Hong Kong Career Blog

A decade after Y2K and mobile devices becoming a staple more than food, somehow, the evolution of equality between “Mars” and “Venus” hasn’t progressed as quickly as the speed of light.  No doubt, certain fields are prone to be gender biased due to working environment and conditions like logging as an extreme, have you ever imagined it is pretty much a men’s world in advertising too?  Some women stay away from the battlefield especially with life changing events like giving birth or getting married becoming priorities in the midst of their careers.  On the production side of things, it is pretty common to spot a camera “man” rather than a “woman” and maybe the physical strength needed to toy with the filming equipment is the culprit.  With the advancement of technology where smaller and lighter gear is being developed, it will be soon enough to see more women shooting ads.  Advertising is more than that and a couple divas in the business would share their insight and stories to get to the top, so the sky is the limit for the interested femmes.

Deb Henretta, Group President, Asia, Procter & Gamble oversees a U$14 billion operation with over 100 brands in Asia, and also a mother of three proves that a woman can indeed have it all.  Deb has learned first hand from her mom that having both a successful career and happy family is mission possible.  Moreover, her own positive work attitude further boosted that as she said, “Work is a very important aspect in my life to keep me intellectually stimulated, and encourages a curiosity to keep learning.”  It also explains why she was chosen as of most power businesswomen worldwide by Forbes and Fortune magazines.  She thinks that a typical women’s leadership style that is more conceptual, collaborative, and passionate might be a fatal factor to keep moving up the corporate ladder.  The industry has its foundation set with a more analytical, assertive and even sometimes aggressive leadership style for decades, so men seemed to be a natural choice upon harvesting the best talent.  For women who want to stand out proud in the crowd and knock down their male competitors, they probably have to work extra hard to get noticed.  Don’t be discouraged yet as Deb is generous enough to share 4 pieces of advices for young women who are interested to get into the biz – first and foremost, do something you love to do, challenge the status quo by exploring new and better ways of doing things, believe that woman can have it all (maybe not all at the same time) and finally, remember to help other women along the ride to the top.

Masako Okamura the Creative Director at Dentsu in Japan is the greatest inspiration of all as she’s from a country where some women are still shy or discouraged to have it all given the social pressure.  Masako is the first woman ever to be appointed creative director at Dentsu in a pretty much male dominant business and country, her story should move all young girls regardless of where they are geographically speaking.  She has an impressive track record such as Ad Council in Japan and the US plus Coca Cola as some of her clients; won global recognition for her work and also being a judge in award shows worldwide.  She believes there are not enough top women in advertising at the moment; she’s confident this would be changed soon than later.  Her advices include being strong physically as working long hours is a norm and knowing when to say “No”  is actually a display of having a strong will.  The last 2 tips are not ad-related yet showed Masako’s wisdom of the universe – fall in love with someone and enjoy the rollercoaster ride and travel a lot to appreciate diversity.  Also, she firmly believes the industry should play a more proactively role to promote its existence in the society as she thinks, “The younger generation don’t know how ads are made, so it’s very difficult for them to say ‘I want to work in advertising’.” 

The insiders’ report implies opportunities are definitely there and any women can rise to the top as long as she firmly believes in herself and work hard to achieve what she would like to get the best out of her life!

You can find more interviews and insight into the lives of women working in Marketing, Media and Public Relations at Media Asia. 

And to explore some great great career opportunities, please visit us at Ambition Hong Kong and Ambition Singapore.

Prior to the economic downturn, companies regularly offered extremely generous relocation perks in order to attract the best candidates to work overseas. Multiple house-hunting trips, job search assistance for your spouse and subsidised school tuition were not uncommon for high or mid-level executives.  Even lower level professionals could sometimes get the VIP treatment if they had a particularly in-demand skill. Well, the last year has seen a drastic pull back form the glory days. In fact, many firms were scaling back even prior to the tough times of 2009.  Below are a few things you’ll have to consider before accepting an overseas engagement:

1. Will you be getting a lump sum bonus that you manage yourself?

Most companies would prefer to provide employees with a single bonus that he or she will use to cover the entire cost of moving and living expenses while living as an expat.  This saves on administration costs for the employer, but it is not necessarily good for you because it is often difficult for expats to accurately gauge the true value of their increased compensations versus the initial and long haul costs of living abroad in an unfamiliar city. So, remember, just because your getting a nice bonus to relocate does not mean that you’re going to have more money in your pocket at the end of the year!

2. How long will you be working abroad?

Doing a cost benefit analysis is immeasurably easier if you have a fairly solid idea of how long you’ll be working in an expat capacity.  Getting a bonus for moving for one or two years is an entirely different matter than getting one for going on a long term or permanent assignment.  Your up front costs of moving and getting settled in a new country and home will be recouped in a sense if you are staying for at least a few years.  On the other hand, ironically, you should ask for a bigger bonus/moving subsidy if you are going short term, since most of the cost is up front and you’ll likely have to make a big expenditure when you return home.  So, any contract should hopefully specify exactly how long you are going to be working abroad and, if possible, whether there is a trial period so that you don’t find yourself stuck in an unsuitable situation for you or your family with no viable option for returning home.

3. How is your salary determined?

Any compensation contract should state the gross annual salary and how it will be determined (i.e. will it be based on the prevailing rate in your home country or on local market rates in the country in which you will be working).  Also, you need to be clear on how the tax structure is set up, who will be paying the taxes and in what country.  You should confirm your tax liability in your home country and your country of employment, which will generally be determined by your country of legal residence while working abroad.

4. What are your social security options?

You should explore your options for pensions and protection if you become unemployed while living overseas.  For example, will you be eligible for enrollment in the local social security system while working in a foreign country and what are the differences in contribution rates in your place of employment versus your home country?  Also, to what extent will you be covered by health insurance for you and your family?

5. What tuition allowances are available?

Since most expats send their children to private schools in foreign countries, education costs can be much higher than what you are accustomed to paying in your home country, so you must make sure that your increased compensation or tuition allowances from your employer will offset the increased cost of education.  Most companies understand this and compensate employees accordingly, but make sure that you cover such details as whether or not you are limited to choosing certain schools.

6. Is your holiday leave sufficient?

If you will be working in Asia and are a resident of a far way country like the U.S. or U.K., you will almost certainly need more vacation time than may be customary if you are working in your home country.  Making a trip home can be costly and usually requires at a least a week per visit when you are taking your family home for visits.  Most employers will specifically account for paid home visits, but you should confirm that you will be able to have time for holidays within the region as many expats view the opportunity to work abroad as a way explore nearby countries.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and you may feel overwhelmed by all of the considerations to take into account when working abroad, but there are numerous resources to help you make the decision.  To see more articles and resources, please visit us at Ambition Hong Kong, Ambition Singapore and My Ambition.

We recently came across some articles discussing whether or not it’s okay to “cheat” on your recruiter or whether most job seekers need to use a recruitment firm at all.  The answer is…it depends.

Like other recruiters, we have plenty of  candidates who have already reached out to employers.  Some articles posted by headhunters have scolded candidates for applying for jobs directly and also working with a recruitment firm to apply to the same company.  Correctly, they discuss that job seekers will often assume that they can improve their odds by applying through as many avenues as possible and deliberately not telling their recruiter that they have already applied to a particular company. We agree that this often actually hurts a candidate’s chances, but we also know that in a climate such as we have seen for the last year, people are sending out scores of resumes and often simply have not kept track of every single company that they submitted their CV to.  This is especially true when there are countless job boards and it is quite easy to simply click “submit” when someone requests your resume.

The key, however, is to do your best to keep a record of what positions you have applied to (a simple Excel or Google spreadsheet will do the trick). Using a recruiter will help you in your efforts to keep a handle on to whom and for what jobs you have applied. No matter what, if you still have any doubt about previous submissions when asked, simply say that you are honestly not positive and we will proceed accordingly. Most companies have regional and global HR databases and if your resume shows up multiple times, they will know it and it may be a check mark against you.  That brings us to the question of whether or not you need a recruitment firm at all.

According to a recent NatWest Quality of Life Report, a majority of British expats living and working abroad say that they enjoy a better quality of life, including higher salaries, more leisure time and less stress than their counterparts at home.  1,306 expats living in Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Singapore, Spain, UAE and USA participated in the survey which was conducted between October and November 2009.

19% of those surveyed said they plan to return to the UK, as  compared to 26% of respondent’s in the 2008 survey.  89% say their quality of life is better than it was prior to relocating.   About 90% said they are more financially secure, while the salaries of expats are an average of 20% higher than those of similarly qualified professionals in the U.K. They also say that work hours are reduced and that they have a better balance between work and leisure time with their families.  Not only that, but most say that while they expected the result, their expectations have been exceeded.

Dave Isley, Head of NatWest International Personal Banking commented:

“It seems the grass really is greener for Brits living abroad as our study shows… Our latest UK expatriate study has revealed that despite the global slowdown affecting everyone, the potential to earn more money abroad is clearly one of the main benefits that UK expats are experiencing…The fact that fewer expats say they will return to the UK in the future, compared to three years ago, proves that the pace of life, work life balance and earning potential abroad means life as an expat is sunnier in more ways than one and that they are weathering the financial storm.”

The average  expat salary is generally about £20,000 higher than their UK counterpart’s compensation.  They also earn higher salary increases, with Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates leading the way at 19% and 17% per year respectively. The majority surveyed claim that their main achievement was developing a successful career and most believe that their future job prospects have been greatly enhanced by living abroad.

By the numbers:

• 91% believe they have a better quality of life in the country they currently reside in
• 90% of expats consider themselves to be better off financially now they are abroad
• 68% say they live healthier lifestyles abroad
• 61% say the cost of living abroad is lower than at home
• Nine in ten (98%) say they made a good decision when deciding to move abroad
• About six in ten expats (63%) left the UK with less than £5,000 in savings – 64% now have a net worth between £250,000 and £1 million.

To discover a great position that might make you part of this happy bunch of expats, please visit Ambition in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

The HR manager at a large company receives hundreds of resumes each week and has very limited time to sort through the mass of submissions to find the handful of candidates that they will consider inviting to interview.  Keeping this in mind, you need to ask yourself a few questions:  “Will my resume stand out?”, “Does it successfully convey my strengths?”, and “Have I done everything I can to maximise my chances of landing an interview?”

The HR manager has limited time to glean relevant information from all of the resumes that they receive, so in order to make sure that you can answer the above questions in the affirmative, you need to first ensure that your resume doesn’t include mistakes that will immediately send it to the no pile before the recruiter can really assess your qualifications.

If your resume is too long, too short, badly presented or illegible, it will quickly find its way into the no pile. And if the reader can’t easily see what they are looking for, your resume will suffer the same fate. In this case, you may have the perfect skill set and education for the position, yet you will be culled from the pool of potential candidates, and both you and the employer may be missing a great opportunity.

There are numerous things to consider in order to avoid resume mistakes, but the most important is this:  proofread, proofread and proofread again.  This does not mean simply using spell check, since that won’t catch mistakes such as using “your” when you should be using “you’re.”  Nor will spell check catch the all too common occurrence of using a form letter and forgetting to change the name of the company when you are applying to numerous potential employers.

Of course you should still use spell check every single time you send out a new resume or cover letter, but proofreading is essential.  Most people can become blind to their own writing mistakes, especially after sending out scores of resumes in search of a job.  Read your cover letter before sending it, step away for a while and come back and read it again.  Even better, have a friend go over your resume and letter with a fresh set of eyes.  Not only will they be more likely to catch obvious mistakes, but they may have one or two simple suggestions that may result in a significant improvement in the clarity and persuasiveness of your application materials.

Remember, catching that one tiny mistake on your CV may not get you the job, but it will get you that much closer to staying out of the no pile, which is half the battle!

To get more career management advice and to see some of our open positions, please visit us at My Ambition, Ambition Hong Kong and Ambition Singapore.