Working out which "big data" skills are needed and a better understanding of social media as a channel are just two of the top talent trends that will shape the recruitment landscape in the Year of the Horse.

Corporate banking will gallop ahead of the job-hunting pack. Expect new headcounts from established players, followed by newer foreign and Chinese banks picking the city as their Asian hub.

The legal sector will also be hot, fuelled by China’s anti-corruption drive and efforts to align itself with global economic governance standards. In-house regulatory and compliance specialist lawyers will be in demand.

Hong Kong’s retail sector will keep racing ahead. Candidates with a strong grasp of English, Mandarin and Cantonese will enjoy a premium.

Cantering along will be technology organisations, with their focus on expanding product lines and exploring new regions. As a result, they will have more accounting and regional financial planning and analysis jobs.

We also expect a healthy clip for the contract market, while big data will drive demand for IT project managers and business analysts. The popularity of tablet-based applications will fuel the need for JavaScript developers, while recruitment will rely more and more on digital and social media.

And down the stretch comes our final trend – a borderless jobs market in which people are more willing to change countries for career development, and where candidates are increasingly trilingual. If you are looking to move up, such language skills and the cultural intelligence they often come with are equally indispensable for today’s global executives and their organisations.

Marc Burrage is regional director of Hays in Hong Kong

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