[esquire1113]

Hi all,

I am moving to HK in July, and my wife will be joining me. Does anyone know of any good resources or how difficult it is for her to find a job.

She is a sr. accountant, worked before for E&Y in NYC, and graduated from one of the top schools in NYC.

Based on these high level qualifications, what do you think of her chances for finding employment (and gettting sponsored for the visa)?

Also, does anyone know if EY HK is hiring or anyone have experience working there?

Kind regards,

Esquire

[sj23]

If you have contacts with EY in NYC I would try them first. When we moved from NZ people from EY were very helpful even though I no longer worked there and my boyfriend was leaving them

Otherwise, with that sort of experience, I imagine your wife wouldn't find it too difficult to find work anyway

Here's the link to their HK careers page

http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf...portunities_HK

[jimbo]

Esquire

PWC and D&T are undergoing rapid expansion at the moment out here so get her C.V out to them asap and in the meantime see if your wife can take some lessons in basic cantonese or mandarin as that will increase her chances as well.

I have my Interview with PWC later this week too.

[esquire1113]

Thanks for your input. I will have her contact EY here but also send out her CV. Do you think PWC & Deloitte will give give her an interview and help sponsor her for a work visa? We're not moving until July but we will be in HK mid June house hunting. She speaks cantonese and my company will pay for her language lessons when we get out there.

Also, what have you heard about the work environment in these 2 firms? It's pretty crazy in NY and I imagine it to be the same.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by esquire1113

Thanks for your input. I will have her contact EY here but also send out her CV. Do you think PWC & Deloitte will give give her an interview and help sponsor her for a work visa? We're not moving until July but we will be in HK mid June house hunting. She speaks cantonese and my company will pay for her language lessons when we get out there.

Also, what have you heard about the work environment in these 2 firms? It's pretty crazy in NY and I imagine it to be the same.

I don't see why they shouldn't as long as she has relevant industry experience and good language skills.

What you should do is to send her c.v out to them and tell them when you're going to be in town so you can shedule a meeting, Once I've had my interview with them on wednesday I'll make sure I get a business card and pass on all the contact details to you, I've worked for D&T in London previously so I'd guess the environment will be similar to the States/Europe.

[SalseroHK]

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[rapid_jap]

Hi,

I am a professional accountant, too but, have been finding it real tough to find a job in HK. I was previously in India and have a 3 yr. work exp but, the companies' responses here have been quite demotivating and have left me wondering what the reason is. Some people say work permit is the biggest stumbling block but then, it becomes a vicious cycle...until I get a job here and someone is ready to sponsor my visa, how do I claim to have a permit to work?!!

As far the language problem goes, people have mixed reactions...some say, it's not much of an issue, though, knowing Cantonese or Mandarin definitely does increase one's chances of finding a job. However some say, no cantonese, no job!!
Or, is there a third problem of which, I am totally unaware!! I would really appreciate if, you guys can give me some inputs on this and help me out a li'l in my job hunt.

Thanks a ton!

[jimbo]

I sympathise and understand fully, I'm going through exactly the same right now as well rapid_jap.


I have plenty of good experience under my belt and have worked for a large number of multi nationals but as soon as they find out I need a work permit and I'm not fluent in canto then they ignore me.

I had an interview with a big 4 yesterday and they were reluctant to apply for a work permit on my behalf for a senior analyst role, And don't even get me started on the salary negotiations aspect! I thought I'd be generous and ask for only $23k a month as hey its my first job in H.K and its not about the money but exposure in the h.k job market, But they then say 'can you go lower'?

I'm like wtf! I have 17 years work experience, Project management and consultancy experience and have excellent references and you can't afford me?

[nation]

Looks like we're in similar boats here. Here's my cut and past from another post regarding looking for IB, Asset Management incl Hedge Fund or PE work in HK:

Originally Posted by nation

Qualified ACA with 10 years financial services experience (Big 5 followed by various Fund Managers - Sydney, London, HK, SG and Tokyo) and am now here looking for work. My experience is mainly on the finance side, various functions and project based. My background covers a broad cross section at more senior levels with little specialisation in one particular area. Financial services hiring here is very active at the moment, unfortunately the majority of hiring on the finance side is at the more junior levels or are the bog stock control/reporting roles. That and the multinational banks are really looking to place square pegs in square holes so very little opportunity to cross sell your skills unless you go for the smaller boutique financial houses. Also regardless of their immediate needs and what you can offer down the track a lot of employers seem more than happy to wait months for the right candidate to hit the ground running. They're really looking for someone to do the "same @#%& different environemnt" so are not overly entrepeneurial in their hiring approach. But then again that mentality is no different in the other worldwide financial centres.

Jimbo - now that's an incredibly surprising response from a Big 4. I presume you interviewed for audit. Given the increasing compliance costs, increased scrutiny on audit, SOX etc and given that the Big 4's are seen by the majority as a stepping stone to careers in industry (and hence the global shortage) they aren't exactly in the position to be dictating needs beyond qualifications. It seems all locations (HK, NY, London, Tokyo) are screaming out for auditors and it's not uncommon for them to be advertising externally covering visas and relocation costs. Hope your interview wasn't with HR

Rapid - I don't think there's a third problem that you're alluding to. Simple reality is it's all about fit having regard only to your practical experiences. I too am struggling with the job hunt and the short sighted approach adopted by employers. But like I said above this is a norm given the industry I am in. As for the language I have yet to have anyone raise my lack of Cantonese and Mandarin as an issue. Having said that I am only targeting foreign firms or those with a strong global presence.

Esquire - Based on what you've said the Big 4s would be ideal for your wife. They may comment on her lack of Mandarin (given their HK clients current or future China presence) but given their desperation of quality accountants (they are constantly having to replenish staff for those leaving for industry in the first 5 years or upon qualifying) I doubt this will be an issue for them. Iit's this short staffed desperation and lack of senior level staff that means the working environment here in HK will be similar to that in NY.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by nation

Jimbo - now that's an incredibly surprising response from a Big 4. I presume you interviewed for audit. Given the increasing compliance costs, increased scrutiny on audit, SOX etc and given that the Big 4's are seen by the majority as a stepping stone to careers in industry (and hence the global shortage) they aren't exactly in the position to be dictating needs beyond qualifications. It seems all locations (HK, NY, London, Tokyo) are screaming out for auditors and it's not uncommon for them to be advertising externally covering visas and relocation costs. Hope your interview wasn't with HR

The thing was it wasn't even for a specific role as I sent them my C.V on spec and they called me in for a chat, Even though I do have audit and money laundering experience as well as SAP HR therefore I could of fitted in perfectly, I had prior big 4 experience in London with D&T so would of just slotted in with no problems. But no they thought I was too expensive and reluctant to sponsor me for a permit, I had a chat with another guy who was waiting to be interviewed and he was a fresh grad from a uni in Australia and still living at home so he was even cheaper for salary demands. So I guess he got the job.

I thought my salary demand was more than reasonable considering I was on $36k a month less than 6 months ago in London.

Oh and I forgot to add, The guy assumed I was fluent in Cantonese but I told him no and he said thats a problem as not all the staff can speak English.