Today’s Classified Post Career Forum will be blossoming with even more job opportunities, career advice and experience sharing for students and recent graduates than ever before. 

Among the most important draws for young jobseekers heading to the forum – held at the InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong – is obviously the possibility of meeting their future employers. Dozens of top Hong Kong companies will be exhibiting their job offerings and talking about their career-development opportunities, as well as many international giants such as Google and Bloomberg.

Google, for example, will be looking for people to join its digital training programme, which is aimed at those looking to pursue a career in digital marketing. The internet giant will train participants and match them with over 80 jobs at more than 40 companies that have full-time marketing job openings. 
The forum also offers those attending a chance to win a place on the prestigious Shadow a CEO Programme, where they will get to spend three days shadowing a top senior executive to get a glimpse of what high-level business life is like.

There are also places up for grabs on double the previous number of “company tours” of leading businesses in Hong Kong, as well as a wide-ranging series of informative talks and seminars, full of advice for those looking to take their first step on the career ladder.
The forum “provides a centralised pool for young people searching for job information” and allows them to compare different jobs across a range of companies, says Prudy Chan, talent development manager at Yip’s Chemical, a listed producer of petrochemical products and an exhibitor at the forum.

For Chan, the forum is an opportunity to connect directly with young job seekers. “It allows us to keep a presence in the market and build a corporate image that will attract high-powered young people. We can also explain about the chemical manufacturing industry and the prospects for the industry on the mainland. We can also describe the uniqueness of our company’s Management Trainee programme, we can and encourage suitably talented young people to apply for a place on it.”

Kit Fan, head of corporate human resources at Towngas, also appreciates the chance to interact directly with jobseekers, as well as the opportunity to build the company’s brand.

“It helps us to attract young talents with a proactive attitude. It also allows us to explain to them about our diverse business portfolio apart from gas – including telecommunication infrastructure, the development of new energy sources, and software development – and about our people development philosophy.”

The four business leaders taking part in this year’s Shadow a CEO Programme come from suitably diverse backgrounds, giving applicants the opportunity to target the industry most relevant to their career aspirations. 

The quartet comprise Frantz Hotton, managing director at Pernod Ricard Hong Kong and Macau; Leong Cheung, executive director of charities and communities at the Hong Kong Jockey Club; Allen Ha, CEO of AsiaWorld-Expo Management; and Patrick Lee, CEO of Inchcape Motor Services in North Asia and China.

Previous “shadows” on the programme have been able to sit in on top-level meetings, brainstorm new branding concepts, make site visits and much more.

To register for places on the four company tours to Hong Kong Broadband Network, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, JW Marriott Hotel and Towngas, forum attendees need to accumulate stamps that are acquired after chatting to exhibitors. One registration requires five stamps, but attendees are free to collect more stamps to register for more tours. 

The stream of talks and seminars that will run throughout the day will cover industries from banking and finance to property and construction to engineering and technology. There will also be a entrepreneurial slant to proceedings, with the founders of educational app Snapask (HK) and delivery service EasyVan sharing their experience and advice in being their own bosses.

Alongside all these activities, consultants from recruitment specialists Kelly Services will be on hand as “CV Doctors” to offer help for that vital first stage of job application.