Every year, students at Yale consider looking for a permanent or summer job in Hong Kong. If you're one of them, we hope we can help.

Disclaimer: The information below is provided as a free service.  The Yale Club of Hong Kong has made no attempt to verify it.  We cannot accept and expressly disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy of the information and for any consequence arising from its use.

Current employment opportunities

Current resumes

Frequently asked questions

Here are some questions we often hear from Yale seniors and recent alumni outside Hong Kong who are looking for permanent jobs here. (There's a separate section on summer jobs at the end.)

The employment scene in Hong Kong has improved significantly since mid-2003.  As of the end of 2006, unemployment rate has fallen to a five-year low of 4.4%.   The financial and professional services sectors are particularly buoyant.  Major multinational companies are also hiring for newly created positions.

A cursory look through the Saturday edition of the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's largest daily English-language newspaper, is always a good way to assess the general job environment in Hong Kong. As the classified ads there show, there is always a certain need for experienced teachers, artists, paralegals, health specialists, editors, and information technology workers. But few of these jobs will pay as well as their counterparts in the U.S.

In case you're wondering, Hong Kong does not focus on investing in research and development, and there are not nearly as many hi-tech entrepreneurs in Hong Kong as in the States. If the Internet is your specialty, you'll be much better off working with the best and the brightest in the U.S.

All other things being equal, if two people are competing for the same job, the one who can speak Cantonese (the native language of Hong Kong) or Mandarin (the native language of mainland China) will have the advantage. And in Hong Kong's business arena, Mandarin is the more valuable of the two. In any larger multinational firm in Hong Kong, however, English is usually the language of business within the company, and there are many entry-level jobs that don't require any Asian language ability.

Avoid the assumption that you'll be able to master Mandarin or Cantonese in your spare time once you've found that first job, unless you already have a firm grounding in one of these extraordinarily challenging languages. Lessons are expensive, running HK$300 per hour and up, and your average workweek will probably exceed 50 hours. Be realistic. If learning Mandarin is your ultimate goal in coming to Asia, look at working in Beijing, Shanghai or Taipei instead.

Nevertheless, speaking some Cantonese will help you smooth out the minor day-to-day obstacles you'll encounter in Hong Kong, so a little study after you move here will pay off.

The Yale Club doesn't distribute résumés directly to its members, but it can post your résumé on this website and then summarize it briefly in its regular newsletter, inviting its members to visit the website for the full résumé, and then contact you directly if they have any leads for you. But note that this service is available only to Yalies already in Hong Kong or who have a definite, confirmed schedule for being here. For more information, contact Alex Chan (Yale Graduate School '96) or Caroline Van (Yale College '79).

The Yale Club takes a "tough love" attitude of offering no help or encouragement to anybody whose intention is to move to Hong Kong only if and when he or she can secure a job there first. Our long-time experience with this approach is that it wastes time and is doomed to failure. No one would attempt to find a job in New York without being in New York; it's no different here. Prospective employers simply won't focus on you until you're physically present in town.

Headhunters in Hong Kong are generally not interested in servicing recent college graduate job-seekers. They focus on more senior positions. It's unlikely these companies will help you in your job search.

The Saturday edition of the South China Morning Post is a good place to look, if only to get a feel for what areas are hot and who is hiring. But six million other people in town can buy that newspaper too, and the competition for these positions will be fierce. Better to network and access the jobs that never make it into the Post.

There are several on-line job-boards that you might check out as well:

• Job Asia
• Classified Post (part of the South China Morning Post)
• Panda Planet
• For general information about companies in Hong Kong, check out the on-line resources of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's library.

When's the best time to job-hunt?

In some businesses, like banking, many senior managers go away on home leave for 4-6 weeks during the summer, which might make it marginally more challenging to schedule interviews. But they tend to go at different times, and there's no one particular time when everybody is gone (like there is, say, in Paris during August). So schedule your move for whenever works out best for you.

One better-than-average time to look for work is right after Chinese New Year, which in 2004 falls in the third full week of January. Annual bonuses are paid during the Chinese New Year season, and many employees choose to switch companies right after they've received their bonuses. If you can swing a tour through Hong Kong during Yale's spring break, you might be able to line something up to start soon after graduation.

Even when times were good in Hong Kong, allowing at least three months to find a good permanent job would have been prudent. Now, expect the search to take even longer. However, there are several things you can do to help shorten the time required: see our suggestions below on finding a job.

Visitors from most countries can enter Hong Kong without a visa for periods varying from seven days to six months, depending on their nationalities. For U.S. and Canadian citizens, the period is three months. For other nationalities, check the Hong Kong Immigration Department website.

Anyone visiting Hong Kong as a tourist isn't allowed to take up employment, either paid or unpaid, and the Immigration Department generally doesn't allow visitors to change their status after arrival. If you are successful in your job search, your prospective company will help you initiate the paperwork required to obtain an employment visa for you, but you'll almost certainly have to exit Hong Kong and then return again to activate that visa once it's approved.

Apart from securing free lodging somewhere, sharing a flat with other people is probably the best way to secure decent accommodations at a tolerable cost, either while you're in job-search mode or on a more permanent basis. With a little looking, you can secure a room in a 3-bedroom flat in a convenient location on Hong Kong Island for between HK$4,000 and $6,000 per month. Your only obstacle will be your inability to commit to a long-term rental arrangement, which may not appeal to your flatmates.

To locate a flatshare, check out the classified ads in the Saturday or Sunday editions of the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's largest daily English-language newspaper, or HK Magazine, which is distributed weekly at trendier eating and drinking establishments.

Again, the goal in every endeavor you undertake should be the expansion of your network. Either a flatshare arrangement or staying with friends, acquaintances, or complete strangers will let you expand your circle of contacts. Staying in a hostel or hotel by yourself won't be as productive for networking purposes.

If you'd still prefer public accommodations, though, the Hong Kong Tourism Board's website provides information on the better-known hotels in the city, as well as less expensive hostels and guesthouses. Here are several relatively inexpensive ones that have been recommended by Yale Clubbers recently:

• Star Guest House

• Anne Black YWCA Guest House, 5 Man Fuk Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong (phone 852-2713-9211, fax 852-2761-1269), which is open to both men and women. It's about a 15-minute walk from Mongkok Station. It's a bit spartan, but clean, safe and friendly. Single rooms go for about HK$6,500 per month with private bath, or HK$5,000 per month without (showers down the hall). The hotel doesn't have its own website, but you can book rooms via many on-line agencies, such as AsiaTravel.

• Noble Hostel, Flat A3, 17th Floor, Great George Building, 27 Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (phone number 852-2576-6148 or 2890-2592, fax 2577-0847). Extremely convenient, as it's right above the MTR's Causeway Bay Station. Rooms are about HK$200-300 a night depending on whether you share a bathroom or not. One Yale Clubber writes, "As a single woman, I felt safer there as the full-time clerk is a woman who spends the night there."

Hong Kong is about as expensive as New York or Tokyo. The major expenses to budget for during your search (US$1.00 = about HK$7.8):

Accommodation
Approximate daily rates for each type:

Hostel	HK$130 to $350 per day
Hostel (long-term)	HK$5,000 per month and up
Hotel, 3-star	HK$350 to $600 per day
Hotel, 4-star	HK$600 to $1,000 per day
Hotel, 5-star	HK$1,000 and up (way up)
Serviced flat (1 month minimum)	HK$15,000 per month and up

Don't expect Internet or e-mail access to be available in hostel or 3-star hotel rooms. If you're bringing a notebook computer, inquire with the hotel or serviced apartment if their phone system permits Internet access.

Once you've added up the numbers for your budget, you can begin to appreciate the big chunk of money that accommodation represents. If you can eliminate this expense by staying at a friend's place, do so. Alternatively, once your arrival date is firm, the Yale Club of Hong Kong can put a notice in its newsletter inviting anyone who has a spare room for rent to contact you directly.

Food
One of the few bargains in Hong Kong. Decent Chinese and Western food can be found at reasonable prices throughout the city. Budget HK$120-$160 per day. Keep in mind, however, that your networking will inevitably take you to eating and drinking venues well above this price range. Budget for the occasional extravagance of a nice dinner or a round of drinks.

Travel
Again, a relative bargain. The subway system (MTR) is safe, fast, cheap, and covers anywhere you'd likely want to go in your search. Taxis are the other main form of transport, and are relatively inexpensive, clean, and in plentiful supply. A budget of HK$50 per day would be adequate, and would allow the occasional taxi ride.

Special events, lectures, etc.
American Chamber of Commerce functions, special lectures sponsored by alumni clubs and special-interest groups are not free, and are typically held during lunch or dinner. While attending such activities is a great way to expand your network, you need to budget for them. Expect to pay roughly HK$300 for a typical function.

A budgeting tip
Most companies in Hong Kong pay salaries on a monthly basis, instead of weekly or bimonthly as is common in the States. So, even after you've found employment, it could be as long as 30 days before you receive your first paycheck, depending on when you start working in relation to your company's payment cycle. Budget accordingly.

What are starting salaries like?

Here are some typical starting ranges for entry-level jobs:

• Commercial Banking, credit analyst: HK$12-$18k
• Consulting, analyst: HK$20-$35k
• Hotel, marketing assistant: HK$14-$18k
• Investment Banking, equity analyst: HK$18-$30k
• Public Relations, account manager: HK$12-$16k
• Telecommunications, analyst: HK$18-$25k

Where else can I find information on Hong Kong?

If you're on campus, try to connect with students who are from Hong Kong — there are quite a few of them. Beyond that, you can visit the website of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, which offers an over designed but sometimes useful introduction to the city.

Finding a job in Hong Kong

Start by meeting and talking with Yalies from Hong Kong, who can be found in most of Yale's schools. In the graduate and professional schools, you could also ask around to find students who have worked in Hong Kong. At the Yale School of Management, for example, the Career Development Office has résumé books available that will help you locate such people. Talking with these students over coffee about their experiences and listening to their suggestions would be a great way to begin your Hong Kong network.

The odds are extremely small that you'll find a job in Hong Kong while sitting in an armchair in New Haven. No one will take you seriously until you show up. If you take the approach that you'll go to Hong Kong only if and when you land a job there, you'll waste a lot of time and effort — and still wind up never making the trip.

Buy your airline ticket. Don't even think about sending out resumés until you can include a cover letter that clearly states when you will be in Hong Kong.

Once you've got your air ticket in hand, the Yale Club of Hong Kong can start helping. Send your résumé to Alex Chan (Yale Graduate School '96) or Caroline Van (Yale College '79), and tell them when you're arriving and what kind of job you're looking for. The Yale Club can summarize your résumé in its regular newsletter, inviting its members to contact Alex or Caroline if they want to see your full résumé, and/or then to contact you directly if they have any leads for you. This may not get you many nibbles while you're still in the U.S., but at least it will put your name in front of everybody so there's a better chance they'll know who you are when you get here.

If you like, the Yale Club can also e-mail you a copy of its membership address directory (as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) so that you can send your résumé directly to some people in Hong Kong ahead of time. But the Club will send this only to job-seekers either already in Hong Kong or who have a definite schedule for coming.

Once you've arrived in Hong Kong, start by calling the prospective employers to whom you sent resumés. Remind them who you are, tell them you're in town, and ask to meet them. (Only then, probably, will they seriously read your résumé.) Be pushy.

We can't stress enough how important it is for first-time job seekers to get out and network in Hong Kong. Writing letters simply isn't enough. You need to expand your circle of acquaintances, any one of whom might have a friend that could refer you to your first job.

Yale Club of Hong Kong events are a great way to meet new friends. You can receive the Club's newsletter by fax or e-mail once you arrive in Hong Kong; all you have to do is let the Club know you're in town. Another way to network is through the monthly happy hours that the Yale Club participates in, organized by various Hong Kong alumni associations of Ivy League schools; check out the upcoming events page.

Again, while it may be tempting to rely on the end-of-week classifieds in the local English-language newspapers for your job leads, voluminous as they may be, these show only the tip of the iceberg of available jobs. The better positions don't make it into the paper. You will find these only by networking.

If you're not too many years out of Yale, the most important thing at this stage in your life is to get into the flow and get experience — both in your chosen profession and in living in Asia. If the job doesn't meet all your criteria, but could serve as a useful entry into the field (or a related field) of your choice, think seriously before you pass it up.

Job-hopping is practiced more frequently in Hong Kong than in the States, and employers won't look at you with a jaundiced eye if you've moved around a bit. A year's tenure should be considered a minimum, but leaving after 18 months at one job is generally acceptable to the next employer. Keep in mind that this turnover rate is working in your favor as a first- or second-time job seeker: more openings out there at any given time.

Other job-seeking tips

Going to a party at a friend's place in Mid-Levels in Hong Kong? Before the night is over you can expect to receive a few unsolicited business cards from the people you meet, and you'll be expected to hand out ones of your own. Not bringing your cards on an evening out in Hong Kong is practically a social blunder. This is a business city, and the giving and receiving of cards is expected. Certainly, for the job seeker who is expanding his or her network, a business card is essential equipment.

Once you've secured a place to live with a phone number that (hopefully) won't change until your job search is concluded, get some business cards made. Include a fax, phone, and e-mail addresses if at all possible. And distribute generously.

E-mail will be used by any company you'd consider working with, and potential employers will appreciate your staying in touch. Having e-mail will certainly save you time, and lots of hassle, since you'll be released from the burden of buying stationery, borrowing a friend's printer, and producing a hard copy of all your communications. E-mail will also give you a good way to stay in frequent touch with peers you meet during your networking here. Having e-mail capability will improve your odds of finding a job.

Some e-mail dos and don'ts:

• Don't use e-mail to send someone your résumé prior to sending them a hard copy.
• Do use e-mail to follow up to see if the person received your hard-copy résumé. (A phone call is even better, however.)
• Do use e-mail for thank-you letters.
• Do use e-mail to stay in touch after an interview, but don't overdo it.

Summer jobs info

Hong Kong is an exciting place to live and work, and many students assume (probably correctly) that a summer job in Hong Kong will look good on their resumés. Still, that's hardly a sufficient reason alone to travel halfway around the world for summer employment.

First, the bad news. Unless you already live in Hong Kong, or have friends who are willing to let you stay at their place for the summer, you can be nearly certain that what you earn from a summer job here will be less than your overhead — that is, your cost of living plus your travel expenses. So if you need a summer job that will pay for itself, Hong Kong is not the place to look.

Now, the good news. In recent years, every Yalie who has come to Hong Kong has been able to find a decent summer job, if he or she planned ahead and had least some Chinese language ability. Even those who didn't speak Chinese have usually been able to find something — again, if they planned ahead.

The key phrase here, though, is "every Yalie who has come to Hong Kong," as opposed to "every Yalie who is interested in coming to Hong Kong." Our long-time experience is that students who plan to come to Hong Kong only if and when they line up a job here will wind up never coming. Prospective employers simply won't focus on you until you have definite plans to be here and can give them specific dates you'll be available for employment. (No Yalie would expect to land a summer job in New York without visiting New York. It's just as unlikely that you could nail down a position in Hong Kong before you actually get here.)

This doesn't mean that you should come here blindly, of course. There are several things you can do while still in New Haven to help you hit the ground running once you're here. But your first step is to throw your hat over the fence, so to speak: choose the dates of your summer stay in Hong Kong, book your flights, and only then begin laying the foundations for finding a job.

Once you know the specific dates when you're going to be in Hong Kong and available for summer employment, there are two things the Yale Club can help you with:

1. We can post your C.V. in the Current résumés section of this website and then call attention to it in the regular newsletter that goes to Yale Club members by fax/e-mail broadcast, inviting them to visit the website to see your full résumé and then contact you directly if they have any leads for you. This may not get you many nibbles while you're still in New Haven, but it will put your name in front of everybody so there's a better chance they'll know who you are when you get here. If you're interested in this approach, please contact Alex Chan (Yale Graduate School '96) or Caroline Van (Yale College '79).

2. Once you've done the above, the Yale Club can also e-mail you a copy of its membership address directory (as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) so that you can send your résumé directly to some people in Hong Kong ahead of time.

First, as we've mentioned earlier, don't even think about looking for a summer job in Hong Kong until you have your air tickets in hand. Aside from that, we'd recommend that you get in touch with the Yale Club of Hong Kong around spring break, and then begin sending out resumés soon after that. Ironically, an early start doesn't always help: it often happens that employers don't know what their summer employment needs are until just a few weeks ahead of time. Even so, an early start will definitely increase your chances of finding a job, or of finding a better job.

Aside from the usual contents, be sure your résumé includes:

• Details on how people can reach you in New Haven, especially a fax and/or e-mail address. If you include only a postal address and phone number, no one will contact you.
  
  
• A brief "job objective" that states what kind of job you're interested in, or at least why you want to come all the way to Hong Kong to work: perhaps possible directions for future career choices, etc. Even if your job goals are a bit vague — which is often the case for current students — this will still help people mentally connect you with possible job leads that they might not think of otherwise. And declaring a certain affinity for one kind of work or another will help prospective employers focus on you, too.

As you can imagine, pay will vary a lot from field to field. But the experience of Yalies working in Hong Kong in recent years indicates that the typical summer job will pay between HK$8,000 and $14,000 per month (US$1.00 = about HK$7.80).

U.S. and Canadian citizens can visit Hong Kong as tourists without a visa for three months. However, this doesn't allow you to enter employment, either paid or unpaid. Technically, any foreigner wishing to work here for any length of time must obtain an employment visa prior to arriving in Hong Kong. The visa application process isn't speedy, however — it was designed with permanent employment in mind — and going through the proper channels could take most of the summer.

Multinational corporations with established summer intern training programs in Hong Kong generally require you to be a Hong Kong resident or to possess a Hong Kong employment visa even to consider you for such an internship. A few smaller or local firms will assist you in applying for an employment visa, knowing full well that by the time the application is considered (and perhaps rejected), the summer will probably be over. But since you're officially not allowed to work until the visa is approved, most companies simply won't get involved in employment visa questions, leaving you on your own.

With all this in mind, many students quietly take on summer jobs of less than three months. We've never heard of any of them having trouble, even though the Immigration Department is no doubt aware that such short-term employment is going on. Still, you should be aware that it's officially illegal for anyone to visit Hong Kong as a tourist and then take up any kind of employment.

This subject is addressed at length under frequently asked questions, above.

Unless you have friends you can stay with, the cheapest way to live in Hong Kong for the summer is to house-sit. Even if the dates of the house-sitting don't completely cover the time you're going to be in Hong Kong, you can still reduce your overall expenses considerably.

However, house-sitting jobs are few and far between. Once you know the confirmed dates of your stay in Hong Kong, you can ask the Yale Club to put out a call in its newsletter to see if anyone needs a house-sitter for all or part of the summer. This, too, can be arranged through Alex Chan (Yale Graduate School '96) or Caroline Van (Yale College '79). Since demand for house-sitting jobs will always exceed supply, we would ask that you seek the Yale Club's help in finding one only if you're serious about wanting one. And in any case, be sure your budget for the summer can survive even if you have to pay for all your accommodations.

Suggestions on inexpensive places to stay are given under frequently asked questions, above.

Actually, that's the way it usually happens. Despite your best efforts, chances are you'll have to get on the plane to Hong Kong at the beginning of the summer with no concrete job offers in hand. If this makes you really nervous, we'd recommend you find a summer job in the States.

But if you're willing to tolerate the temporary uncertainty, and if you've planned ahead and laid a foundation, you'll almost certainly find something in Hong Kong. It may not be the world's greatest summer job; it may or may not fit in perfectly with your overall career plans; and, as we mentioned earlier, it probably won't cover your travel and living expenses for the summer. It will, however, give you the thrill of working in the one of the world's most vibrant cities.

We'd recommend you talk with some of the current Yale students who've had experience in finding summer jobs here over the past few years. The best way to locate them is by talking with any friends you have on campus who are from Hong Kong . Most of these students have family in Hong Kong, so they may have a built-in advantage in seeking employment here, but they'll be able to give you some tips anyway.

Also, we'd recommend that you read through our tips above on finding a permanent job in Hong Kong. Much of the advice we offer there will apply more or less to your efforts to find a summer job as well.

Site contents copyright © by the Yale Club of Hong Kong,
GPO Box 10246 Hong Kong.
Site designed by ConMedia Consultants Ltd.,
maintained by Alex Chan,
and kindly hosted by the Association of Yale Alumni.