A friend called me yesterday morning seeking for some career advice.

‘I started job hunting last week and I was introduced to a job opportunity through a recruiter. The whole process went very smoothly and I had breezed through the first and second round of interviews within a week. The following week, I was offered the job. I’m not sure if this is the best opportunity available in the jobs market and whether I will be able to ask for a higher salary in another company. Should I accept the offer or reject it and look around longer?’ he asked.

Some professionals may have experienced the same situation before, leaving them to feel that they may be missing out on other potential job opportunities in the market if they accept an offer at the early stages of job hunting. If you find yourself in a similar situation, ask yourself the following question before making the final decision:

“What are the top 3 most important criteria you need to consider before you accept an offer? Is it salary increment, company size, the location, the role itself, or even the chemistry with the boss?”

If the offer you have right now fulfills your top 3 criteria, than I believe this is a good opportunity and you should consider accepting it. You never know when the next one will come, and you may be losing out on a good opportunity which has appeared in front of you at the right time.

Job search is not measured by how long it takes or how many interviews you have gone through, but it is all about why you started the job search in the first place, and whether the offer in front of you can fulfill your expectations and requirements in order to lead you to your next career step.

job interview, jobs in Hong Kong, jobs opportunities, recruiter

Today is just like any other day; you get to work, make a cup of coffee and get on with your daily agenda. Suddenly your phone rings, on the other end of the line is someone named Jackson calling from a recruitment consultancy and he wants to talk to you about a certain job opportunity, mixed emotion comes in to play.

1. You’re confused – Why are they calling me? How did they get my number?
2. You’re nervous because you’re sitting in the office and it’s inconvenient to talk – what if my boss thinks I’m disloyal and that I’m job hunting behind his back?
3. You’re curious because you want to know what this person has to offer – promotion opportunity? pay rise opportunity?

calls from headhunter, headhunter, recruiter, recruitment

Ally is defined as a person, group, or nation that is associated with another or others for some common cause or purpose. In recruitment, job seekers and recruiters must realise they share the same goal, finding a dream job or filling a vacancy, like an ally should be.

On a daily basis, recruiters like myself ask job seekers questions like:

• What is your expected salary?
• Where have you been interviewing for the past 12 months?
• What kind of roles are you ideally looking for?
• What is your short and long term career development plan?

And the list goes on and on. But does anyone know the true reason why we ask questions like the above?

The ultimate goal for job seekers is to find a position where there is higher pay, wider job exposure/scope, promotion, better team dynamics, management responsibility, etc. However, professionals that come to us tend to be quite reluctant to tell us the full picture and all of their desires and expectations.

To be frank, it is impossible for recruiters to make assumptions for all professionals that come forth to look for a job. They should come to understand that recruiters do not know everything about you and in order for us to assist in looking for what you want, it is important to have an open and transparent dialogue.

Once the mutual ground is set, it is our task as recruiters to introduce you the right opportunity where your expectations and wants are met and for us, work accomplished!

Career advice, career plan, job seeker, recruiter, recruitment consultant

In a competitive environment, how can you ensure that recruiters allocate more of their time to your job search?

Try following these ten tips:

1. When a recruiter calls you at a busy time, politely explain this and avoid sounding rude.
2. When applying for a role, send a concise email rather than attaching a lengthy cover letter.
3. Always check your spelling and grammar. Avoid mistakes and abbreviations such as “you’re vacancy”, “12pm” and “i would like to spk to u.”
4. Ensure your CV is no more than three pages long and do not include irrelevant details such as your children’s names, religion etc.
5. Identify who specialises in recruitment in your industry and commit to a limited time period in which you will work exclusively with that recruiter.
6. When you meet a recruiter, always turn up on time and ensure that your mobile phone is switched off to convey respect.
7. Always tell the truth, especially about your salary and employment dates.
8. Remember to be respectful about your current or previous employer. You may not see eye to eye but avoid sounding bitter.
9. If you are not interested in a specific role, please say so and explain your reasons. This will give your recruiter better insight into your motivations and what kind of job you are looking for.
10. If an interview with an employer has been arranged for you and you cannot attend, always remember to inform the recruiter as soon as possible.

Following the above will improve your relationship with your recruiter and give you a significant advantage over other, less professional applicants.

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How much can you put up with at work? Do you want to make a move but can’t decide when to leave?

In the TV show Entourage, Lloyd Lee is Hollywood super agent Ari Gold’s perennial ‘whipping boy’. If you’ve followed the show, you will know that Lloyd puts up with a constant stream of abuse and bad treatment from Ari from season to season.

During Season 6 of Entourage, Adam Davies, an ex-colleague of both Ari and Lloyd becomes a partner at a rival agency. Lloyd has been pushing and begging Ari for a promotion from his PA position to become an agent, without any joy, until Adam steps in to offer him an agent position at triple (!) his current salary.

Would you stay or would you go? Let’s now christen the ‘Lloyd Lee’ zone. Lloyd is in a horrible situation; he is visibly unhappy, stuck in a rut, and despite all that he has gone through, he still does NOT accept the offer immediately. He is clearly trapped in the ‘Lloyd Lee’ zone where he is not confident or open-minded enough to consider making a move even with an extremely attractive job offer.

It is important that you keep up to date with what’s happening in your industry and evaluate your market value against your peers. If you do receive a call from a head-hunter, I’d advise you to keep an open mind and don’t fall into the ‘Lloyd Lee zone’. You may well be very happy in your role, however take it as a compliment that you’ve been identified as standing out from the crowd.  Build a relationship with a recruiter that you can trust, who has strong market knowledge and contacts, and can provide career advice and opportunities. Don’t wait until it’s too late to consider a move – you don’t want to be miserable at work, life is too short.

If you would like to talk to a Morgan McKinley consultant about your career or your market value, feel free to contact us. You can find our contact details on this page or on the Morgan McKinley Hong Kong website.

Until next time!

Entourage, job offer, Lloyd Lee, miserable at work, recruiter