bestraincloud

All,

I have received a job offer for an Engineering company in Hong Kong. The salary isn't fantastic but the cash isn't my main concern.

My partner to who'm I am not married wishes to join me in HK. She is educated to Masters level from very good British Universities, but speaks no Chinese.

Whilst I will have a sponsor, she will enter HK on a 6 month visitors visa and then she will seek employment.

To those in the know, how difficult will it be for her to find employment in marketing / promotions/ brand management? The vast majority of positions we have found require English, Cantonese and even Mandarin as well.

The nightmare situation is that I am working long hours, and she is sat in the flat unable to seek employment and facing having to leave after 6 months.

I know the easy way out would be to get married however this wouldn't solve the problem of something to do.

Any advice will be appreciated.

hong_konger

I would not worry about the being able to stay in HK part. I am not sure if you would be able to secure a dependent visa being as you are not married (although you may..check it out first) she would only need to do a visa run to macau on the ferry to get a further 6 months, albeit as a tourist and not able to work.

However, once she is here she can look around to find out what jobs are available. If there is anything suitable then her potential employer should be able to secure a work permit.

hong_konger

See the following :

http://www.lloyden.com/page_1125676975741.html

januarymix

Why dont you try ringing some of the employment agencies dealing in her field and ask them for their perspective? (Don't sound desperate though, just a professional inquiry)

britinchina

I worked in HK for two years and have recently relocated to Mainland China.

I'm no expert on the HK job market but I think there is a very good chance your other half can find a decent job in HK without speaking Mandarin or Cantonese. I speak Mandarin but had plenty of friends and colleagues who didn't speak either Chinese dialect. See below a few suggestions:

1. As others have said she can apply for jobs online from the UK on websites like: www.hk.jobsdb.com and Monster.com.hk (and there are a plethora of others) and contact Agencies online and on the phone. But to be honest don't be surprised if she doesn't find anything before arriving in HK. I would also recommend Totaljobs.com and jobsite.co.uk I got my job in HK after regularly updating my CV on these sites.

2. I recommend targeting Agencies like Michael Page and others that have Marketing related positions and arranging to meet recruitment consultants face-to-face when you arrive here. Face-to-face is critical in Asia. I'm sure recruitment consultants get dozens of e-mails every day from people all over the world looking for jobs in HK. But if you just turn up at their office or call them in advance and make an appointment you will be in a much better position.

3. Networking is even more important here to secure jobs than back home. There are plenty of networking events in HK such as these: http://www.fcclub.com/events/june52013hk/
http://www.britcham.com/monthly-networking-drinks

4. Leverage her University Alumni network. Find out which of her Alumni are working in HK and meet them for lunch. Find out about the job market, get leads and advice which may help.

5. Obviously social media - a targeted Linkedin profile saying she is a brand Manager looking for a position in HK is clearly very important as is keeping her CV/Profile up-to-date on several of the big recruitment websites I mentioned above.

6. Contact the British Chamber of Commerce and find out the list of all British companies in HK. She could send speculative targeted applications to companies that she would like to work for.

To summarize if she can find a job before you arrive then it will be a huge bonus! but in my opinion unlikely unless she already has excellent work experience and clear tangible added value compared to local trilingual candidates. When you arrive if she is proactive I'm sure it won't be a problem to find a decent position. If the first job is not exactly what she is looking for stick at it and she may find something even more suitable and better paid after a 6-12 months. Salaries are quite competitive in HK. They should be given the crazy price of accommodation!

Good luck! HK is an interesting place. Check out: http://hongkong.geoexpat.com/forum/ for more HK specific advice.

Malaika12

That was a great post, britinchina - I'm looking for very similar info and it was quite helpful.