Job Search Tips

• Searching Job Vacancies
  
• Applying for a Job
  
  • Collecting Company Information
  • Sample of application letter (English)
• Sample of Resume
  
  • Sample of Resume (English)
• Interview skills
  
  • Completing Job Application Form
  • Making Phone Calls to the Employer
• Employment Traps
  

Searching Job Vacancies

Searching a job is no easy task as you will face keen competition and taxing challenges. Therefore, you need to prepare well for the process so as to enhance your chance of employment. You need to find out vacancies which meet your interest and capability. You can obtain vacancy information through the following channels:

1. Employment Services of Labour Department
   • Completely free of charge
   • Youth Employment Start organises recruitment functions regularly for young people aged 15 to 29
   • Youth Work Experience And Training Scheme provides on-the-job vocational training for young people age 15 to 24
   • Job Centres match jobs and arrange job interviews for job seekers of all ages
   • Telephone Employment Service offers telephone job referral service to job seekers (Telephone Hotline: 2969 0888)
   • Interactive Employment Service


2. Newspaper/Professional Magazine/Recruitment Notice on Street/Internet or Radio Advertisement
• Job vacancies of different private and public organisations are available
• A majority of the employment websites have searching tools for convenient search of job vacancies
• Some companies publicise job vacancies on their own web pages
• Government vacancies are uploaded to the web page of Civil Service Bureau
• Some companies place recruitment notices on streets


3. Recruitment Day/ Careers Exhibition
   • Exhibit job vacancy information
   • Distribute pamphlets, leaflets and information of various companies or industries
   • Practitioners of various companies/ industries present first-hand information of their jobs
   • Applicants have to register at designated location and time, bringing along with them their identity cards, recent photos, qualification and work proof, etc


4. Referral by Relatives/ Friends
• Relatives or friends can be asked to look out for jobs and make referrals


5. Making Unsolicited Application
• More common in the banking, advertising, hotel, catering and education and some professional industries
• Get acquainted with the company’s background and development plans through the company’s annual report, website, etc to identify suitable companies and post
• Check the business directories and call the company to ascertain the name and post title of the recruitment officer
• Mail your application letter and resume to apply for the desired post


6. Private Employment Agency
• Charged service (According to the Employment Agencies Regulations, employment agencies are allowed to charge commission after they have successfully arranged jobs for job seekers but the amount of commission must not exceed one-tenth of the job seeker’s first-month salary)

Points to Note:

• Job Requirement
• Don’t be scared by the requirements stated in the job advertisement
• You may possess some experience and skills which the employer has not thought of
• Post Title
  • Don’t bother too much about post titles!
  • Don’t restrict your choices to posts with high-sounding titles. The “manager” of Company A may mean the “assistant supervisor” of Company B
  • Post titles may not reflect the actual duties and responsibilities of the job. You have to study the job description in detail and get to know about the scope of duties

Applying for a Job

As the first step, you have to write application letters; complete application forms or call the employer to apply for the targeted job vacancies.

Application Letter

Recruitment staff receive a large amount of application letters and resumes every day but they only shortlist a small portion of candidates for interviews. Therefore, only application letters or resumes which give employers good impression can secure an interview for you.

• Time
  • Act fast by mailing your application letter on the day of reading the job advertisement or on the next day
• Appearance
  • Use clean paper and envelope and print the letter by a good quality printer or typewriter
  • If the employer requires the applicant to write the letter in his own handwriting, write it carefully and tidily
  
  
  • Do not use correction fluid or rubber to correct the mistakes. Please prepare a new printout
• Content
  • Write precisely and avoid sentences and paragraphs which are too long. Application letter and resume should be kept within one page and not exceeding two pages
  • Analyse the job advertisement. You should highlight the strengths you wish to introduce to the employer at the beginning of the passage and to emphasise that you are the most suitable candidate for the job
  • Use active voice if you are writing an application letter in English to strengthen the effect
  • Check the application letter carefully to avoid grammatical mistakes or using wrong words
  • Do not use the same content for all posts. Customise your application letters for individual organisations and posts. You may make reference to different samples of application letters but do not copy word by word

Sample of Resume

Collecting Company Information

To write an application letter and resume which match the company’s requirements, you need to know more about the company. Otherwise, how can you convince the employer to single you out among the batch of candidates?

• 1. Job Information
• Nature and duties of the job opening (study your past working experience, training records or other activities and incorporate the related parts in the application letter and resume)
• Requirements on qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge (emphasise that you can match with the company’s expectation)
• Salary level in the market
• 2. Company Information
Basic information(Is your last job in the same field?)
• Company name, scope of business, business nature, product/ service provided
• Company size (international/ local) and its state of development
• Parent company or subsidiaries
Future Development(Does the future development of the company match your expectation?)
• Special achievement (e.g. prizes awarded)
• Future dynamics of the company
• Important events or policies affecting the company or industry
Other information
• Name of the director(s) or general manager(s) of the company
• Employment size

Important Tips

• You may obtain the job and company information through the following channels:
• Ask the industry practitioners or experienced persons
• Refer to the annual reports if the employer is a listed company or government department
• Pay attention to the media coverage about the company or industry
• Enquire at the associations or professional bodies in fields like accounting, engineering, tourism
• Browse the company’s or other related websites
• Call the company directly and enquire politely if the information cannot be obtained through other channels

Sample of Application Letter (English)

Sample of Application letter

Remark:

1. Applicant’s address
2. Date
3. Write in the following sequence:
• Name of the responsible officer
• Post title of the responsible officer
• Name of the organisation
• Address of the organisation
4. Addressee
   • Address to the responsible officer as far as you can, e.g., Mr Lee, otherwise, write “Dear Sir/Madam”
5. Title
• State the relevant post
6. First Paragraph
• State again the post you are applying for and explain how the vacancy is known
• In the first paragraph of an unsolicited application letter, you should state the post or job area you are interested in and the reason for making self-referral
7. Content
• List the relevant academic qualifications and experience to show that you are the best person for the post
8. Last Paragraph
   • Indicate your wish for an interview
9. Closing
• Use “Yours sincerely” if you are addressing to the responsible officer; otherwise, use “Yours faithfully”
• Sign your name below the closing remark and type your name under the signature
10. Enclosures
• Resume, copy of certificates and work proofs should be attached to the letter

Resume

Resume

Remarks:

1. Applicant’s address
2. Date
3. Write in the following sequence:
• Name of the responsible officer
• Post title of the responsible officer
• Name of the organisation
• Address of the organisation
4. Addressee
• Address to the responsible officer as far as you can, e.g., Mr Lee, otherwise, write “Dear Sir/Madam”
5. Title
• State the relevant post
6. First Paragraph
• State again the post you are applying for and explain how the vacancy is known
• In the first paragraph of an unsolicited application letter, you should state the post or job area you are interested in and the reason for making self-referral
7. Content
• List the relevant academic qualifications and experience to show that you are the best person for the post
8. Last Paragraph
• Indicate your wish for an interview
9. Closing
• Use “Yours sincerely” if you are addressing to the responsible officer; otherwise, use “Yours faithfully”
• Sign your name below the closing remark and type your name under the signature
10. Enclosures
• Resume, copy of certificates and work proofs should be attached to the letter

Interview skills

Completing Job Application Form

Some employers require applicants to complete job application forms. Filling in a form may seem easy but you still need to pay attention to the following points:

• Write with a black/dark blue ball pen
• Write properly in block letters
• Use a printer or a typewriter to print the information on the form, if possible
• You should study the form and read the instructions before completing it. You can refer to your resume and cautiously decide on the information which need to be filled in to avoid making too many corrections on the form
• Write concisely when completing a form
• If there is not enough space in the form, additional paper can be attached for providing supplementary information. Remember to put down the remark “please refer to the attachment” in the relevant section and mark on the attachment clearly which section it refers to (e.g. section 10 continued)
• If there are sections on the form which are not applicable to you, you should write the words “Not Applicable” in the column to show that you are not omitting these parts
• Check the information you provide carefully to prevent any mistakes
• Remember to sign your name on the form
• Remember to keep a copy of the application form for easy reference before attending an interview in future

Interview Skills

Making Phone Calls to the Employer

Some job advertisements require you to call the employer directly to apply for a particular post. You should note the following techniques when calling the employer by phone:

• Indicate clearly the post which you apply for and how you get the vacancy information
• Be polite and maintain a confident tone:
  As the employer can only rely on your voice and tone in making a preliminary assessment, confident tone and expressions can always give a reliable impression and the employer will consider it worthwhile to grant you an interview. On the other hand, if you behave nervously during the very short telephone conversation, the other party will become sceptical about your dependability
• If the employer invites you to an interview, you should jot down all the details (e.g., date, time, venue, name and post title of the contact person) to avoid forgetting the appointment or muddling up the time or venues of different interviews
• Be polite and avoid hanging up the phone before the other party does so. You should wait for him/ her to hang up first
• Avoid calling the employer in a noisy environment as this will cause interference during communication. Moreover, you may confuse the details of the interview or appear disrespectful towards the employer

Employment Traps

Bad elements in our society take advantage of the rashness of job seekers who often become very hasty in finding a job. They will cheat them of their money or other benefits. As their tricks emerge in different forms and change all the time, job seekers must be calm and careful to guard against these deceptions. Please click here to find out more information on common employment traps.