green light, we will move forward with the project,” she said.
“It’s an extra level of certainty… so I want to cover all the bases as much as possible and minimize the chance of things going wrong,” Jing said, claiming that feng shui has never backfired on them before.
How do I get rich?
Some seeking fortune may also be looking for information about when the money would come.
“The most common question people ask is, ‘When will I be rich? How come I’m not rich?'” says Chase Woo, managing partner at Hoseiki, a feng shui studio that also does consultations.
Usually that’s because their investment strategy is wrong, he said.
“And why their investment strategy is wrong has everything to do with the fact that they want to get rich quick,” he said.
“From their (birth date) chart,” some people simply carry the negative wealth element, he explained.
Gold coins and bars on display at a storefront in Singapore.
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According to Woo, about 60% of his customers ask him how to get rich, and the majority of those come from Singaporeans between the ages of 35 and 45.
Woo said many of his clients are salespeople, such as financial insurance agents, who seek his advice on how to increase their sales.
“We teach them about numerology and some facial reading techniques so they can (identify) their clients’ pain points,” he said.
“A person with a lot of number six in his or her chart will most likely be a bit more self-centered. You can’t tell him that a policy will benefit his child (because) that person doesn’t care,” Woo gave an example. .
Woo said he does between four and 12 fate readings a day.
When to get married?
Besides wealth and business dealings, Singaporeans also often visit fortune tellers for more personal queries, such as advice on their love life or exam results.
Tan of Way Fengshui Group was dismayed that some mothers consulted him about whether their children’s exam results will be good.
“There is an increasing trend of young people coming to us to choose their baby’s name, as well as auspicious days for getting married,” says Tan.
Jonathan Lok consulted a feng shui master before getting married on January 27.
“We only wanted Saturdays and a date before (the) Lunar New Year 2024, because the feng shui master also said that the next year would be bad for me (for a dog zodiac) and if I missed it, that means I have to postpone my wedding for another year,” the 29-year-old said.
A couple poses for a pre-wedding photo shoot in Singapore.
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Others use fortune telling to estimate their chances of love.
People in their 20s, “especially the female population, are very interested in knowing whether they can have children, or when they will get married,” says Tan.
“Especially when they don’t see anyone and when they’re over a certain age… they start to worry a little more. They want to know if they should still have any hope of starting a family.”
Although fortune telling is part of the decision-making process for many people, it is ultimately not the ultimate goal.
“I would still see fortune telling as something fun to know (about), but I wouldn’t dedicate myself completely to following exactly what the fortune teller says,” Lok said.
