Career advice
Curated writing from operators, recruiters, and HR leaders — written for people building real careers in HK.
Many mountain climbers visiting high altitudes for the first time would be eager to know more about their Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) susceptibility in advance. Although various tests like VO2 Max, SO2 at simulated altitude are derived, the correlations are weak and are not good predictors for AMS vulnerability.
People sometimes confuse being active on social media like Facebook as being digitally savvy. The reality is that while social media experience helps digital marketers to be better at their job, digital marketing itself is far more complex with social media being but one component in the digital mix. The digital media marketing mix comprises of display and video, search engine optimization, pay per click, social media, content management, website design and development, affiliate marketing, online reputation management, conversion rate optimization, email marketing, etc.
Recently I spoke with the regional head of a large tech sector company. He had a dilemma: to tweet or not to tweet? Without a social media presence he might be seen as a dinosaur, yet he worried about the time and skills needed. So he hired a professional marketer, who now tweets for him daily.
今日是我的專欄第一日面世，我將會於專欄裡面分享關於社交媒體的心得、經驗和八卦瑣碎事，希望有內容之餘亦有血、有淚、有歡樂，也希望大家喜歡。 前幾天與某ICT 公司高層朋友喝咖啡敍舊，我們談天說地，吐吐苦水，傾談一下現在的市場狀況、員工流失、成本上漲、市場擴大、競爭和工作量都隨之增加等，有喜有憂。最後，他問我，六年前為何會自己創業做Social Media。 回想六年前，從工作了十多年的媒體行業，跳出來做數碼營銷，主攻社交媒體及新媒體。當時的同事、媒體工作者朋友或前輩對新媒體的認知還是相當有限。創業初期向他們解釋公司的服務及理念的時候也有一定難度，十之八九了解之後還是一頭霧水。 媒體工作者談及新媒體至今已有十年八年，但他們口中的新媒體是在新平台瀏覽傳統內容，例如網站、手機等。社交媒體對他們來說，根本不是一個媒體。 偏偏大家每日都在社交媒體平台上流連忘返，用戶有增無減，客源定當有一定的數量。當時，這門生意的概念仍然非常新，一般的製作公司不會做、傳統的媒體又不想觸及這個「網民至上」的地方。 如此龐大的市場，那時候又沒有太多人在做，為何不放膽一試？就這樣，我和我的拍檔就膽粗粗地創業了！下星期我們再談談如何開始這個工作。
Have you ever noticed how many hours you have spent on staring at computer monitor or phone? I am sure it is part of your daily life, and the more you stare at the monitors, the more you are straining your eyes.
或多或少是受其土木工程師父親之影響，潘根濃測量師 (Kenneth Poon) 很早已對建築產生興趣，並於中學畢業後直接選修工料測量，轉眼間，便當上工料測量師幾十年了。其兒子 Linus 告訴我，當初他的大學選科不是測量系，而是法律系。因為其後在修讀的途中發現自己的性格和興趣比較適合修讀建築系，所以最後才轉科至工料測量。再加上父親在日常生活上都灌輸了有一些關於建築材料價格的知識，令 Linus 更加確定自已對工料測量的興趣的灌輸(有意或無意地)，很自然地畢業幾年後的今天， Linus 亦已考獲 MHKIS 資格，成為專業工料測量師了。
早陣子收到有年輕讀者來信，問我作為老闆，對她們這些九十後有甚麼期望。收到這封信件，忽然覺得自己老了。我寫了七年專欄，類似的問題我其實答過好多次。但之前所答的，還只是問有關「八十後」的，同一個問題，轉眼間已轉移到「九十後」的身上，時間過得太快，想唔認老都唔得。 「八十後」也好，「九十後」也好，我估問題其實也只是圍繞住我們對「年輕人」的期望吧。老實講，我是個銅臭不堪的商人，對自己的員工，那管你是九十後還是六十後，基本的期望其實都沒有分別，就是麻煩你「交貨」。期望的高低在於你的職位，舉個例說，假如你是我公司的銷售人員，我對你的期望就是要你「到數」。不管你是個行將退休的老鬼，還是個初出茅廬的小伙子，我要求你所做的，其實還是一樣。
Knowing why you weren’t chosen is vital for future interviews, writes Nick Wheatley.
With Hong Kong’s business environment becoming more complex, accounting firms have expanded and so have specialist opportunities for CPAs. Jemelyn Yadao finds out how accountants are getting into the most in-demand fields All accountants might believe they are a part of a special profession, but many are trying to stand out from the crowd even more, by entering the more rarefied world of specializations.
Switching roles to find your specialism needn’t always be complicated, suggests Galaxy Chan, a partner at KPMG China and a member of the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs, citing her own smooth transition. Some firms, such as KPMG, provide employees opportunities for short-term internal transfers if there are vacancies. “If you are unsure that you want to make a permanent commitment in your department or want to try a different one, the human resources team can arrange a short-term secondment,” says Chan. “After that, you can always go back to your [original] department.”
“Being interactive is one of the basic requirements for an accountant engaged in advisory services, like myself,” says Eugene Ha, a partner at Grant Thornton and a Hong Kong Institute of CPAs member. “Making connections with clients, intermediaries and the wider business community is part of what I do every day. It’s fortunate that I am quite a natural talker as well, with an outgoing personality. Networking is in fact an enjoyable role to me.” Here are a networking natural’s top tips for making new connections. DO…
It’s not just what you know, it’s who you know that matters, says the adage. Successful accountants tell Robin Lynam how careers can be boosted with a little networking ability In accounting, as in all professions, those who rise to the top tend to be those who are good at their jobs. That, however, is seldom all there is to the story. Successful professionals have usually managed to build up a broad-based network of contacts and connections, many of whom have been instrumental in helping them serve their clients, build their profiles and enhance their reputations.