SINGAPORE - It used to take human resources manager Julie Angelin at least 20 minutes to download resumes and another 20 minutes to 25 minutes to screen through the candidates who responded to her online job advertisements.

But thanks to a new preview feature for employers on the MyCareersFuture.sg portal, it now only takes about 10 minutes to screen relevant candidates.

The feature allows her to see at a glance the key skills and work experience of applicants before deciding which resumes to download.

The portal also recommends other candidates whose skills match the job description posted even if they did not apply for the job, as long as they indicated they are open to other career opportunities.

"This helps us to find more candidates based on our requirements," said Ms Angelin, 29, who works at safety training provider August International.

On Sunday (Sept 8), Workforce Singapore (WSG) officially launched the employers segment of the portal, which replaces the old Jobs Bank and adds several features based on feedback received from companies.

Besides the candidate recommendation and resume preview, another feature allows employers to sort applicants based on how well their skills or experience fit the description in the job post.

These new features aim to help employers save time in identifying suitable and potential candidates, said WSG.

MyCareersFuture.sg uses machine learning technology and aims to match jobseekers to jobs that best fit their skillsets, as well as highlight jobs that are eligible for government support - such as training or wage subsidies - under Adapt and Grow programmes.

As of July this year, more than 540,000 unique users had registered on the site for job search needs, said WSG in a statement.

WSG chief executive Tan Choon Shian said: "In this digital age where new technology and emerging skills are changing the hiring landscape, it is critical for us to keep pace with the changes to better match jobseekers to employers."

He added that enhancements for the portal will continue to be developed and released.

"We will also... conduct regular sessions to gather sentiments on how we can make job matching even more intuitive for jobseekers and employers," he said.

Jobseekers have been able to look for jobs on the portal since it was launched in April last year, but employers still had to post jobs on the Jobs Bank. The posts were then displayed in MyCareersFuture.sg.

Since last month, employers have been able to post directly on the newer portal, though the Jobs Bank will continue to operate for now, said WSG.

Companies with at least 10 workers have to post job ads for positions paying under $15,000 a month on the portal, for at least two weeks before they can apply for an Employment Pass for the job.

While working on the employer segment of the site, WSG gathered feedback from more than 200 local employers from January to May this year, and tested new features created by job-matching technology providers WCC and JobKred.

One of the main requests from employers was for better and more relevant matches through the portal, said WSG.

August International has hired two safety coordinators through MyCareersFuture.sg so far, and Ms Angelin said the portal has helped her in her work, especially in replacing staff who leave.

"Sometimes employees resign for some reason and we need to find new candidates immediately, especially in busy periods," she said.