S’porean TikToker Calls Out SMRT’s Job Listing For “Squeezing Multiple Roles Into One”

Have you ever come across a job listing that made you go: “Huh?” 

We’re talking about those descriptions that state “Entry level job: three years of experience required”, or roles that basically require you to be a one-man team. #iykyk

TikToker Ben Yap (@benyaap) recently came across one such job listing on LinkedIn, and took to his page to discuss why he would “never apply for it”.

And we’re sure many Singaporeans would be able to relate. 

The job opening, listed by SMRT Corporation, was looking to fill the role of ‘Executive/Senior Executive, Service Innovation & Communications’.

Ben’s first gripe with the role? Its ‘Job Purpose’, which states: Service Innovation & Communications Specialist (Branding, Social Media & Web Management). 

“It’s actually various roles here," said Ben. "First you got to be doing service innovation and then communication. And then branding, social media, and web management. To me, this is a four-person job,” he explained. 

He then moved on to the job responsibilities, which, in Ben’s words, “is madness”. 

We counted seven main categories of responsibilities, which include service communications and operations, and analytics and reporting. Under each of those categories are also in-depth details which further describe the tasks that the potential candidate will have to undertake. 

And trust us when we say that there are many, many tasks. 

Ben adds: “When you [scroll] further down, it says you have to advise the executive leadership team on emerging trends and opportunities for branding, social media, and web management. How do you advise? This is a senior manager role.”

He also emphasised the fact that the job description is two pages long, and on top of everything, the candidate will also have to take on secretary duties, do events, and oversee multiple aspects of the company’s development. 

“There are just too many things,” he declared. 

He continued: “The qualification is saying that someone needs two years of experience. Do you think someone who has two years of experience minimally can do all this? I have 10 years. It’s even hard for me to do everything effectively.”

“I personally will not be applying to this job because this is a tall order. It’s a big job description, I don’t think I can perform at the standards they want,” he said.

He, however, did acknowledge that the listing had over 100 interested applicants, and wished them good luck. 

It looks like many netizens agree with Ben’s take, with one commenting: “Some companies really be asking for the world with little money”. 

“They better be paying 20K for such a huge list of responsibilities,” read another popular comment. 

Some also said that the company had “unrealistic expectations” while others shared that it wasn’t uncommon for companies to “hire one person [to fill] an entire team”. 

Perhaps the job description could be worded better, with the responsibilities simplified and summarised to reflect the actual nature of the job. Or maybe, the pay offered for the role isn’t as low as many expect. 

Ben’s video was only posted one day ago, but as of press time, although the listing is still available for viewing, SMRT is no longer accepting applications for the role. 

With that said, would you still take on this challenge of a job if you were being compensated fairly?