Interview Skills Seminar
On 17 February, 2009, InfoTech was invited to conduct an Interview Skills Seminar, organized by the Department of Computer Science and Office of Students Affairs, Hong Kong Baptist University. The purpose of the seminar is to help IT undergraduates and postgraduates to know more about their career development in the industry.
Increase in salaries is on average higher than that of the CPI
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 11 July 2008)
The increase rate in IT salary levels is higher on average than that of the Consumer Price Index......Employees are generally anticipating a further rise in prices, so it is not unusual for them to demand salaries covering the price-increase element.
Still an employee's market
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 12 October 2007)
"Employment opportunities have grown at a healthy rate for the three months ending September 2007... It is probably the best third quarter since the dot com bubble. IT vacancies are literally coming from all trades and industries, though the banking and finance sectors remain dominant", according to InfoTech.
Growth generated by strong internal demand
(quoted Classified Post, Market Update, 13 October 2006)
Edwin Tam considered the "growth in the IT (job) market has been generated by strong internal demand. Hong Kong is definitely playing a leading role in the computerisation of the banking and finance sector and is much further ahead of Mumbai and Singapore".
Vacancies at all levels and across all market segments
(quoted Classified Post, Career News, Modern Workplace, 29 July 2006)
"There are vacancies at all levels and across all market segments," said Edwin Tam. He said top IT executives were being offered multi-million dollar packages, which was indicative of how buoyant the market was.
The IT industry is experiencing a rebound
(quoted Classified Post, Career Information, 7 October 2005)
Edwin Tam was confident that the industry was on the right track. "The IT industry is experiencing a rebound. There are more jobs available at the moment. The demand is usually associated with the banking, investment and wealth management sectors,
and we are getting a noticeable increase in activities in the retail sector as well," he said.
"Salaries have been recovering across the board in a sustained manner since the last quarter of 2004. Job seekers can generally expect a salary increase of more than 10 per cent when changing jobs."
Positive impact on the sector's general pay level
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 14 January 2005)
According to InfoTech director Edwin Tam, "The recent boost in the rate of employment is now having a positive impact on the sector's general pay level."
Salaries, however, at least in the short term, are not likely to rise significantly
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 8 October 2004)
Edwin Tam, director of InfoTech, remains upbeat. "The current figures reflect the fact that some less critical IT projects were extended from 2002 into 2003 beyond the original target completion dates,"
he explains. "After that, with the sluggish economy, the major new projects were primarily public sector outsourcing initiatives like the IT Professional Service Agreement (ITPSA). There is no doubt the rebound in the economy will contribute to a more positive mood within the sector and a higher rate of employment."
Most IT professionals with popular skill sets can now find jobs within a couple of weeks rather than the several months it has previously been taking. Salaries, however, at least in the short term, are not likely to rise significantly.
Optimistic about the IT job market in the coming months
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 9 July 2004)
The unemployment rate has continuously been reduced in the IT sector, according to InfoTech director, Edwin Tam. "I remain optimistic about the IT job market in the coming months,"
he says. This is in contrast to 2002 and 2003 when, according to Mr Tam, demand primarily came from large corporations and the Government regarding large-scale projects. "Demand for IT staff from various sectors, including SMEs,
has increased steadily in the past few months," he notes. Today, hot IT job categories include SAP R/3 functional consultants, OS/390, z/OS and CICS application and systems programmers and Cisco Certified Network Professionals with hands-on enterprise network configuration experience.
A better atmosphere
(quoted Classified Post, Engineering & Technology, 15 May 2004)
Edwin Tam, director of InfoTech Services (Hong Kong), said the CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement), Hong Kong Government projects and the overall prosperity of the Pearl River Delta was creating demand for specialist
Oracle E-Business Suite 11i and JDE consultants. Mr Tam said that in the coming months he expected to see demand for Windows Server 2003 technical support staff and MCSE(Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer)s as companies
invested and upgraded from earlier Windows Server platforms. He predicted there would also be job opportunities for people with VoIP and Wireless skills. He said that although IT salary levels were a long way off what they were
in 2000, in general they were recovering. Programmers with no experience to three years' experience can expect to receive between $10,000 and $18,000. Systems analysts with about five years' experience can earn from $25,000
to $31,000, while a director/manager with at least 10 years' experience can expect to receive between $42,000 and $113,000.
A continuous rebound since the fourth quarter of 2003
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 16 April 2004)
"The job market has experienced a steady recovery in the first quarter of 2004. This has been a continuous rebound since the fourth quarter of 2003, which contrasts with the consistent downward trend after the dotcom bubble of 2001,"
notes Edwin Tam, director, InfoTech. "The number of vacancies and the levels of pay are both increasing.
Companies are leaving out the restraints formerly imposed on permanent head-counts
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 10 October 2003)
"It's quite good at the moment," explains Edwin Tam, director, InfoTech. "The increase is mainly from end-users. Some companies are leaving out the restraints [formerly] being imposed on permanent head-counts."
Helped by "quite good" IT sector conditions and the current rise in stock prices in the United States, Mr Tam notes that the vendor side outlook remains optimistic. "Sooner or later, this may have a positive impact on the IT sector in Hong Kong, [and positions] such as computer vendors or systems integrators."
Salaries have been reduced by 30-40 percent since 2000 across all levels of seniority
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 4 July 2003)
The IT sector is becoming increasingly competitive and healthy, says Edwin Tam, director, InfoTech Services (Hong Kong) Limited, although salaries have been reduced by 30-40 percent since 2000
across all levels of seniority. "The mid-term prospect is optimistic," he comments. According to him, competition from Shenzhen, in mainland China, is becoming less attractive, due to rising salary levels for technical support across the border.
More middle to top-level IT sales and marketing professionals are serving the China market
(quoted Career Times, Market Review, 10 Jan 2003)
Edwin Tam, director of InfoTech Services (Hong Kong) Ltd. said, "More middle to top-level IT sales and marketing professionals are serving the China market, particularly in Shanghai and Beijing, and many are [employed by] multinational computer/telecom vendors
and high-tech companies. But few IT technical professionals have relocated to the Mainland."
Know more about these IT positions (Chinese content only)
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The Prospect of IT Profession - the Aftermath of Dotcom Bubble Bursts
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