FROM getting hired to getting hitched, it seems that handwriting can matter.
Some use handwriting to assess their future mates and their employees.
One woman even wanted to use it to size up the father of her child.
So claims Mr William Pang, 60, who has been a handwriting expert for more than 30 years.
He claimed that more people are now using his services.
These include young couples wanting to tie the knot, people seeking career guidance and companies hiring people in 'sensitive' positions.
He charges $1,500 upwards per consultation, depending on the seriousness of the case and how much analysis is needed.
'People are getting more holistic and innovative in their approach and are more willing to try new things,' he said.
'Handwriting is like brain-writing. Your brain commands your hand to produce a script that looks a certain way.'
Qualities in a person's handwriting - such as the slant of the writing, the spacing between words and letters, the speed of writing, the pressure applied while writing, and even the margins left - reveal something about the writer, he claimed.
'This can help them understand themselves better and lead a better life by making the right choices for themselves.'
USED IN MATCHMAKING
Dating agency Lunch Actually had, in the past, also used handwriting analysis to matchmake people.
Its director, Ms Violet Lim, said her clients were happy with the results.
However, she said the agency no longer does so, because it wanted to try other ways of matchmaking people.
But it's not just about couples and their compatibility.
Mr Pang said human resource departments also use handwriting analysis, especially to headhunt for positions such as CEOs and other 'sensitive' positions involving finance.
A manager at an employment agency, who only wanted to be known as Mr Michael, said his agency uses Mr Pang's services at the request of clients.
'It helps us to understand the attitude and aptitude of the candidates and how suitable they are for the particular job.'
Mr Michael, 50, said one of the things clients sometimes check for is honesty. Mr Pang added there are many things that a face-to-face interview cannot reveal which handwriting can.
This is because it is hard to hide the 'flaws' in handwriting.
Photo: TNP, Gavin Foo
Mr Pang, who said he has met all sorts of people seeking to learn more about themselves, recalled one particular case of a woman who came to him with two writing samples belonging to the men in her life.
The woman, who was pregnant, asked him to analyse both the writing samples for what it revealed of their writers' traits.
Said Mr Pang: 'One of the two men had made her pregnant and she wanted to know the specific traits so she could understand more about her unborn child.
'She hoped that the man who made her pregnant was the one who had all the good traits!'
In recent times, Mr Pang has also ventured into full-time document examination.
EXAMINES FOR FORGERY
He examines documents such as cheques and wills to detect possible forgery.
To increase accuracy, he uses various instruments, such as spectrolights and electrostatic detection apparatus.
So far, he has handled over 300 cases involving document examination.
Document examination services are also provided by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). Its website says the examination fees are chargeable based on the work done at a rate of $250 an hour, excluding GST. For a simple case involving a disputed signature, the estimated fee ranges from $2,000 to $2,500.
-Megha Gupta, newsroom intern
This article was first published by The New Paper on Mar 4, 2008.
