Tag Archives: Career Builder

Career Builder-Graduates’ Employment

graduates employment

Whilst most of the enterprises have finished their campus recruitment, the graduate employment has become one of the most popular topics in the current recruitment market. With the release of Recruitment Insider Q2 Report, RMG has specifically focused on the Problems of Graduates’ Employment.

  1. When it comes to the starting salary level of new graduates, how big of a difference does their education level make?
  • The survey result from RMG’s latest Recruitment Insider Q2 Report suggests that the starting salaries for new graduates have remained in accordance with their education level. 47.4% of bachelor graduates could only get monthly incomes from 3k-5k, while only 22.2%/17.5% of master/PhD graduates were getting this amount of commencing salary.
  • In the 2015 China campus recruitment, most of the graduates with PhD degree could get a starting salary level from 8k-10k, and 40%-50% of Master graduates can get a salary from 5k – 8k. Not surprisingly, it is true that the higher education background you get, the better chance you will get a higher starting salary.

  1. So does it means the individuals with higher education level could always get better jobs for granted?
  • According to our survey result, the top 2 aspects of candidates valued by employers are Professional Knowledge/Skill (64%) and Communication Skill (48%). These are the two factors that really differentiate you from other candidates when you are applying your first job as a new graduate.
  • People do business with people they like, this will always remain unchanged. It’s fair and reasonable for people to have expectations about their starting income that will match their education level. However, since the increasing amount of majors we have today as well as the declining difficulty of getting high levels of education, there is a trend for employers to emphasize more on job seekers’ skill and working competency and less about the education background.
  • There is a limited amount of job categories which are truly requiring a really solid education background. Frequently, people with higher education backgrounds often end up in an awkward position because of their over qualification for most of the job opportunities.

  1. What should the graduates with relatively lower education level do to acquire better career development in China job market?
  • Make your campus life count. A diploma from higher education might be a guarantee for specific knowledge in a major, but it is also significant how the students spend their time during the study. This actually makes huge difference! Use your spare times on gaining relevant experience that could be helpful for your later career, such as taking internships, managing a project or getting a higher academic performance. Those are the experiences you MUST have to justify your ability and future behavior with authentic facts.
  • Work HARD to gain your own future. Companies in China are likely to pay new graduates a relatively lower starting salary, yet you are often given the opportunity to demonstrate what you are capable of and whether you deserve a more important role. Go prove it if you think you are qualified for a better career development. In return, those young professions who have proven themselves will also end up with much higher salary raises.
  • Always be confident. An attitude that is neither too humble nor too pushy is also essential or job interviews.

  1. What other suggestions would you give to the new Chinese graduates for their career development?
  • Lower your expectations. No one could get a dream job without any relevant working experience. As a rookie, you need to go through the necessary dark days to steel yourself to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.
  • Be Prepared! Doing your research to your interview company and the job you are applying for. It is important to find if there is truly a fit between you and the company you intend to apply.
  • Persistency is always a key element for everyone’s success. I had 10 interviews until I got my first internship, and I am convinced it isn’t unusual for any of the young graduate to spend a long time before getting their first desirable job.
  • Give up the idea of pursuing a higher degree of learning if you are doing that for the sake of a better starting income. But do not hesitate to keep on studying if you are pursuing better education background for the aim of learning more in your field.
Listen to the original radio, please go to:  http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/08/26/3481s893287.htm 

Career Builder – Inspiring Career Quotes

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The vividness of quotes could embed them into our head easily. These inspiring sentences have been using so often, that we could see them everywhere on our social media. But do most of the people really understand the implication of these quotations and really put them into action? In this episode of Career Builder, Robert is going to share some inspiring career quotes and explain why they are important as well as the do’s and don’ts regarding them.

  1. Trust is the glue that binds companies together
  • The metaphor“glue” not only makes this quote much more visualized, but suggests the powerfulness of trust between the companies. Without trust, there is no business could be done.
  • But trust does not come from nowhere. It is something that needs time and mutual sincerity to be built.
  • As a business person, you might need to hold back a little bit from the beginning and avoid blind trust. Yet it doesn’t mean you should be strained at a gnat. You will also need the vision and courage to trust.
  1. Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
  • Embrace the difficulties and hardships to let yourself getting out of the comfort zone. That is the only way could bring you improvements. Try your best to be persistent and perseverant when things are not the way you expected.
  • This is particularly important for young professions, because early on in someone’s career, the behavior you exhibit will be more and more entrenched. So once you start giving up easily in your career, you will be discouraged every time when you meet a setback.
  • Set yourself high goals might pay you with surprising results.
  • Also be aware of your limitation, it is essential to know before the last straw comes to you. And it is also important for managers to educate the staffs how to deal with stress.
  1. The meaning of communication is the response you receive 
  • Both parties involved have 100% responsibility for communication. It’s your responsibility to communicate your message in such a way that the other person will understand it in the way you wanted them to understand it.
  • Be grateful to receive criticisms if you are at a higher level, and don’t be afraid of speak of your mind if you are at subordinate level.
  • If you are not getting your response in your first try, it is an indication that you need to try to ask in another route. If one thing isn’t working, try another direction. When you are attempting to communicate something that requires a response, the response becomes a measurement to the effectiveness of your communication.
  1. You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs 
  • Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. You won’t be able to do anything significant if there isn’t a risk of failure. The achievements that have good pay backs always come together with higher risks.
  • You have to make mistakes, because you will learn from them. But do not make the same mistake twice.
  • Be stubborn and stick on your path when you are not getting the momentum you were hoping for or when things seems to be falling apart around you. You would not get to the light at the end of the tunnel if you gave up in the dark days.

Some other inspiring quotes:

  1. Past behaviour is the biggest predictor of future performance
  2. If you don’t ask you don’t get
  3. Make your own luck
  4. You can have it in any colour you like, as long as it’s black (Henry Ford)
  5. Prior preparation prevents poor performance
  6. People do business with people they like
  7. If you’re not 5 minutes early, you’re late
  8. There’s no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers.
  9. If you think too much, you’ll get analysis paralysis

Listen to the original radio, please go to:  http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/08/21/3481s892606.htm

Career Builder – Challenge Your Manager

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One of the most intractable problems for today’s young professionals is how to ‘challenge’ their superior when there are necessities to express their concerns or advices. But is “challenging” your manager really a terrible thing? How to question your manager in a way that won’t put your job security into risks?  Please listen to this week’s Career Builder, here Robert Parkinson, Founder and CEO of RMG Selection – a leading Asia focused executive search business, will share his thoughts about the topic “Challenge” your manager’.

  1. Why it’s not terrible to challenge your manager?
  • The best thing about questioning your manager is that it helps you to clarify for yourself and avoids misunderstanding between you and your boss.
  • Building rapport is especially important in Chinese society. And giving useful advices to your manager could actually boost your relationship with your manager if you did it in the right way.
  • Nobody could claim oneself to be perfect. The definition of successful manager is someone that is always seeking the opportunity to get to know the truth and the chances for improvements. As a manager, you will always need the necessary advices and aids to maximize the team efficiency and let yourself become a better leader. You can be helpful to your manager by questioning him or her.
  • A wise leader does not necessarily to be the one who is best in the field, but an expert who is good at accepting different points of views and absorbing the essence of other employees’ best advices. Consequently, there is no need to be afraid of doing such thing.
  1. What are the tips for young people to challenge the seniors without having the risk of losing their job?
  • Avoid uncertainty and always make sure that your ‘challenge’ has detailed suggestion which could actually help your manager to make improvements based on your advice. You don’t come to your supervisor with your angry complains without giving any constructive advice.
  • Communication skill is really essential in China, where the notion of ‘Face’ plays a crucial role in the business world. Make sure to communicate with your manager in an indirect tongue to minimizing the potential embarrassment. It is wise to make your suggestion focus on the problem you are questioning rather than the person who caused the problem.
  • Try to communicate with your manager in a private environment where no one else is around.
  • Have a good judgment of what kind of boss you are having. The significance of knowing your superior’s managing style is even more important in China.
  1. So what should I do when I am having a manager that is not reasonable?
  • There is always plenty of promising career opportunities for smart people. Leaving the job when you cannot see any potential improvement of the status quo is a considerably good move.
  • Often you will not meet the serious standard to change the job. A compromised way of questioning this kind of boss is to find a good timing and a buffer zone.
  1. As a manager, how to get useful suggestion with better ideas from your employee?
  • Have trust in your staffs
  • Do not take any rational feedback personally. Asuccessful manager should encourage feedbacks from his or her employees constantly. It is important to have a good company culture and not to let your staffs fear to question.
  • Do not suppress the young people in your company. Compare with senior staffs, the new graduates and young employees are often less biased and do not have the baggage from previous working experience. The encouragement for them to speak out is the spirit for them later to delivery really constructive advices. Simultaneously, the space you gave to people to speak could also bring you a lower turnover rate by increasing their commitment to the company.

Listen to this episode of Career Builder on CRI: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/08/05/3481s890421.htm

Career Builder – Relief after being fired

Relief after being fired

Mistakes are sometimes unavoidable at work. If you make a mistake in your report or a project plan which brings negative results, you might come to the end of your work in the company. In this episode of Career Builder Robert Parkinson, CEO & Founder of RMG Selection, is going to talk about how not to be fired and how to get over being fired.

  1. How can you make the employee leave the company with peaceful mind and comfortable mood?
  • Particularly for employees who work for about 5 years or so, asking them to leave is in fact a “mercy-killing”.
  • Be honest to them. Explain to them that the long-term print you foresee is simply not working for them. Due to limited experience, they cannot see the fact, but an experienced employer can.
  • For employers, it is the matter of their maturity in judgment and the way of ending the employment relationship. If you end it with a nice way, employees will not be uncomfortable.
  • The employer can offer a good reference letter for the employee who is fired.
  • The employer should put himself in the shoes of the person who is being fired. By analyzing why he is not suitable for this job and what could be better choices, he will win the respect from employees.
  • Categorize dismissals into dismissals for reasons of performance or redundancies.
  1. As an insider what advice can you offer to employees to avoid being sacked again in the future?
  • It is very interesting that there are people who repeat being fired time after time.
  • This group of people really needs to take time to think about themselves and their capabilities.
  1. What sort of people is not easily to be fired? What qualifications do they share in common?
  • People’s mind can be changed till the last minute of the final decision. Take your risk and also chance.
  • As an employer, when someone is on my radar I always think about their good things. I look at where they get improvement during the past months.
  • However, if someone hold a cocky attitude and is very arrogant, then they are actually asking to be fired.
  1. Among competence, EQ and team spirit, which one stands out for employers to keep an employee?
  • Without any doubt, EQ stands out. People’s ability to get on with others is paramount.
  • The fact is that a person who can make others motivated, entertained and happy will not be fired.
  • People can always catch up with skills and knowledge at work step by step.
  1. How to rebound after being fired?
  • If you really want to choose a good path, then get to know yourself. Find out what you are good at and why.
  • By asking yourself “what does X/Y/Z do for you” again and again, one can drill down to the essence of what you are looking for.
  • Take a break. Letting your brain work fully is very important.
  • It is also suggested by Manling that employees who are fired should not be ashamed. Go to your mentor or go to the senior manager to ask the reason. Learn what your shortcomings are.
  1. Do you have professional consulting after someone is fired in the western society?
  • Yes, there is. It is actually called “outplacement”.
  • Someone who is specialized in the management will help employees who are fired or redundant.
  • However, in a skeptical view, normally career advisor knows the least about career development.
  • It is better to talk with mentor or a senior manager. If you lack of skills, then you know the solution is to get training. If it is EQ problem, you can always improve it.
  • “The best staff you don’t have to pay for”. The best advisor is normally staffs who work for over a decade in the job. They are way better than business counsels or career advisors.

Listen to this episode of Career Builder on CRI: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/06/24/3262s884418.htm

Career Builder – Build up Your Leadership Step by Step

Build up leadership skills

Last week, we talked about leadership for young managers but we only covered the dons. This week after receiving the feedback from listeners, we are going to clarify the dos for young leaders. Although LinkedIn and alike are full of articles on management and leadership skills, their quality is really questionable. So today, our special guest Robert Parkinson, CEO& Founder of RMG Selection, will give his analysis about leadership skills.

  1. In Chinese company, a lot of employees think that they should show up before the boss arrives and they need to leave after the boss leaves. How would you tackle that as a young manager?
  • Surveys and psychology suggests consistently that we do our best work in the morning, not evening. There is an expression in the UK: Early to bed; early to rise makes Jack healthy, wealthy, and wise. There is a truth in that people work more effectively in the morning. And I think it is the responsibility for young managers to be their first, to be the example for their teams.
  • But also I don’t necessarily think that people need to stay in the office until 9 or 10 o’clock at night. The balance between work and life is tremendously important. If we set us as an example to our subordinates, then it is not a great example of working 12 to 14 hours in a day. Indeed, some people working too hard finally end in tragic circumstances.
  • So I think young managers should get going on time, but at the same time trust subordinates and let them manage their own time.
  1. Could you give some specific advice to young managers who listen to our show?
  • A great specific thing you can do is to get a mentor. Get someone you trust to help you as a manager, to guide you, and to help you make right decisions. Such person can be your boss, your boss’s boss or your friend. And also be cautions of those people who sell themselves as coaches or mentors.
  • The other important thing is to be open to critics and be open to your own mistakes. That helps to build trust, which is really the glues binding employees together.
  1. What are the other dos that you will recommend young managers to do?
  • Let’s get down to the details. Clearly someone got to the manager position by the fact that they are more able than other people, so young mangers just show people what to do!
  • You need to be simple and practical. By solving a small problem may end up solving a wider issue. Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves, get down on dirt and solve the problem out! This earns people’s respect.
  1. When subordinates do something wrong, it’s time to test leadership. What will you do with such situation?
  • A quote is the art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. I call it a feedback sandwich. The bread in the sandwich is good staff, and what in the middle is the problem that needs addressing. So we start conversation by praising someone
  • And then we do need to address the problem. Hit the nail on the head. It is important that we emphasize one’s behaviour, not the person, which will help people understand and be less defensive.
  • But do not stop here. Build back-up for the person and encourage him to keep going. By doing like this, better results yield.
  1. How to speak to subordinates?
  • The job of a leader is to inject energy into employees. A simple way is that you turn up in the morning with energy, passion, and enthusiasm. And enthusiasm flows down in a company. You yourself should find interest and desire to do your job rather than focus on the salary.
  • If your employees come to office with personal issues, and part of young managers’ job is to tell them work is work and one needs to be professional.
  1. People tend to judge one’s ability according to his age. So how do young managers deal with this problem?
  • Use fact, reason, and qualified knowledge.
  • And have some confidence in dealing with someone more experienced than you.
  • Being tough, aggressive, and rude is not appropriate. It brings barriers. We try to be calm because people may copy our behaviour.
  1. In Japan, it is all about seniority. You don’t really see young managers. Is it a new thing?
  • Japan has its own culture. But China has witnessed tremendous changes in recent years and is largely based on western economy. Interaction skill, and alike are something more cherished in China.
  1. What kind of person can be young mangers’ mentor and at the same time how to prevent subordinates distrust you?
  • You have to choose mentors based on who you credibly and sincerely believe, and who give your advice. It may be someone you develop relationship with. The key thing is you believe his values.
  • Rise above self-doubt can help you gin trust from co-workers.

Listen to this episode of Career Builder on CRI: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/06/23/3262s884256.htm

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