Christine Tsang Tse-ching

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Despite being only in the first year of her business and management undergraduate degree at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Tsang’s CV and application were already impressive enough to win her a place in the interview stage of the Shadow a CEO Programme.

And though it might still be rather early to be sending her CV to prospective employers, she also used her visit to the Career Forum to speak with company representatives and find out more about what various jobs and careers involve.

After visits to the Swire and Sasa booths, she said she felt more aware of what needs to be done by people working in different positions in these companies. “I spoke to an HR lady from Swire and we talked about what auditors, accountants and HR managers do in the company,” Tsang said. “As she had also graduated from HKUST, we had a lot to talk about – both regarding her career and HKUST.”

Even though so much information is available on company websites these days, Tsang said events such as the Career Forum offered something unique.

“I think it is very different coming to an exhibition like this compared to what you can find out online. Here, you can talk face-to-face with a manager from each company, and you can get up-to-date information about the company, and about future trends. I will definitely be returning to the forum next time.”

Cheng Wing-yee

City University of Hong Kong

A student in the first year of an economics and finance programme, Cheng said that chats she had with potential future employers at the Career Forum were an eye-opening experience.

Though she thinks she would like to work in the banking industry, Cheng was drawn into conversations with representatives of the Government Flying Service, as well as those from Sun Life Financial.

“I found there’s quite a large and diverse number of companies here with many offering programmes for us to apply to,” Cheng said. “I can ask questions face-to-face at this kind of event, something which I can’t do online.”

With an eye on her future career choices, Cheng, who also took part in the Young Marketer of Tomorrow contest, added that she now has much more to think about in considering which programmes to enrol on.

Kingston Ip Pui-chuen

Open University of Hong Kong

With graduation looming, Ip is on the lookout for a job. Now in the fourth and final year of a BSc in applied science, in which he’s majoring in biology and chemistry, he visited the Career Forum after hearing about the event from a friend.

“I am still a little confused about what exactly I want to do when I graduate but I’m aiming to have a career in the medical, pharmaceutical or health care sectors,” he said. “I’m still open to options though.”

Among the booths he visited were those of AIA, UA Cinema Circuit and pharmaceutical company MSD. “Speaking to them I found out the key dates for training programmes,” Ip said. “And they also offer many things for someone like me, such as workshops.”

He also attended several of the career-boosting presentations held during the day, including those by representatives from Thales, Lane Crawford and UA Cinema Circuit – the latter proving especially fruitful as he picked up two free cinema tickets from managing director Ivan Wong for correctly answering a question on UA’s history.

“I learned that there are many management trainee graduate programmes available,” he said, adding that he’d still like to find out more about what a typical working day for a trainee was like in the various companies.

Eden Wong Ching-yee

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Wong is still in the first year of a business management undergraduate degree but she is already thinking seriously about her future career after she graduates.

She said the Career Forum seemed the ideal place to find the sort of information that would help her plan ahead. While a lot of research can be done online, she believes that you can learn much more by speaking directly to an organisation’s representatives.

“I’ve already spoken to AIA, UA Cinema Circuit, the Hong Kong Police Force and Sun Life Financial,” Wong said.

Besides visiting employers’ booths, she also took her place in the audience for a number of company presentations.

“I went to the Lane Crawford talk, among others,” she said. “I’m interested in the different companies’ training programmes, but as I am a Year 1 student, I will have to wait before I can apply. I’ll continue searching for information and approach them in the future to join a management trainee programme when the time comes.”

She was also interested in learning more about an HR course run by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management. “I think I would like to find a job related to HR – I like working with people.”

Wong says her visit to the Career Forum has made her reflect on the sector of the economy she’ll target after graduating. “Actually, I’m now thinking that I might join the insurance industry. I didn’t know much about insurance but both AIA and Sun Life Financial approached us and introduced their companies. I now think that either of them would be good companies to consider.”

Chris Yip Shun-hei

Hong Kong Design Institute

Yip said he came to the Career Forum to find out about potential jobs in the fashion industry – ideally in retail buying or clothes design.

In the final year of a higher diploma programme in fashion image design, Ip explained that the subject takes in make-up, hairstyling, fashion styling and fashion photography, with the goal of creating the best and most appropriate image for individuals and brands.

From talking to Lane Crawford and Sasa representatives at their booths, and listening to the presentation given by Alison McLaughlin, Lane Crawford’s HR project consultant, Yip was able to find out about the training programmes that those companies offer to graduates – something he hadn’t really known about before.

“I’d be interested in joining companies like these because of the chance to learn in a professional environment rather than in school,” he said. He added that his first priority is to find a job in which he can gain experience, with the size of his salary a secondary consideration at this stage.

Before coming to the Career Forum, Yip thought if he couldn’t find a design job he’d have to find some sort of office job with the government or another organisation. “Now I’m more confident of being able to pursue my dream.”