Tag Archives: China Recruitment

Career Builder – Personal Branding

personal branding In a commercialized era like today, we really need to think about “sell” our uniqueness in our life for a better job, a better status, or simply getting more businesses. How well we are going to sell ourselves sometimes not only depends on the capacity, but on how loud a “brand name” we have. So today we are going to talk about this “name” thing-personal branding. Ruben de van Boer, senior recruitment consultant of RMG Selection, offers his views on personal branding. As specialized recruitment consultant in the field of logistics and warehousing, Ruben builds up his brand name among friends, candidates and clients gradually. Are you curious about Ruben’s secrets of branding himself to the maximum extent? Then you shouldn’t miss this week’s Career Builder.
  1. Can you explain what personal branding is?
  • Basically personal branding means to develop a mark – a birthmark around yourself in your career. This birthmark intensively creates the way how people think about you when they hear your name.
  • Every person’s branding goal depends on one’s career. Everyone wants to build a brand that supports what s/he does.
  • Everyone in career should carry an ID, an image, or a name card. These are what personal branding stands for.
  1. Why does everybody need personal branding nowadays?
  • This first thing is that we are no longer in the time when you would stay in one or two companies for your whole career life. Especially in China, it is quite normal for ambitious people to find new working places. So in that sense, the company brand for your own career has rather short lifetime.
  • You have to make sure that you have a personal brand which first of all makes you marketable in the market! Then you can make successful career moves every five or six years.
  • The personal brand also supports you when you work in a different company. Therefore, during your career the personal brand around yourself is becoming much more important than company brand.
  1. Talking about the relationship between a strong, successful company with a good brand name and a small individual who hasn’t established personal brand yet, do you think the big company name can help him build up his own brand?
  • For sure, they are complementary. It helps each other. I always see that a company becomes the platform for people to develop their career. And when they develop their career and perform well, they benefit the company. It is kind of a marriage!
  • Whether this is a happy marriage depends on how individual works out. Boost your own brand name when you build up career.
  • If you are consistent in what you are doing and stick to certain areas, these will help your to build personal brand. Actually, the brand takes years to form, and you are like a smith who sharpens the “iron” every day until the true “needle” comes out!
  1. Once you change your job into a totally different field where your past experience does little help, you need to re-start personal branding. Is that true?
  • That’s true. But these days, it is really common for people to get two or three careers on the site, one main one and others being the extras.
  • It is really important to have a very strong brand that shows credibility. This credibility proves whatever you are doing, you can do it good.
  • Manlin: Reputation and competence make up your personal brand. As for the branding for reputation, every job you do adds the values. With such reputation, people will trust you although you start from scratch in a different field.
  1. How do we brand ourselves to the maximum we want?
  • The starting point of personal branding is to keep the target in mind. How do you want people to perceive you? If you are not clear of the end, or the target, just focus on the process.
  • As long as you have the ends, please pay attention to your unique selling points to support the ends. Sometimes you can turn to your friends to know yourself better.
  1. People do not want to see branding become pretending. How to avoid a split life?
  • There is a fine line between not telling the truth and making the truth more beautiful. You have to find that line. But whatever you say to people on the phone or on LinkedIn, you should feel confident that there is some truth there.
  • You do not have to be someone you are not but you have the right not to let others know every detail of your life. It is yourself who are in charge of your own career and marketing. So you can maneuver what to be known and what not to be known.
  1. How best can you use social media, namely LinkedIn, to improve your social branding?
  • Unless you can justify what you write in social media, otherwise it doesn’t make sense. Everybody can write that on social media. The best way to justify is by using facts (data, awards, sales figures etc.).
  • Being honest on social media is another way to improve personal branding.
  1. What will you do to make people believe in you when they find you are not that shiny as you present?
  • The thing is do not tell lies. People don’t hire people based in LinkedIn files, and that’s why people arranged interviews.
  • Get to know who you are targeting, the interviewer or the boss.
Listen to the original radio, please click: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/07/01/3262s885380.htm

Career Builder – Make Social Networking Events Work

waiting for subway

For most foreigners who just come to China, they have very limit connections. For many Chinese job seekers who sent thousands of CV with no reply, there is a great way of connecting with others that people are accustomed to. There arises the social networking event. So if you go to the right event and perform in the right way, you might just make big step forward on your career!

In this Career Builder show, hosts and hostess from the studio will discuss this topic with Ruben van den Boer, a manager and an experienced recruitment specialist of RMG Selection.  As a Dutch expatriate who have been in Beijing since 2009, Ruben actually went through the whole stage from knowing very few people to getting well acquainted with a lot of people in his career.  He believes networking events are really important for everyone. Through social events people get the chance to talk to and get to know each other. Moreover, they have high probability to build positive RAPPORT in networking events.

Curious on how Ruben kicked start his awesome career? Want to know what networking events can help you further develop your career? Mostly importantly, how to make your networking really WORK?  Listen on, through the following questions you will pick up a lot of practical and helpful tips to build your career!

  1. Have you come across the terminology “Guanxi”? Please give us your take on this term?
  • There is a difference between “Guanxi” and Networking. “Guanxi” absolutely does not equal to networking.
  • Networking is about building rapport and building a long-term relationship that is based on trust.
  1. What are specific approaches to leave others the impression that I am an asset to the company not just someone who begs for jobs?
  • SECRET: everyone’s forehead is written a sentence which is “I want to feel important”. Few people are interested in others’ stories; most people are only interested in their own stories!
  • Everyone has a little ego in themselves. To begin with networking, you have to be a good listener instead of a speaker.
  • The more others share about themselves, the more connection they can feel with you. There are always problems or emotions. Then you are allowed to get involved and talk about yourself.
  • People do business with people they like. Business is about LIKING people.
  1. What if I disagree with the topics or arguments of someone in the networking? And in the position of a listener, how can I direct the topic?
  • Everyone is able to build chemistry. Find right topics.
  • In terms of directing a conversation, for example, if you talk about job seeking, from personal stuffs you can talk about the company, the structure, the team or even their problems in life.
  • At some point of the conversation, you can introduce yourself as a solution. Or you can present yourself as someone who fits what s/he is looking for.
  1. For someone who is very shy, how can s/he butt in a conversation and chat up with others?
  • Everyone can be shy. You have to get out of your shell if you want to network.
  • Think about worst of all what could happen. On the other hand, also think about what if it is the best scenario.
  • If you are really shy, then just be a good listener!
  1. Do you have any advice for aggressive people?
  • Don’t be too aggressive, otherwise you will push people away.
  • Train yourselves to HOLD BACK.
  • Silence is golden! Have a moment of silence somewhere.
  1. What kind of events do you recommend and where can people access to these social networking events?
  • Morning events from Chambers of Commerce (from different countries) for business purposes.
  • You can apply for newsletters from different chambers. Check up their websites or social media channels (Weibo or WeChat).
  • Expats communities like the Dutch society or groups of other countries sometimes have excursions or networking events on a casual level.
  1. Can people apply for jobs or send resumes in Chamber networking events?
  • The answer is not to do it. Applying for jobs is different from networking.
  • A good channel to apply for jobs is on LinkedIn.
  Listen to the original radio, please click: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/05/13/3262s878558.htm

Career Builder – Most Valued Aspects at A Job Interview.

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Most valued aspects at a job interview?

Everyone wants to do their best when going to job interviews. you always want to show your best qualities, but you didn’t display them successfully by the end of the interview, so the question becomes what are most valued aspects at a job interview? Robert Parkinson, CEO of RMG talks to CRI.

1. What are is the employer looking for in a job interview?

2. Is there any difference between HR and Hiring Manager?

3. What’s the best way to show your professional Knowledge/skill during the interview?

4. Communication is listed as the No.2 most valued skill. However, we always find it hard to show the soft skill than the hard skill. (Soft skill means communication skill, personality, and team work. Hard skill means educational background, certificates, technical skills and so forth. )So what is the best way to show your communication skill?

Listen to the original radio, please click: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/04/02/3481s872625.htm

For further useful tips and insights on what are the most valued aspects at a job interview and how to boost your career listen to other episodes of “Career Builder” RMG’s twice monthly radio slot of China  Radio International which you can find here https://www.rmgselection.com/category/radio/ and to visit CRI’s website click here http://english.cri.cn.

Find Your Job on Chinese Social Media

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Find Your Job on Chinese Social Media

If you think Chinese New Year is about visiting family to extend greetings and give “red envelopes”, it’s time for you to connect with your friends! Ninety percent of New Year’s greetings I received this year were via WeChat, and guess what, there were “red envelopes” in them! Today, sending lucky money in red envelopes through Chinese social media has become a new trend among young Chinese people. This shows the popularity of social media in China and its power to transform tradition. More important, it is becoming an emerging force in recruitment. So, if you are worried about your latest job application and haven’t received feedback from CVs you have sent out, social media could be another avenue to explore job opportunities and increase your long-term career prospects.

Is Chinese social media or foreign social media an effective job seeking tool? The way employers attract talent through social media answers this question. The Wabco case is an example. Wabco, with nearly 10,000 employees, is a leading global provider specializing in commercial vehicle safety and efficiency control systems. According to Sophie Liu, HR manager of its Qingdao Branch, Renren has become one of their major channels for campus recruiting. The company also posts vacancies and up-to-the-minute company news on its public WeChat account, which it opened in 2013. The dedicated team operating it creates more effective communication between candidates and the company. They now receive 30-plus CVs every day via social media. And other competitors in this industry have started to use this new recruitment method, too.

Inter-personal communication is another example of how social media can boost your career. You can connect directly with HR managers or hiring directors via social media. In addition to LinkedIn, the famous social media site for professional networking around the world, there are many alternatives Chinese people use for this purpose, for example, Dajie, Wealink and Tianji. Compiling a thorough profile on social media and sending invitations to HR departments will expand your job opportunities.

To build an effective connection with others and be a candidate the HR departments you are aiming at can instantly locate, you can try the following career-boosting 101 on professional social media:

  • Open an account on one or several networking sites and paint a complete picture of your skill set.
  • Make your job objective and intended career path clear to others, assigning to it and tagging five to eight key words. Reiterate them as often as you can in your self-introduction.
  • Pick an appropriate profile picture. If you don’t want to use an official portrait, that’s fine, but the photo of you sunbathing on the beach is an absolutely no-no.
  • Update posts related to your industry and the position whenever possible.
  • Make sure your basic contact information is available on all your accounts because it is not 100 percent certain you can be active on all of these. For example, you could add your WeChat QR code to your LinkedIn page and make sure your WeChat is redirected to LinkedIn. This will save time in your communications.

Of course, there are pros and cons to social media as a job-seeking platform. What you say on social media matters, so be careful. Remember this: What you post online could be a reason why companies do not want to hire you. Do not post a fiery speech or negative and confidential information about your current employer or related business secrets. Check everything before you post, in case you accidentally send something confidential out. Don’t complain about your current or previous employers. Finally, make sure you chose the right time to post. Posting online during working hours is a rather foolish move. Would you hire someone who was constantly updating his or her WeChat Moments while at work? Think about it.

The magic of social media is about more than multiplying the number of CVs employers receive. It is about increasing the influence of brand culture and improving communication. As Sophie Liu said, “Social media will add more soft power to a company.” For job seekers, your hard power matters; but social media could provide more added value to your soft power. If landing the perfect job is indeed 99 percent hard work and one percent good luck, why not make full use of social media to get lucky?

Read the original article: http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/ctenglish/se/txt/2015-04/07/content_681956.htm

Smog magnifies staffing woes for EU firms – RMG on China Daily

smog - challenge or opportunities  

Attracting and keeping personnel is becoming an increasing problem for European businesses in China

As European small and medium-sized enterprises in China try to find a steady footing on the shifting sands of the country’s economy, one thing that is keeping them off balance is staffing.

Maija Kurte, country manager in China of the Latvian company Linearis Translations, which has been in the country for four years, plans to open another office in southeastern China soon, but says staffing will present a challenge.

“Attracting and keeping talent is very hard,” she says. “Staff turnover is always high, and it is good to have potential replacements on hand, but that is difficult to do.”

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in its magazine EURObiz, the first issue of which has just been published, says that from many consultations the center has had, it has emerged that the kinds of problems businesses report has changed over time. Regulation, barriers to market access, macroeconomic changes and even smog problems have been high on the list, and problems with human resources and competition have gradually become more prominent.

One of these is the difficulty of attracting highly skilled people to China. Difficulties in obtaining visas, the rising cost of living and severe smog issue are all deterring expatriates from coming to China, the magazine says.

The Business Confidence Survey 2014 issued by the European Union Chamber of Commerce says that attracting and keeping talent was ranked No 3 and regarded as significant by 55 percent of European companies, after the Chinese economic slowdown and rising labor costs. Rising labor costs and a shortage of talent were identified as two main human resources challenges.

The chamber has more than 1,800 members in China, more than 80 percent of them SMEs.

The survey found that the smog issue has been an important reason for the difficulty in attracting talent to China, with 68 percent of companies saying the air quality issue is one of the top three challenges for them.

Another challenge for the companies is attracting talent from within China. The chamber’s magazine says China’s reputation for possessing unlimited, cheap labor is rapidly evaporating. Finding, attracting, training and retaining staff is expected to become even more difficult in the next five years as costs for local labor continue to rise, it says.

Ruben van den Boer, a consultant with the headhunting company RMG Selection, says that in trying to attract new local talent, European SMEs have some clear advantages. First, most Chinese employees prefer the open business culture and international environment that Europe-based companies can provide. Second, Europe-based companies may provide an employee with more career opportunities in the long run, for example international business travel or temporarily working abroad. The ability to practice English or a third language is another benefit European SMEs may offer employees.

However, it seems this bias toward Europe-based companies is evaporating, too. As more Chinese companies expand abroad, the way they do business is becoming more open and international, and similar to that of their Europe-based rivals. Examples include Lenovo, Huawei and Alibaba. For Chinese employees, these international China-based companies have some advantages over Europe-based SMEs.

“For instance, Chinese employees might have better opportunities to fill senior positions compared with in Europe-based companies, where most senior positions, even in China, are often reserved for European citizens,” Boer says.

Read the orginal article: http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2015-04/17/content_20453262.htm

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