by Kenny Chee

JOB seekers now have another avenue to help them hunt for a gig which matches their skills.

They can do so on a new job portal called Breezeto5, which uses professionally devised templates that list all the skills required of a particular job.

Those who use the portal to find employment can use the templates to conduct a job search.

The website also offers free psychometric tests for job seekers to find out more about their personalities and attitudes.

Each job seeker will be graded according to how well their skills fit potential employers' requirements - the higher the score, the better the match.

Launched yesterday, the website (www.breezeto5.com) already has over 100 registered employers, including Fujitec Singapore, Taka Jewellery and Net Fashion.

The positions on offer range from those in the accounting and engineering fields, to vacancies for financial advisers and sales assistants. Job seekers and companies must first register - which is free of charge - with the portal. Then, they can post their profiles or information on job openings for free on the website.

Companies are charged a fee only when they wish to get the contact details of potential candidates whom they think are suitable for the jobs they are offering.

The portal was founded by former lawyer Malcolm Tan in February this year when he saw inefficiencies in the labour market. He currently has 11 employees, including seven full-time staff.

'Many job seekers do not know how to sell themselves. Our portal helps them identify what skills and core competencies they have,' said Mr Tan.

And companies often get applicants whose skills do not match their requirements, a result of less-than-detailed descriptions on the positions offered in their job advertisements, he added.

'Instead of spending hours poring over resumes, employers can use the portal's job-matching function to instantly weed out poor-fit job candidates based on their scores,' he said.

A company that successfully finds a candidate through the portal could pay less than $100 for the service, said Mr Tan, compared to a bill of 15 to 30 per cent of a successful match's annual pay package if a headhunter's services were used instead.

Over 25,000 people, mostly Singaporean, have registered with the portal.

Mr Tan is working on providing the service in Malaysia, the Philippines and Hong Kong by the end of the year, and hopes to bring it to 200 cities worldwide eventually.

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