Career Advice Recruitment tips

Eaton’s Lisa Kuk explains how hirers in the region’s power management sector are increasingly looking for diverse skills

The power management sector is in growing need of multi-talented experienced personnel in an increasingly connected world. Lisa Kuk, general manager for Greater China – electrical sector at power management company Eaton, talks about trends in the sector and the skills that hirers look for.

What are the factors driving the evolution of the power management sector globally?

The sector is being driven by the increasing diversity of customer requirements. Power is a critical sector, with ties to just about everything. Increasing globalisation is making everything more connected and the continuous requirements of businesses make power management vital globally.

Looking more locally, the Chinese government’s recent “One Belt, One Road” policy is urging local enterprises to go global. It encourages enterprises to do two things: go out and bring back.

The first priority is to support local enterprises going out. Eaton has a worldwide presence with about 30 years of experience in China, and is working with its Chinese partners to promote integrated solutions between infrastructure construction and the internet industry globally, to build up the power management sector.

Bringing back involves drawing the very best resources from the world back to China. Taking the internet industry for example, Apple, Google, Facebook are not yet well established in China, as our data has to be transferred to USA first before it is displayed on our screen. Part of the reason lies in the inconsistencies in our infrastructure as compared to the rest of the world. There are inconsistencies in our infrastructure compared to the rest of the world and we need to bring new resources back with us and learn advanced technology to catch up.

What factors are affecting power management professionals in Greater China?

Being professional and promoting continuous learning can help shape the career progression of employees. Firstly, professionalism is a perennial requirement no matter how the external environment changes; the importance of excellent professionalism in the power management industry cannot be stressed too much. Secondly, having multiple talents is also of great importance. Successful workers in the power management sector should understand architecture, automation and IT, and have power-related knowledge. Someone who possesses knowledge in only one field will find their career development limited. Last but not least, having the drive to always keep learning is also a good trait to have.

What recruitment trends are you seeing among companies in the sector in response?

Drawing talent from around the world is vital to organisational growth. We have developed some criteria for selecting suitable talent globally – this includes establishing our own test system.

Recruitment has a critical impact on the power management sector and there is fierce competition among companies. The diverse requirements of customers usually challenge our hiring managers to search for professionals with comprehensive knowledge, keen business awareness and good application capabilities.

During the recruitment process, a hiring manager will generally look at your potential, your marketing sense, business agility and variety of work experience. This helps the company match skill sets to the position. Secondly, combining the theory with practice can help increase work efficiency and flexibility. Innovation in technology, creative ideas and business skills indicate how much value you can bring to the company.

What sort of technical and engineering professionals are most in demand in this field? What makes one of these professionals really stand out?

Talents with good professional knowledge, who can suitably apply technology and have the ability to add value to the products they design, are most in demand. We also look out for technical and engineering professionals with “BIN” characters: B for business sense, I for infrastructure knowledge and N for network.

While technical skills are the key to being an engineering professional, the ability to meet KPIs is also crucial. New challenges are arising from energy shortages and environmental problems, which make energy-efficient power solutions extremely critical. For an engineer in the power management field, being able to recommend the right solutions to help our customers manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more effectively, more safely and more sustainably will make them stand out.

Apart from engineers, what roles are vital to the power management industry?

An appropriate organisational structure design is vital. Eaton has a strong business division, and a robust culture which ties different work teams together. Companies are seeking people who not only have strong business intelligence but are also certified with know-how in the trade.

When it comes to business roles, what are the most important qualifications, skills and work experience that hirers look for?

Different business roles require different competencies and experiences. Career experience, customer relations and technology skills are the core requirements. Besides having the relevant qualifications, skills and work experience, a candidate’s future potential can be assessed by looking at their passion, their learning ability and accountability. A candidate’s potential is what hiring managers are most concerned with during the initial interview rounds.

How can professionals in non-technical areas (such as salespeople, project managers or supply chain managers) make the switch to power management?

People can make a smooth transition if they have the ability to learn, and if they are passionate and accountable. Power management is involved in all walks of life, and is needed in industries such as securities, banking and government. The industry provides a good platform for employees to keep learning new things and be passionate throughout their career. It’s not uncommon to find a process engineer working in the corporate communications department even though they possess more technical expertise. We encourage different skilled professionals to get involved with different functions within the company.

Is there anything that might prevent a smooth transition?

It depends on whether you have a clear plan for career development. Having the right attitude in terms of passion and motivation is also important. Having a good understanding of customer requirements and being open-minded and flexible are good traits to have as well.

What sort of career development initiatives does Eaton offer?

Eaton traditionally offers an integrated career development programme for all employees from junior to executive level. We also regularly review performance, and provide periodical professional training and yearly evaluations to learn more about how we can help our employees’ career progression. Even so, if you want your career to progress accordingly, you shouldn’t rely entirely on the efforts of the company. You should also have the due diligence to look at leveraging professional development opportunities into higher roles within your organisation or industry by being passionate about the work you do and maintaining a positive attitude. Generally speaking, your career can take off when you are most interested in the job you are doing and making your best effort. A good employee combines the organisation’s efforts and their own to make the next step up in their careers.

Do you find there many female engineers in the industry?

My early experience in Hong Kong taught me that female engineers are extremely rare; the engineering industry in China is a more male-dominated environment. From my perspective, there is no distinction between a female or male engineer. Intelligence and determination have nothing to do with gender. A female engineer’s career progresses in the same way. We encourage aspiring female engineers to enter the power management industry and for those that already have a foothold in the industry, we strongly encourage them to make their mark.

 


This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Current affairs.