Hello dalehk-ga
Unfortunately the current job market climate is not too good, the
jobless rate has reached 7.8% in August which is a record high. It is
so bad that two of the television networks have planned TV game shows
to win a job. (Rather like the Argentian TV game shows where the
economy has just crumbled).
"Hong Kong TV offers jobs as prizes" Aug 30, 2002 BBC News World
Edition
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2225653.stm
The following excerpt highlights the difficulty in finding a job.
"Lawmaker Chan Yuen-han, a vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation
of Trade Unions, said it would be hard for anyone now to find a job,
however qualified they were."
"Jobless gloom looks set to linger" by Felix Chan Oct 4, 2002 South
China Morning Post
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsnews.php?lcid=HK.EN&artid=3000004890&PHPSESSID=dd0a07fe5d0bb6e25836934f3690444c
About 5 years before the 1997 Handover to China, the Hong Kong job
market was good, reason? All middle mangers and above who had money
were buying their way out of Hong Kong emigrating to Canada, the
States and Australia, for fear of Communist rule. Then salary rates
then were relatively high. Companies in Hong Kong who could not
recruit middle management and higher locally, had no alternative but
to import the required resources and provide the necessary expat
packages. After 1997, the 'big changes' that were anticipated by those
who emigrated didn't happen. They observed there wasn't much
difference, and decided to make their way back to their much missed
homeland. Although this is not the main contributory factor to the
depressed job market, it did affect the expat market, many of whom
moved out after 1997 causing many bars and restaurants servicing
western clientele to lose trade. Salaries for unskilled labour at the
lower end of the market was driven down by the influx of mainlanders
who were accepting lower wages.
The standard reference for executive positions is the South Morning
China Post ( http://www.classifiedpost.com ) The job section used to
be thick as a telephone directory, now it is much less bulky. I
researched the online version but as mentioned before I found little
in the way of "public relations" references. This is due I guess to
the nature of the job, PR roles will typically require a command of
the local language which is unsuited to expat positions. Here is what
I did source in the way of a 'real world' salary guide from
classifiedpost.com (all salaries per month in Hong Kong dollars; 7.7
HKD = 1 USD) :
Marketing Executive HK$11k-14k
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsregular.php?comid=5641&adjobid=9C04005&jobno=K45&lcid=HK.EN
"F.7+, 3 yrs exp in watch industry, PC know, Good English & Mandarin"
Sr/Marketing Executive HK$10k-14k
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsregular.php?comid=5641&adjobid=9C04005&jobno=K61&lcid=HK.EN
"Deg, 2-3yrs exp in FMCG & Advertising exp, handle key accounts
prefer"
Marketing Executive HK$18k
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsregular.php?comid=5690&adjobid=J2011635&jobno=K01&lcid=HK.EN
- Degree holder in Marketing, Business Administration or related
disciplines
- Strong interest in marketing field particular in FMCG industry
- Excellent command of written and spoken Japanese, English and
Cantonese
- Good communication and interpersonal skill
- Frequent travel is required
Account Manager HK$25+
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsregular.php?comid=5641&adjobid=9C04005&jobno=K40&lcid=HK.EN
"Deg, 8yrs sales & Mktg exp prefer in FMCG/Pharmaceutical/IT
industries"
Marketing Manager HK$30K
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsregular.php?comid=5690&adjobid=J2011967&jobno=K01&lcid=HK.EN
"- Diploma / Degree holder in Business Administration or Engineering
- Min 3 years of Sales & Marketing, Account Management experience
preferably from home appliance industry
- Strong customer services and business development background
- Previous exposures in handling OEM customers a definite plus
- Excellent command of English & Chinese
- Regular travel to PRC is required"
Marketing Manager HK$30k
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsregular.php?lcid=HK.EN&adjobid=J2011967&jobno=K01
"- Diploma / Degree holder in Business Administration or Engineering
- Min 3 years of Sales & Marketing, Account Management experience
preferably from home appliance industry
- Strong customer services and business development background
- Previous exposures in handling OEM customers a definite plus
- Excellent command of English & Chinese
- Regular travel to PRC is required"
Regional Marketing Manager HK$40k-45k
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsregular.php?comid=5419&adjobid=J2011410&jobno=K01&lcid=HK.EN
"- University graduate in Marketing, Corporate Communication or
related subjects
- Oversee and implement overall MARKETING activities including
handling press release, editorial, organizing conferences and seminars
- Minimum 6-8 years in MARKETING experience gained from PR firms or
Multi-national companies
- Willing to travel to Asia Pacific countries"
Trade Marketing Manager HK $35K
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jsregular.php?comid=4575&adjobid=J2010978&jobno=K01&lcid=HK.EN
"- Degree holder in Marketing, Business Administration or related
disciplines
- At least 6 years of relevant key account and trade marketing
experience from multi-national corporations
- Food industry exposure highly preferred
- Strategic-minded, result-driven and well-organised with strong
negotiation skills
- High proficiency in English and Chinese
- Good PC skills"
This list in Google's web directory
Regional > Asia > Hong Kong > Business and Economy > Employment
http://directory.google.com/Top/Regional/Asia/Hong_Kong/Business_and_Economy/Employment/?il=1
will give you further pointers.
and JobsDB.com search gives a good indication of current salaries
http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/JobAds/JobAds.asp?pagename=jobads&ChannelCode=GNCJ&PRID=JDB
- Executives in public relations
http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/JobAds/adslist.asp?ChannelCode=GNCJ&SearchText=executive&RequireExpValue=1&RequireExp=&FreshGrad=0&RequireAcadValue=1&RequireAcad=&SalaryRangeValue=1&SalaryRange=&District=&JobType=%270%27&JobArea=%27051%27&JobPostTime=30&ListPerPage=30
- Managers in public relations;
http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/JobAds/adslist.asp?ChannelCode=GNCJ&SearchText=manager&RequireExpValue=1&RequireExp=&FreshGrad=0&RequireAcadValue=1&RequireAcad=&SalaryRangeValue=1&SalaryRange=&District=&JobType=%270%27&JobArea=%27051%27&JobPostTime=30&ListPerPage=30
- Directors in public relations;
http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/JobAds/adslist.asp?ChannelCode=GNCJ&SearchText=director&RequireExpValue=1&RequireExp=&FreshGrad=0&RequireAcadValue=1&RequireAcad=&SalaryRangeValue=1&SalaryRange=&District=&JobType=%270%27&JobArea=%27051%27&JobPostTime=30&ListPerPage=30
Mercer Human Resource Consulting PayMonitor (slow site)
http://www.imercer.com/globalcontent/software/paymonitor.asp
"Mercer's online market pricing tool provides direct access to the
highest-quality and most comprehensive compensation data available. In
four simple steps, develop standard or customized market levels for
your positions globally at anytime, from anywhere in the world."
Though requires registration, so I didn't find out if it was as good
as it was made out to be.
From investhk.gov.uk website:
Living costs;
http://www.investhk.gov.hk/(lo0i2u2zavgiva55eo1dzm45)/keystatistic3.aspx?id=149&code=KEYSLIVE
Cost of Living from Mercer Human Resource Consulting (slow site)
http://www.imercer.com/international/home/news2.asp
Cost of living survey 2002 - index summary
http://www.imercer.com/International/home/Cost_of_living_rankings.asp
Though personally speaking I'd say Hong Kong was much cheaper than
London. Their price indices may be referencing 'western' services - if
you purchase a price of coffee for example in a local shop it's way
cheaper, have a cup in a Western franchised Starbucks type shop, then
sure.. it will be expensive! Purchase the Wall Street Journal it will
be expensive!
Cheap items in Hong Kong are designer clothes, electronics, jewellery,
computers, and eating out. Your own own full time 6 day domestic maid
is less than $4000 a month (about 500 USD) for all those cleaning,
cooking, shopping baby sitting and washing chores.
This alternative report puts forward a different perspective
Trade Development Council
http://www.tdctrade.com/fsb
summary table
http://www.tdctrade.com/fsb/table01a.htm
Also an article at faclitycity.com (slow site)
http://www.facilitycity.com/fc_exp_02_04_global.asp
"As the market tightens, expats are headed home and Asians are filling
the gap." by Steven Crane Sept 2001 CFO Asia
http://www.cfoasia.com/archives/200109-25.htm
"A major US or European company decides to plunge into Asia. It rents
offices, sends out its best people, hires a relocation company to
settle them into new homes, starts marketing its services and sends
the whole board over to admire the results. Trouble is, within a few
years the business makes no money. The expatriates, who went overseas
on three-year contracts, are back home. The most able members of the
local staff have moved on to better jobs. The least employable remain.
Today, that scenario is history. While multinationals may still be
sending out expatriates to head up their Asian operations, Asia's top
finance jobs are going local. "If companies have a choice between an
Asian CFO with global exposure or a Western expat," says Kwan Chee
Wei, Singapore-based director at Watson Wyatt's Human Capital Group,
"all else being equal, they'll tend to go for the Asian. [He or she]
is more likely to understand local markets and people and therefore
add greater value to the bottom line."
The reason for this about-face is not hard to find. In the last few
years, talented Asians with overseas degrees have increasingly found
opportunities for advancement and growth back home just as appealing
as those in the West. The supply of quality Asian finance executives
has increased. Meanwhile, head offices are getting tougher about the
returns they expect from their far-flung operations. With an increased
emphasis on profitability, the number of companies willing to offer
plush Western-style compensation packages has decreased markedly.
In fact, MNCs have been cutting back on expatriate perks and benefits
since 1997. The current economic downturn has accelerated the trend.
That's why traditional expatriate remuneration packages are dead or
dying, according to this year's CFO Asia Compensation Survey,
undertaken with consulting firm Watson Wyatt. In Singapore, for
example, only 18 percent of the companies surveyed offered expat
packages. In Hong Kong, the classic expat deal has almost vanished.
Their demise is understandable. Expat terms traditionally include
housing and cost-of-living benefits, but can extend to private school
fees, business-class travel home annually, a car and even a driver,
amounting to an additional 10 to 20 percent over local pay levels.
"Most companies here no longer pay a premium for expats," says Watson
Wyatt's Hong Kong-based managing director Paula DeLisle. "Those who
wish to remain in the job market here have accepted that the days of
special preference are gone," she says...
In the last 18 months, says Hong Kong-based Dan Chavasse, director at
executive search firm Michael Page, companies seeking to fill a senior
finance position are asking: "Why should we pay good money for someone
who has no understanding of how business is done in Asia?' "What's hot
in the recruitment market," he says, "is an overseas-educated finance
executive with MNC experience and an Asian surname."
Although the above relates to finance positions, it does ring true in
some respects for public relations and marketing activities.
I used to work for a global electronics company and middle/lower
senior management had a $40,000 to $80,000 housing allowance per month
(about 5,200 - 10,400 USD a month!) 2 sets of airfares to their home
country, 6 weeks holiday on top of the Hong Kong holidays, full
medical, and private school fees for their children. So not cheap for
the company.
About 15% of the department were expats and certainly most middle and
senior management were, and in all cases the expat contracts were
offered to employees in their own country. No expat packages were
offered to local staff in Hong Kong, even though some of those (about
20%) like me were to all intents and purposes 'expats' but employed
locally.
If you would like an expat package don't come to Hong Kong looking for
one!
You probably need to look at your own company for an expat package or
in your own area.
U.S. companies who offer expat packages generally speaking send their
own staff and not new recruits to Hong Kong. This is because existing
staff have a proven track record and capability within the company. To
send a new recruit would be risky as they themselves would need to
familarise themselves with the corporate culture before being able to
delegate and work efficiently to the company's guidelines. No company
is going to pay serious money to fund somebody to learn the ropes of
the company, unless they have a outstanding industry track record.
Maybe you have just that :-)
After all, the expat package is to entice people to a foreign country
for a few years, so if you are already in Hong Kong they have no need
to entice.
However having said that, some local Hong Kong companies like the MTR
(Mass Transit Railway), China Light and Power, and some financial
institutions do offer housing allowances to locals from time to time
for more senior positions but presumably only gets offered if there is
a skills shortage, used as a tool to attract staff and retain them.
Though I have seen no mention of PR related positions, usually
engineering or fund management positions.
The main cost of living in Hong Kong is rent, and rent is now 'cheap'
around $6000-8000 HKD for local type property of 450-700sq ft.
($780-$1000 USD per month) The enormous rental prices associated with
expat packages are due to prestigious locations, on the seafront, in
the Central Peak or Mid-Level areas (which are the more 'western' or
tourist areas). A good cheap place to live is Kwai Fong on the Central
Line, easy transport to the Central areas, with good local
amenities... it's a bit tough on westerners who can't speak or read
Chinese, but for ABC's , BBC's or CBC's it's fine ;-)
Rental agencies for expats ask silly money. It helps if you have local
contacts.
Public transport is a way of life too, cheap, fast and efficient, most
people don't bother with the car, no where to drive it.. and no where
to park it!
Search Strategy:
hong kong "win a job"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=hong+kong+%22win+a+job%22&btnG=Google+Search
"hong kong" career "public relations"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22hong+kong%22+career+%22public+relations%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&newwindow=1&c2coff=1&start=100&sa=N
"cost of living" "hong kong"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22cost+of+living%22+%22hong+kong%22
I hope that helps, if you need clarification of the answer, just ask.
P.S. when you get to Hong Kong, I know all the cheapest places to buy
camera and gizmo gear ;-)
Kind regards
lot-ga |
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