Mover from England to Hong Kong
Q: I'm a fresh graduate from The University of London, majoring in business studies. I'm going to relocate back to Hong Kong with my parents. As I have been here in London since my childhood and I'm not that familiar with the environment of Hong Kong. I hope you would give me some ideas or advise me concerning which industries or what kinds of job are really in need of talents (related to my studies)and providing me good career prospects as well. I hope I could begin in the right direction and make the right decision with your professional advice. Thanks a million.
A: Shane Sibraa, Director of Robert Walters Hong Kong replied, "Firstly let me congratulate you on your graduation. There is increasingly a demand for overseas educated Chinese nationals as companies realise that is people such as yourself that will be the managers of the future. Your international exposure will enable you to not only communicate with other offices throughout the world but to also eventually manage cross culturally.
"Hong Kong is currently bouncing back from its economic and social problems of the last few years and with the opening of the border to mainland China we are seeing a number of industries benefiting. Tourism and the Consumer sectors have been the largest beneficiaries as spending increases with the dramatic rise in mainland visitors. As a result there is greater need for professionals on the Sales side to handle this influx of visitors and on the Marketing side to ensure that they keep coming back. We have also seen Financial Services and Hong Kong's property market bounce back and the signs are positive that this will continue. As government regulations tighten there will be a need for those in compliance and regulatory people within these areas. Depending on your areas of interest, you may wish to consider looking at opportunities within these sectors.
"And what does the future hold? Moving forward we expect to see an increase in technology spend across all industries and while the telecommunications sector has been slow to take off, it should not be too long before the larger telco companies start to see returns on their investment. Longer term, Asia continues to age and health and pharmaceuticals will be the big winners. As you can see, there are positive signs across the board and as a result companies need to position themselves with the right people on board to take advantage.
"While there is a shortage of talent here in HK, it is still very competitive to secure an interview with a prospective employee as companies have raised the bar in search of top tier candidates. My advice to you would be to make the move to Hong Kong first before trying to secure a job as if you are offshore you will be competing with graduates who are already on the ground here in HK and who potentially could start at short notice. Being here will also enable you to get a feel for the HK market and help you to start establishing a local network. Prior to returning to Hong Kong you may also want to attend the DISCO Chinese Career Forum that is being held in London on Friday 5th November as a large number of HK and PRC based companies from various sectors will be in attendance. Good Luck!"
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