Career advice
Curated writing from operators, recruiters, and HR leaders — written for people building real careers in HK.
Becoming a financial controller can be a springboard to a management position. Finance directors and higher executives increasingly rely on financial controllers to assume responsibility for internal finances.
Hong Kong CPAs with financial controller experience can expect to be in demand. Chris Choi, an Institute member, is part of an emerging “flying squad” of financial controllers who parachute into new or distressed companies at the request of private equity firms, risk consultancies and others in need of sound advice.
Former and current financial controllers – as well as those who train and hire them – say a number of factors have made the position a more vital one. They include: • Regulation: The financial controller began to assume greater importance a decade ago, according to research by EY, with the imposition of post-Enron legislation designed to promote transparency. • Globalization: The desire for access to Hong Kong and China by multinational corporations has created more financial controller roles at the regional and group senior levels.
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.
Few would have ever known that Friends Reunited was actually the first social networking site to achieve prominence. It was in fact three years old by the time Friendster appeared and took another two years before Facebook came into the scene. Most social networking sites share a common goal of connecting or reconnecting people through the Internet. At some point in their history, each has built a credible following of members. It is this member base that has attracted the attention of businesses wishing to identify, connect, engage and hopefully sell products and services to.
我相信現今所有做生意、做市場推廣的朋友都會去認識社交媒體市場學。但在我創業初期，大部份人對此門學問都不以為然。難怪的，因為大多數人都習慣在媒介上花錢買廣告買影響力，對於自己創造影響力沒有甚麼想像空間。況且，他們對於不能買的媒體興趣不大，更甚是不認為社交媒體應被定義為媒體。此亦可理解為何傳統媒體工作者早幾年並不認同或重視社交媒體。 當然我十分明白專業的媒體工作者不能認同「人人當記者」，將 Facebook專頁、微博專頁當成媒體的一部份好像並不恰當。 我不打算在此跟大家做學術研討去討論「何謂媒體」，但以訊息傳播及接觸面，愈來愈多的數據皆顯示社交平台可與傳統大眾傳播媒介比較。 Facebook 及 Youtube 最近同樣地在推動 Reach and Frequency 的評估準則，就是要跟傳統電視的評估準則同化。傳統媒介有能力去製造話題，因為他們是內容製造者。社交平台本身沒有內容，他只提供渠道。如品牌或個人有能力製作有合乎網民品味的內容，就可以透過 Viral Power ，發揮更大的「社交口碑」作用。 基於有傳統媒體的營運經驗，我很早期就專注於將網站流量、點擊率、加強讀者群分析、内容口碑、重點行為分析應用於 digital marketing 之上。
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.
根據多項調查研究，見工面試的頭五分鐘往往已決定了求職者是否得到面試官的信任，故此怎樣回答第一條問題更形重要。如果表現理想，能給對方一個良好的印象，同時也增加自信。 以下和大家談談最常見的第一個問題，就是：‘Tell me about yourself.’ 可從兩方面回答：第一是關於自己的資歷、工作能力或專長等，第二是你可以為公司帶來甚麼？ 自己的資歷和專長首先可簡要地介紹你的資歷和工作上的專長，讓面試官對你有初步的認識。請看一例：I got a diploma in hotel and tourism management from ABC University. I have been working as a front desk officer in DEF hotel for three years. I have developed my practical skills in hotel industry, and know how to deal with different types of people. I love to help people, enjoy meeting new friends. I’m hardworking and don’t mind working long hours. 如果現在沒有工作的話，可綜合描述工作上的專長。
有讀者詢問有些求職專家建議在見工面試時，不應過於自大或誇張，以免令面試官覺得你自滿或言過其實。相反的一派則認為要表現出自信，才可留給對方積極正面的印象。究竟我們應該怎樣取捨呢？ 筆者覺得這是一個非常好的問題，也是面試的重要策略( interview strategy )。首先，我們要認清見工面試的目標是得到這份工作，並不是要和對方辯論，取得勝利，而是要說服面試官你是擔任這份工作的最佳人選( the best candidate )。因此，工作的性質和要求( nature and requirements of the job )至為關鍵。 列舉事實，證明論點例如工作要求具備流利英語，你可以說：‘I am good at English and I’ve won the prizes in many English speech contests.’這是自信的表現，也用了事實來證明。最好能結合工作要求：‘And so, I believe I can handle the requests from customers who speak English.’
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.
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.