Hiring in Singapore operates in a tight labor market where competition for talent is direct and salary expectations are high. Vacancy-to-applicant ratios remain compressed across tech, finance, and professional services. Most hiring managers report difficulty sourcing candidates with specific domain expertise, and time-to-fill often stretches beyond regional norms. Work permit sponsorship adds complexity—foreign talent requires either an Employment Pass (EP) or S Pass depending on salary and qualifications, and the Ministry of Manpower approval process introduces lag. Language proficiency in English is table stakes; Mandarin, Tamil, or Malay capability commands premium positioning but isn't required for most roles. Raffi operates natively in English and Mandarin, anchors all compensation discussions in SGD, and integrates with Workable to keep your hiring workflow in one place. The platform interviews candidates who apply to your open roles—no sourcing of passive talent, no outbound prospecting. Raffi handles the screening calls, takes structured notes, and flags qualified candidates for your team's final decision. You remain in control of hiring pace and hiring standards. If your hiring strategy includes work permit sponsorship or multilingual screening, Raffi's interview capabilities cover both. Ready to reduce screening time without outsourcing judgment to a recruiter? Start with a single open role.
1
Cities supported
30+
Candidate interview languages
<24 hrs
Application to first contact
Raffi calls every applicant for a 10-15 min structured interview. Not just the top 5 résumés — every one. Result: nobody good slips through.
Conversational AI interview, rubric-anchored scoring, transcripts you can read. You get a top 3-5 shortlist while competitors are still scheduling first-rounds.
SaaS pricing from $199/mo. No 15-25% of first-year salary, no per-hire kickback. Cancel anytime.
Singapore's labor market remains candidate-constrained, particularly in technology, engineering, and financial services roles. Local talent supply in software development, cloud architecture, and data science remains below demand. Financial services and banking continue to hire despite tighter credit conditions; insurance and fintech also show steady headcount growth. Professional services—consulting, accounting, legal—remain stable employers. Blue-collar and logistics roles face both tight supply and cyclical import-dependent wage pressure. Work permit policies have tightened modestly over the past 18 months, making sponsorship a heavier consideration for mid-tier roles. Regional talent movement from Malaysia and India continues but is less fluid than five years ago. Salary inflation in tech roles has plateaued after three years of annual 8–12% increases, but competitive offers remain the norm. Attrition in senior and specialist roles runs 15–20% annually, driven by Singapore's role as a regional hub—talent moves to or through the island but doesn't always stay.
Singapore hiring requires work permit clarity—most roles at SGD 5,000+ monthly salary qualify for Employment Pass eligibility, but salaries below SGD 3,500 typically require either local citizens or existing Pass holders. English is the working language across most sectors; financial and legal roles may require formal Mandarin fluency. Job boards lean toward JobsDB, LinkedIn Singapore, and industry-specific portals (SGXnews for finance roles). Candidate expectations are direct—salary clarity upfront, benefits details in writing, and no vague job titles. Notice periods typically run one month for junior roles and two months for senior hires. Compensation anchoring in SGD, clear work permit sponsorship signals, and realistic job descriptions outperform recruiter-speak. Cultural fit conversations matter but must remain structured to avoid perceived discrimination based on accent, national origin, or language dialect.
Raffi's structured interview format and rubric-based scoring is designed to meet anti-discrimination standards in Singapore. AI use is disclosed to every candidate, and human review of every hire decision is built in.
Candidate transcripts and recordings are stored with consent, candidate-accessible, and removable on request. Per-country data residency available on Growth plan.
Yes. Raffi operates in 30+ languages and supports candidate calls in any timezone via self-booking — there's no per-country integration. If you can post a role from Singapore, you can run Raffi from Singapore.
Raffi is calibrated against the major AI-in-hiring frameworks (EU AI Act + NYC Local Law 144) and discloses AI use to every candidate before the call. For Singapore-specific work permits and right-to-work checks, those happen outside Raffi — we screen, you verify eligibility before extending an offer.
No. Existing Pass holders (EP, S Pass, Tech.Pass) do not require fresh sponsorship. New hires from abroad generally require an Employment Pass if salary is SGD 5,000+ monthly and the role requires specialist skills. Check MOM guidelines for your role level before offering. Raffi's screening process doesn't assess permit eligibility, but your hiring workflow should flag work-permit status early.
English is mandatory for all roles. Mandarin fluency is a genuine requirement only in client-facing financial services, law, and some government-adjacent roles. If Mandarin is optional, say so explicitly; don't flag language as a disqualifier if the role runs in English. Raffi conducts interviews in English; if Mandarin screening is essential, your final-round interviews can cover it.
Standard notice is one month (junior) to two months (senior). Some roles in banking require three months. Always confirm notice period before extending an offer. Start dates in Singapore are typically flexible—four to eight weeks is common. Discuss start timing when you make the offer, not after acceptance.
Agentic recruiting is recruiting done by an AI agent that takes action on your behalf — not a chatbot or résumé summarizer. Raffi calls every applicant for a structured 10-15 minute interview, scores them against your rubric, and hands you a ranked top 3-5. The work happens autonomously.
Most agencies charge 15-25% of first-year salary as a placement fee — a $90k hire runs $13-22k. Raffi is SaaS at $199-599/mo plus per-action credits, typically landing under $10k/year for a team hiring 12 people. Same shortlist quality, no placement contract.
About 25 minutes to onboard, post your first role, and have Raffi ready to interview applicants. No engineering work, no integration project. Connect your work email, paste a JD, you're live.
Free $25 starter credit. No credit card. Screening live by tonight.