6 May 2020

With the onset of the economic downturn caused by the recent pandemic, the recruitment need for graduates in the employment market has been encountering a considerable decline. According to the latest statistics from Joint-Institution Network for Student Success (JINESS), a job portal for five self-financing institutions’ students in Hong Kong, the full-time position posted on the portal in Q1 2020 fell by almost 40% in comparison with the same period last year. The report is in line with another job portal for students of UGC-funded universities – JIJIS, which also recorded a similar drop in graduate openings for the first quarter. The slump in manpower demand has undoubtedly dealt a blow to many undergraduates, especially the final-year students who are currently looking for a full-time graduate position.

Despite a plunge in job opportunities, the pandemic has also made a huge impact on campus recruitment activities and career support. At HSUHK, many face-to-face career services and events have inevitably been postponed or even cancelled, including the annual signature event – HSUHK Careers Fair 2020, which were originally participated by around 100 employers with 1000+ graduate and internship opportunities offering to HSUHK students.

To respond to this abrupt change, the Career Planning & Development team of SAO promptly revised its strategies by turning all career services online, for example, organising e-career training and e-career advisory sessions which provide instant guidance to students on job searching, application and interview preparation through an online system, making them brace for the upcoming challenge of job hunting in this difficult time.

The HSUHK eCareer Weeks is another immediate alternative led by the Career team to connect HSUHK students with renowned corporations from across industries through the online channel. Taking place from 16 March to 3 April 2020, the HSUHK eCareer Weeks received an overwhelming response with almost 1,200 students from all disciplines joining in over 20 online career activities, including webinars, live chats, e-trainings, online CV submission, hosted by employers from various sectors.

It is encouraging that the initiative has received positive feedback from both employers and students. One of the participating employers, Ms Yan Yeung, the Human Resources Manager of Kuehne + Nagel, praised, “The first eCareer Week allowed us to stay connected with students during this challenging time. We are so happy to see that all participating students were fully engaged in the seminar, especially when they were playing our game during the webinar, to know more about the job opportunities and our company.”

Likewise, Ms Stella Shum, a BBA-CGC Year 2 student participating in several activities in the eCareer Weeks, also said, “The Live Chat sessions in the eCareer Weeks provided me with another platform to raise my questions to employers even though the Careers Fair was suspended, allowing me to have better understanding of the internship opportunities including the interview process, tips and selection criteria, so that I can prepare myself better for the job application.”

The first HSUHK eCareer Weeks has already come to an end, and yet other batches of online career activities are ongoing, including the e-Career Talk Series by HSUHK Mentors and other e-Training series to support students during this difficult time. Meanwhile, students are encouraged to keep an eye on the latest updates from the Career team and equip themselves to ramp up employability. When the opportunities come, it will be your time to shine.