“Mandarin required”: Singapore hiring guidance and a sample test
Explain a job-related language requirement in Singapore, then adapt a sample Chinese–English support exercise with clear scoring criteria and limits.
· 6 min read
Fair-hiring guidance checked 7 October 2026.
“Mandarin required” names a language, not the work an applicant must do. TAFEP says a job advertisement should explain the job-related reason for a language requirement. Start there, then assess the skill the role actually needs. TAFEP’s job-advertisement guidance
A fluent customer-support reply can still be wrong: it may promise a refund the agent cannot approve. The exercise below separates language clarity from that kind of judgement. Candidates answer a missing-item complaint in written Chinese and hand it over in English. Assess spoken Mandarin separately when the role requires calls.
Describe the work before choosing the language label
Identify the actual task: Mandarin calls, reading Chinese messages, writing Chinese replies or preparing English handovers. Do not require all four because the team calls the role “bilingual”.
Check how often each task occurs and whether that level of proficiency is necessary. For an occasional need, consider whether the work can reasonably be organised another way.
Where the duties genuinely require both spoken and written work, proposed wording could be:
This role supports customers who communicate with us in Mandarin and written Chinese. You will explain delivery issues on calls, answer written enquiries and hand cases to colleagues in English. We assess the language skills needed to understand the issue, explain the next step and record an accurate handover.
Use this wording only when it describes the actual duties. Do not substitute a race preference or “native speaker” for the skill. TAFEP flags native-speaker requirements and unexplained bilingual labels in its language examples.
Prepare the support exercise
This is a practice case, not a validated or TAFEP-approved hiring test. Use it only for a role requiring written Chinese replies and English handovers, after review by assessors with the relevant language and job knowledge.
Fill in the conditions below before sharing the candidate brief. When staff use translation tools at work, decide whether to assess using and checking those tools rather than unaided writing. Apply the agreed conditions consistently, with appropriate accommodations.
Keep the assessor notes separate. Candidates should see what is assessed, but not the translation or model answers.
Candidate brief — copy this section
Task: Read the customer’s message. Write a short reply in Chinese, then an English handover for the next agent. Explain the next action and when the customer will hear from you.
Conditions: Time allowed: [duration]. Permitted tools: [tools or none]. Written Chinese: [simplified, traditional or either, according to the role]. Contact for an adjustment or access problem: [recruiter].
What we assess: Understanding the customer’s message, factual accuracy, a clear next action, understandable Chinese and an accurate English handover. Do not invent approvals or promises. We do not expect a particular script or elaborate vocabulary.
Case information: It is 10 am. The order is marked delivered, but the system does not confirm which items were included. The warehouse must check. You may not promise a same-day replacement or approve a refund. Update the customer by 4 pm today, even if the investigation is still open.
Customer message:
我上周订的两件商品只收到一件。订单显示已经送达。我明天要出差，能不能今天补寄，或者给我退款？
Assessor notes — keep separate from the brief
Message meaning: The customer received only one of two items ordered last week, sees the order marked delivered, is travelling tomorrow, and asks for a replacement today or a refund.
Compare an invented promise with an accurate reply
Answer A:
您放心，我们今天一定补寄，退款也已经批准。
Answer A guarantees a replacement today and says a refund is approved. Both commitments are invented. Clear Chinese does not make the answer accurate.
Answer B:
很抱歉您只收到一件商品。我理解您明天要出差，希望尽快解决。我会先联系仓库，确认另一件商品的情况。补寄或退款都需要进一步确认，我现在还不能向您承诺。我会在今天下午四点前向您更新进展，即使届时还没有查清。
Answer B acknowledges the urgency, explains the warehouse check and commits to an update—not a resolution. Accept other clear wording that meets those requirements.
A suitable English handover might be:
Customer received one of two items and travels tomorrow. Delivery status does not establish whether both items were included. Warehouse check is required. No replacement or refund has been promised. Update the customer by 4 pm today, even if the investigation is still open.
Score the reply and handover
Record language clarity separately from factual accuracy. Agree how to handle material errors before assessing applicants, then use the same guide for each response.
| Dimension | 0: material problem | 1: incomplete | 2: meets the task |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comprehension | Misunderstands the missing-item issue or requested outcome | Understands the issue but misses a material detail | Captures the problem and urgency accurately |
| Accuracy and authority | Invents approval, delivery or a policy commitment | Avoids invention but leaves the limit unclear | Preserves uncertainty and stays within authority |
| Next action and update | Omits the warehouse check or gives an incorrect update commitment | Identifies the check but leaves the update time unclear | Explains the warehouse check and promises an update by 4 pm, even if the investigation remains open |
| Chinese response clarity | Meaning is not sufficiently clear for this task | The main point is understandable, but an important detail needs clarification | The customer can understand the explanation without guessing; natural alternative wording is accepted |
| English handover | Leaves the next agent with a materially wrong account | Misses an important action or unresolved fact | Explains the problem, what is unresolved, the next action and the update time |
These scores describe the response; they are not a validated hiring cutoff. Do not average away an invented commitment or choose a pass mark after reading the answers. Follow the review and follow-up approach agreed before the assessment.
Compare the customer reply with the English handover. A correct reply followed by an inaccurate handover still leaves the next agent with a problem. Record that difference rather than awarding one overall “language” score.
Assess spoken Mandarin separately from writing
A written reply does not establish spoken-call ability. For a role requiring calls, use the same short spoken follow-up with each candidate: the customer asks again whether a replacement can be guaranteed today.
Listen for an understandable explanation of what can and cannot be promised, followed by the next action. Assess the communication the customer needs, not resemblance to the interviewer’s own accent. Confidence does not make an unsupported promise correct.
Keep written and spoken results separate. A development need in one may be manageable for the role; record that decision rather than hiding it inside “Mandarin: good”.
When using a transcript or AI assessment, check the record against the original answer before attributing an error to the candidate. A missing or mistranscribed phrase may change the meaning. Apply the same scoring guide to the corrected record.
Make the hiring decision about the work
Before use, have assessors independently mark three kinds of sample: clear and simply worded, eloquent but factually wrong, and incomplete. Compare the evidence behind their scores and resolve disagreements in the instructions or rubric. Review the exercise when the role changes. TAFEP calls for job-related selection tests and regular review for relevance and bias in content or scoring. TAFEP’s selection-test guidance
Replace “Mandarin: good” with the work the applicant demonstrated: an accurate customer reply, a usable English handover and, where required, a clear spoken explanation. That gives the hiring manager a decision to make rather than a language label to interpret.
This guide provides general information, not legal advice or confirmation that a particular language requirement is justified. The exercise and scoring guide are examples, not a certified assessment or universal hiring cutoff. Check the actual duties, assessment conditions and fair-hiring requirements before using them with applicants.
