Last Day in Hong Kong
Today was my last day in Hong Kong. In 14 hours I'll be on my way to the airport, and about 21 hours after that I'll be home. I'm pretty excited about that prospect, although it has been nice to avoid all the snow of the season, and I'll be going back to another hectic semester. Here is my returning flight information:
HKG -> SFO = UA 862 (This flight arrives 4 hours and 18 minutes before it leaves. Yay international date line!)
SFO -> BOS = UA 176 (This flight is remarkably unremarkable)
On the job front, I talked with a person from the Bank of China office in Hong Kong today. He basically said that while there is more English spoken, most of the office works in Cantonese and some Mandarin. He also said that for recruitment, they focus on hiring locals or people with prior experience at one of the major bulge-bracket firms. I've heard this time and time again: apparently, the major firms are both the gatekeepers and the major players. I suppose this is a function of their size and the ups and downs of the market. Regardless, it appears that most of the smaller banks have become accustomed to getting experienced people who have been let go during one of the periodic purges from the larger banks. However, I was told that three of the big-name banks are looking to hire in Hong Kong, and the person I spoke to offered to put me in touch with people if he could. All is not lost, but it seems that the big firms really are the best way to break into the industry. Unsurprisingly, they also have the most regimented recruiting process. This begs the question, what is the best thing to do at this point? How do I cut through the procedural red tape and find something? Is it too late to do in the job market this year? These are things that I will be thinking about on my trip home, and undoubtedly wanting to get everybody's opinion on.
HKG -> SFO = UA 862 (This flight arrives 4 hours and 18 minutes before it leaves. Yay international date line!)
SFO -> BOS = UA 176 (This flight is remarkably unremarkable)
On the job front, I talked with a person from the Bank of China office in Hong Kong today. He basically said that while there is more English spoken, most of the office works in Cantonese and some Mandarin. He also said that for recruitment, they focus on hiring locals or people with prior experience at one of the major bulge-bracket firms. I've heard this time and time again: apparently, the major firms are both the gatekeepers and the major players. I suppose this is a function of their size and the ups and downs of the market. Regardless, it appears that most of the smaller banks have become accustomed to getting experienced people who have been let go during one of the periodic purges from the larger banks. However, I was told that three of the big-name banks are looking to hire in Hong Kong, and the person I spoke to offered to put me in touch with people if he could. All is not lost, but it seems that the big firms really are the best way to break into the industry. Unsurprisingly, they also have the most regimented recruiting process. This begs the question, what is the best thing to do at this point? How do I cut through the procedural red tape and find something? Is it too late to do in the job market this year? These are things that I will be thinking about on my trip home, and undoubtedly wanting to get everybody's opinion on.
posted by Me at 4:02 AM
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