Latest articles
The Runaway MBA: I can’t stress it enough – dig for dirt about your potential employer before you accept an offer
Dr Seuss said: “You have brains in your head, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” This applies to your career. Yes you want a job, and you want a job that you want to do, with people that you want to work with – so don’t forget that to achieve this you [...]
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Guest Comment: Why firms in China should focus their retention efforts on professional development
Professional development has many benefits for an organisation, which extend beyond the career progression of individual staff. This applies to the financial services sector as much as to other industries. So where’s development needed? Financial leasing companies and the life insurance sector continue to remain buoyant in Chinaand there is a big shortage of accountancy [...]
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Banks in Hong Kong admit they face a clear and present danger: staff attrition to the corporate sector
It seems slightly counter intuitive, given that a lack of vacancies is forcing some workers to stay in their roles without any encouragement from their employers, but banks in Asia are facing a serious retention threat. An increasing number of people are leaving financial services this year for roles in other sectors, according to the [...]
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The Junior: I’m a graduate, I’ve done two contracts, I desperately want a full-time front-office job, but I can’t find one
With tightening headcounts in banks, contract work seems to be the norm nowadays. I graduated about a year ago and I haven’t got a permanent job yet. Instead, I’ve embarked on front-office banking contract work in order to gain work experience. I often ask myself if what I’ve done is worth it, and what makes [...]
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Q&A: Mike Connarty, director of international investments at Standard Life, advocates learning Mandarin if you want to get ahead
Mike Connarty is based in Edinburgh but he’s an international figure in financial services. As director of international investments, Mike manages Standard Life’s fast-growing joint venture investments in India and China. If you want to work for him, you’ll need a genuinely international outlook – and ideally the capacity to speak Mandarin. Q: How long [...]
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Here’s how to wow judges and win an internationally renowned business competition
What: The KPMG International Case Competition Where: Hong Kong. Incidentally, it’s the first time that the global event has been held in Asia. When: Late April Who: Champions in their own right. A hundred students first won competitions in their respective countries before competing globally. The 24 teams were given realistic business case studies, which [...]
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State Bank of India eyes up China
Despite cautious hiring from large global banks in China, Asia’s regional banks are actively seeking opportunities. State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest state-owned commercial bank, intends to expand its profile in China and plans to open two new branches in Tianjin and Guangzhou. Growth China CEO Dinesh Sharma says that once SBI gets approval from the [...]
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The big picture: A look at 2011 bonuses for China’s finance professionals
In this latest post, we examine the results of the recent eFinancialCareers bonus survey in China. Here’s our take on the plausible reasons behind those figures, the trends and our predictions on post-bonus movement. To get the low-down, please click here to view the report.
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Job rotation is key to recruitment and retention as DBS expands in China, says the bank’s HR head
DBS says it will inject another 2.3bn yuan into its Chinese subsidiary to accelerate expansion in the mainland. In 2011 its China business contributed 30 per cent of total profit growth, and earlier this year the Singaporean bank opened a new branch in Chongqing. Unsurprisingly, this is all leading to more hiring. Janice Foo, DBS [...]
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Fly on the wall: Here’s what it’s like to be a graduate trainee at UBS
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be a bright young thing being groomed for greater things at a global bank (read: graduate trainee) – wonder no more. Last week, eFinancialCareers sat in on part of a business dynamics course for 26 UBS graduate trainees from across Asia Pacific. All hail from [...]
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