Job Search Tips

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