Career advice
Curated writing from operators, recruiters, and HR leaders — written for people building real careers in HK.
Once middle-level employees who only focused on the numbers, the role of financial controller has become broad and strategic. George W. Russell reports on how the job has changed and how the Institute plans to develop its members’ skills in this challenging field.
The word “interview” conjures up feelings of apprehension, nervousness, and in some cases, downright fear. This is exacerbated by the fact that most people tend to find themselves in interview-preparation mode only when they are actively job searching, and so they feel additional pressure to make a positive impact.
我知道我這個comment可能會得罪人，但從我過往所認識過，業績最好的那班Sales，他們總是的底子總是有一點麻煩。早陣子我在公司裡遇到一點小麻煩。公司Sales Team的同事，集體向我「逼宮」，投訴一直沿用的佣金制度不公平。這個小故事，我早陣子在自己的博客裡也寫過了，詳細內容不再在此覆述了。然而搞出那次小風波，牽頭的人則是我公司一直以來的Top Sales。作為一個管理者，面對這些業績最好的Sales，總是又愛又恨。做得Top Sales的人，通常都具備一些特質：鬥心強、野心大、凡事寸土必爭。這些特質，是她們的優點，也是缺點。銷售人員是公司最前線，負責衝鋒陷陣的人員；在寸土必爭的商業社會裡，沒有鬥心的Sales通常都是慘淡收場。然而她們這份鬥心，能充份用於對外搶生意之上當然是公司之福，但麻煩之處是，她們眼中競爭的對象，除了街外的行家之外，有時還包括公司團隊內的隊友。團隊裡面有點良性競爭當然是好，不過在鬥心強大的Top Sales面前，稍稍控制得不好，良性變成惡性其實話咁易。她們寸土必爭的性格，對管理者來說也是夠麻煩的。這種寸土必爭的性格，她們同樣也會用在爭取自己的福利之上。普通一個員工向你「爭取福利」，通常都會有商有量，而且可以「拖」。
Accidents happened in almost all marathon races. Is marathon dangerous? Not at all if people have sufficient training and do not have inherit disease. A young man who was a sport enthusiast ran his first half marathon years ago.
Charismatic executives are not just born, they are made. If you have recently been promoted and are now leading a team, you have the chance to transform yourself from a competent manager into a true leader. But it’s all too easy for leaders to slip unconsciously into poor behaviour without realising it.
公司同事跟我說，她打算Part Time進修了。既然是Part Time，我自然不能對她的決定太過說三道四了。反正你在工餘時間讀書，影響不到你在office hour的工作表現，我就沒有任何投訴了。我初初做老闆時，是蠻喜歡同事在工餘時間進修的。喜歡的理由其實相當自私：同事們去讀書，一讀就兩、三年。以前公司規模細福利差，要留住員工，是件天大的難事。同事們話要去Part Time讀書，好處是在「讀完書」之前，工作方面會相對穩定。只要作為僱主的我，能在工作時間上稍稍提供多一點點彈性，平日對同事的表現不要太苛求，這兩年，這個同事九成是不會離職的。中小企千方百計想員工的turnover rate能夠低一點，當你聽到同事們去Part Time讀兩年書的消息，還不覺得自己是中獎乎？問題是，香港地會在工餘時間進修的人，九成也不會是為興趣，又或者是對為了滿足自己對知識的追求。每天返工早已讓人筋疲力盡，晚上和週末還去上課，求的當然不會只是一點滿足感。大家辛苦讀書，是期望讀了這些書，能在事業上更上一層樓，賺取更好的待遇。我不想過份地潑冷水，但除非你所讀的是歐美超名牌大學的MBA，否則孤寒僱主如我，很難單單因為你身上多了一張半張證書，而給你升職加人工的。
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.
Take a deep breath, collect your thoughts and stay clam, writes Marc Burrage.
Many people think that staying plugged into their jobs when they go on holiday is essential as it helps them keep up with work and makes them look good in the eyes of their superiors, writes Kate Harper.
Like many people, I stumbled into the world of recruitment; I graduated in the mid-1990’s and was looking for my first job in London with a role in sales being my goal, writes Fraser Douglas.
You must receive dozens of letters from fresh graduates who are confused about career planning. Unfortunately, I am one of them. When I look for a job I see thousands of industries and functions and I feel so frustrated because I don’t know enough about them.