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Eximius Hong Kong Ltd.

Asia Headquarters

Level 6, Citibank Tower

Citibank Plaza, 3 Garden Road

Central, Hong Kong

T: +852 3978 5088

How to maximise the return on investment you give to a recruiter… Reasons to read this document: You are a lawyer. You work in the C&I sectors across Hong Kong. You are a candidate who has had a bad experience in looking for a new role and your recruiter has added no value. And/or You are a client who after searching for months is still to find the right person and you have front 50+ business cards from various recruitment firms in Asia.

Background to this document: In 2014, 3.8 million (61%) of the population in Hong Kong were employed (over 15 years of age) and over the past 5 years, GDP has grown at an average rate of 3.9%. This would suggest that we are moving away from the ‘Global Financial Crisis’ and into a period of stability, dare I say boom, and so this period should dictate that the candidate is ‘King’. What I mean by ‘King’ is that the demand for talent outweighs the supply of suitable candidates available in the common market place. I am a lawyer, does this mean I’m guaranteed a job? Unfortunately no. In Hong Kong and Asia the need for In-House lawyers often includes language skills relevant to the perceived markets. In Hong Kong this means Chinese language skills which in theory give lawyers the ability to support businesses in Hong Kong (Cantonese) and Greater China (Mandarin). You have two ways of looking at this. On one hand it reduces the need to hire from locations such as US, UK, Europe and Australia where Chinese is not a first or second language. This in theory would push the demand for candidates based locally with this skillset through the roof and as such make them more employable. On the other hand Greater China gives employees in Hong Kong stiff competition to this fact. For example in Hong Kong 19,000 people are listed on LinkedIn with Legal as part of their profile. In Greater China this is 57,000, 3x the amount and therefore potentially 3x the amount of competition.

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I’m confused, is this good for an employee or employer? Neither. My view is that the In-House legal market continues to have a need for lawyers with strong skillsets that often but not always include Chinese language skills. More and more we are seeing other requirements take priority such as regional exposure, APAC M&A experience, international backgrounds and strong business acumen skills. My clients also look for candidates who have the ability to deal with both local workforces and expatriate personalities, from any level that includes shop floor to boardroom. FYI - Over the past year I would say 2 in every 10 jobs do NOT require Chinese language skills and are often based in international teams that have 3+ team members. This may seem small but 2 years ago it was closer to 0.

I’m a lawyer looking for a new role, what is your best advice? Firstly, less is more. Hong Kong and Singapore are less than half the size of London yet we still have every one of the big named agencies sitting in overpriced offices across the island. With a finite amount of jobs in the market you can quickly find yourself blacklisted from various HR departments because 3 or 4 agencies have sent your CV without your permission to the same client. Do not be naive to think that this does not happen when many of the recruiters working on your behalf have less than 12 months experience. Here are my big tips:

Meet your agent as you will quickly see if he/she is suitable to represent you in the market place. During that meeting you also have a chance to sell why you are a better fit for the role than the other 3 candidates who possibly have similar cv’s to you.

Find out what credentials and experience your recruiter possesses. If he/she is fresh out of University and has 3 months experience, I’m afraid they just won’t have the network or credibility to represent you in the right way. For example, I was a researcher in London for 9 months before going anywhere near a client and I would say it was 2 years before I really had the credibility required to do the best for my candidates.

ALWAYS ask for a list of clients your agent is going to send your CV, ideally via email. This way you can track where your CV has gone and also use it as a working ‘follow up’ document.

Listen to your recruiter. In a non-aggressive tone my goal is to help you find a job and I am the expert in getting you through interviews and negotiating compensation levels. If you work with Eximius then expect preparation interview calls throughout the process, it’s one of the best ways to prepare for that first phone or face to face meeting.

Do your own preparation. Research the company website, research the interviewer (LinkedIn), research the industry (Google), ask friends and family and ask someone who works there (if you know someone).

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Be honest! If you want more money and this is priority number 1, tell your recruiter so he/she can focus on jobs that get you to a level of compensation that matches your lifestyle requirements. At the same time, please be realistic with what you think is achievable.

Final thoughts – sometimes that new job does not work out because culturally it’s a mis-match. I am more than sympathetic to this statement because meeting 1-3 people at the interview stage often struggles to represent a company with 10,000+ employees. However in my experience you can use this excuse 1 or 2 times, anything after that and the question marks to hiring you increase which in turn adds a level of doubt to the process.

I’m a hiring manager, what is your best advice?

As above, meet your agent to assess if he/she can represent your requirements in the market place. For example, when meeting a client face to face I walk away excited and energised to sell the role, the hiring manager, the team and company to the candidate population.

Use 1 or 2 agencies. This way you control the message that goes to the candidate market giving you reassurance that your brand is being represented in the right way. If you have a tough requirement with a limited candidate pool, this becomes ESSENTIAL in attracting talent to walk through your office door and have that first face to face meeting.

As I would say to any candidate, list the most important things you require in someone to do the role and give them priority over the ‘nice to have’. For example, if you need APAC M&A experience, Chinese Languages and International Backgrounds – make sure your agent knows this to save him or her time by sending unsuitable but perceived fantastic candidates.

Finally, keep it private. Imagine if you receive a call about a role that nobody else knows about, how exciting is this compared to seeing the same advertised role on JobsDB? If you use the right agent and top it up with a level of exclusivity, finding candidates will become far easier than the traditional advertise and interview routine.

Final thought - There are many reports that state what the cost of hiring the wrong person has on the business and if you take the average it works out to be 4-8x that individual’s annual salary. On top of this, repeatedly hiring the wrong person damages your own personal brand as a manager and can make it difficult to attract future talent no matter what firm you are working in.