- Plurality of respondents cite insufficient salary and lack of career development opportunities as main reasons for dissatisfaction
- Respondents pessimistic against backdrop of strong economic growth
A quarter of university graduates are not satisfied with their first job, according to the latest jobsDB survey. Amongst those who feel dissatisfied, almost a third said this was due to insufficient salary and benefits, while 17% cited a lack of career development opportunities and felt that employers were failing to provide adequate on-the-job training.
The survey revealed that while fresh graduates are getting an average monthly salary of HK$14,978 in their first job, the average salary of those who are dissatisfied with their first job is HK$12,470. This indicates that not all tertiary graduates are feeling the benefit of increasing average graduate salaries.
In addition, only 37% of respondents expected to receive a monthly salary of over HK$16,000, compared to 48% in 2016, reflecting that graduates and undergraduates are becoming increasingly cautious about their salary expectations.
The survey also revealed that although the labour market in Hong Kong is thriving and unemployment rates remain low, 37% of respondents feel pessimistic about their prospects—an increase from 29% last year. Keen competition in the industry, a lack of confidence in their capabilities and concerns over job openings were cited as the key reasons for this pessimism.
Additionally, nearly a quarter of respondents thought that interview performance was critical to securing a job, followed by choosing a more economically useful field of study. This may be a reflection of the high levels of tertiary education and vast numbers of graduates in Hong Kong, diminishing the importance of academic background as a factor for successfully securing a job. Instead values such as sincerity, personality and capability demonstrated in an interview are becoming perceived as the keys to successfully winning an employer’s trust.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
