I’ve recently had friends ask me how to do this since they were newly graduated or thinking about changing locales in where they work.  I actually found my job in Hong Kong even before I moved to Hong Kong (as with many people I know who are currently in Hong Kong).  So where do you start?  You don’t even live there!  Here are a few suggestions to help you along the way if you’re thinking about making the jump to another country, but try to answer the few questions below to help gauge just how wacked your idea is!

1.  Are you legally entitled to work there?

If you’re born there, have a permanent HKID, are married to a person that has a permanent HKID, have parents who can prove they were born in Hong Kong then you’re legally entitled to work there (after you get your HKID).  If not, you’ll need sponsorship of work from the organization in which you plan to work for and this means stating upfront to them that part of your hiring process, requires the work visa.

2.  Start with the job boards

Hong Kong offers a variety of jobs boards for all types of industries and careers.  I’m only offering the ones in English here (obviously) and the ones I use.  Below are some of the larger sites:

http://www.jobsdb.com
http://www.classifiedpost.com
http://efinancialcareers.hk
http://www.monster.com.hk
http://www.careerjet.hk

3.  Don’t like job boards?  Then you can go directly to the recruiters’ pages – many of them offer searches for jobs they are posting.  The easiest is to CALL – get a direct response to whether your skills, career direction and industry are correct.  This saves you the trouble of writing a cover letter customized to a job you are looking to post for.  Recruiters work for you because they are either commission or incentive based and it’s free for you – so use these resources like no tomorrow.  Albeit, sometimes, they just try to fit as many candidates into jobs as possible (without really thinking about YOUR career direction – they do this all the time with Dennis by stuffing coding jobs into his head and not management ones that he covets), but at least you have a lead and with some smart manipulation, can maybe turn it into something you do want. 

And don’t start with the line “I’m actually not in Hong Kong…” because that’ll get you rejected pretty quickly.  I’m not saying to lie, but you don’t have to offer those kind of details upfront.

http://www.robertwalters.com/en-hk/default.do
http://www.hays.com.hk
http://www.michaelpage.com.hk
http://www.kellyservices.com.hk
http://www.ambition.com.hk
http://www.searchasia.com.hk
http://www.roberthalf.com
http://www.globalassociates.com
http://www.cascohr.com
http://www.imprintplc.com
 

4.  Have you even been there?

Well, for those adventurous kinds who haven’t been there and want to work there, congrats!  I actually know a few teachers (who teach at International schools) that have applied directly to the schools and arrived to Hong Kong AFTER they got their teaching contract.  I’m actually talking about jobs that aren’t teaching jobs.  If you haven’t been to Hong Kong before, i’d suggest making a visit for a few reasons.

a.  If you have friends who have a local address, it will help with the application process, so go visit your friends.
b.  You may need to visit to see some recruiting agents face-to-face.  Actually, from my experience, if you’ve got the ideal skills, they will want to see your face – welcome to the world of Hong Kong job hunting.  Instead of putting a photo on your resume, like they used to, I think they want to judge you – physically and literally.
c.  How are you going to handle interviews if you’re not there?

When this post was written, the economy was starting to shrink (severely) and many companies are probably NOT going to pay for your trip out there to interview.  In fact, I know many companies that are reducing their housing allowance (complete reduction to 0) and expat packages, so don’t expect anything if you want employment.

5.  And if you do get face-to-face interviews?

The best and easiest thing to do is to lump it all in a week or two weeks if possible – thereby making your trip out there worth it.  You can’t avoid not being seen if you want a job (unless you already happen to know the hirer).  I happened to see my interviewer while visiting my sister in the summer and did a phone interview with her before getting the offer.  In Hong Kong though, be prepared to go through multiple rounds of interviews (especially if you’re in banking).  Even for coding and IT jobs, you’ll either sit through interviews with more than one person or go for a few rounds.  That’s just the way they do business.

6.  Got the offer?

Well congrats to you!  Then comes the problem of weighing our options.  Making a move to a different country is rough and exciting at the same time.  Moving with a family, is even tougher, but I will save that for another post.  You’ll just have to account for relocation (are they paying it?), housing allowance (not very common anymore – even if you’re an expat hire), medical and dental benefits (depends on which company you work for, most local companies have POOR coverage and obviously the government doesn’t pay for it like Canada does), and maybe currency exchange rate (some people say it doesn’t matter, but if the exchange rate is 7.7:1 for HKD:CAD vs 6.1:1, you just cut a salary cut pal).

This isn’t a hard set process for finding a job in Hong Kong.  I make no disclaimers that you will get a job, so don’t go quitting your job and using this as a platform for employment.  I’m simply writing this as an informative guide because I myself am in the process of job hunting (finally stepping back full-time into the corporate world) and documenting and consolidating some resources helps me come back to it later.

So I wish you all the best.  I wish myself all the best.  Let me know your finds and progress?  Maybe I’ll let you know mine.