The word ‘quiet quitting’ is everywhere on social media and major news channels. The word, probably a misnomer, doesn’t actually mean quitting your job. It is about doing the bare minimum at work and refusing the hustle culture that requires employees to go above and beyond. It is not just about slacking either. It is about the psychological state of withdrawal from work related tasks – not feeling excited with work or the prospect brought about by a successful career. For some people, it is simply setting clearer boundaries between work and life, but its essence is to undermine the capitalist ideals which believe in the value of hard work in bringing fortunes.
‘Quiet quitting’ as an anti-work sentiment converges with social phenomenon in other parts of the world. It was sometimes und...
People who are interested in a career in banking usually have a better idea of what retail banking is and they might think that corporate banking is like retail banking but serving corporates instead of individuals. The broad stroke concept is true but developing a career in corporate banking is very different from that of retail banking. Such differences evolve around the various sizes and levels of complexity of the clients’ business.
What is corporate banking?
Corporate banking could be an umbrella term referring to banking services provided for corporate customers. It offers loans, cash management services, trade finance services and other services to facilitate the corporates’ operation. Corporate banking can be categorised by the size of the clients they serve. Banking activitie...
Hong Kong has slipped into what economists called a ‘technical’ recession when the GDP has contracted 14 per cent in the second quarter. A global recession is also looming as experts warned.
In times of economic recession, job security matters. Strange as it may sound but working in retail banking is a recession-proof job alongside with healthcare professionals and other public-sector jobs. While high-risk investment plummets, personal financial service would still be in demand to advise clients moving money to safer investment options and to protect their assets from shrinking.
If you are interested in starting a career in retail banking but got bewildered by the various ranks and titles, this article is for you! It covers where to start, the career pathways and strategies to get ahe...
People getting in and out
Many graduates are dire to get into the Big 4, namely Deloitte, PwC, EY & KPMG for their training programmes, structured career path, job security and reputation, despite having a lower starting salary. But after a few years, they are equally desperate to get out. No wonder why the attrition rate at Big 4 is as high as 15-20 per cent and only 2-3 per cent of the employees will ever make partners.
What the Big 4 brand entails?
Still, having worked in the Big 4 is a CV boost. Companies in general are willing to offer 30 per cent more to hire people with the Big 4 experience. To the employers, candidates having Big 4 experience on their CV means:
They are the crème de la crème – It is an impression that only the best of the graduates would be able to get ...
Dunbar’s number suggests that one could only maintain 150 meaningful social relationships at the same time. Around 5 of them would be insurance sales agents if you lived in Hong Kong. Given the low barrier of entry, it is not surprising to see many people to have considered working as an insurance sales agent at some point in their lives, especially when they were left standing at the crossroads in their career paths.
The insurance companies have welcomed many flight attendants on board as sales agents when the aviation industry have made them redundant. The total number of insurance sales staff based in Hong Kong increased by 5 per cent in 2021. In fact, the insurance industry was no better than the aviation when the pandemic hit. With mainland visitors being one of the most significa...
Is your technical interview coming up? Despite having confidence in your skillsets, do you still feel insecure, inadequate, and anxious? Do you even worry that you are suffering imposter syndrome? Believe us, you are not alone.
We all understand that job interviews in general are making people anxious. According to a study by JDP, a whopping 93% of job candidates have experienced anxiety related to job interviews. Other studies tell us that the anxiety created by interviews could interfere job candidates’ performance in various ways. Anxious job candidates are not only rated more harshly than their less anxious counterparts, they are also less likely to be invited to second interviews and less likely to receive job offers.
If, however, attending a general interview is creating a few b...
After pulling yourself together through a few rounds of interviews, you felt like taking up whatever job offers available to you because you have mentally prepared yourself for the jump. But wait, the offer that the company made to you is not entirely what you have expected. Should you take it, leave it or negotiate it?
There are many advice out there saying you should negotiate your job offer treating it like a “if-you don’t-ask-you-don’t-get” situation. Studies in U.S. reveal that 73% of employers expects candidates to negotiate during the hiring process and 85% of the job seekers who negotiated their offers were successful.
As recruitment specialists we have seen many candidates successful in negotiating better offers, but we have also seen offers withdrawn just because of missteps...
China has continued to top the list as the biggest games market in 2022, with revenue over US$50.18 billion. There are 742.19 million active players in China, around 3.8 times than that in United States, the second largest market. With the ability to produce games in Chinese language, Hong Kong doesn’t seem to have tapped into the thriving market with only 100 game development companies in Hong Kong and few of them are more than 50 people in size.
Compared to other IP driven industries, game industry is very labour-intensive, namely, the crunch culture, and substantial amount of teamwork. The soaring rent level may have limited its development in the past. In recent years, however, we started to see game industry booming in Hong Kong. According to Statista, revenue in the Video Games s...
Since the launch of ‘through-train’ and QDII scheme in 2007, Hong Kong has served as a gateway for the wealthy Mainland households to invest in the global financial market, and for the global financial institutions to tap into the growth of this second largest economy in the world. Such status is now being called into question. The pandemic has facilitated the power shift but the larger picture tells us more.
Covid-19 has undoubtedly caused some turbulence in the retail banking industry. The two pillars of retail banking, insurance and investment services, have been critically challenged. Regulatory measures of the financial service and the insurance industry require mainland customers to show up in person to buy products and insurance policy, and the border restriction between Hong Ko...
