Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

The U.S. added 157,000 payroll positions in January according to The New York Times. Such job growth, however, did not result in a lower unemployment rate. On the contrary, the unemployment rate rose to 7.9% for the month. What is going on? There must be more than one reason behind that. One could be employers now require existing employees to take over some of the responsibilities for the vacant positions until they are filled. When employers are not filling the vacant positions, the increased number of payroll positions does not help lower the unemployment rate. Another possible reason is that fewer employers are willing to invest in candidates with less experience but great potential. Companies prefer to hire candidates who are ready to plug in and perform the job immediately --- usually those holding a similar position in a competitive firm. By doing so, companies can save a good amount of training and development cost. Therefore, it may seem everyone is “hiring,” but th...

What? Bei hexie le??? For your information, that is not a typo. In Mandarin Chinese, “bei hexie le” means “(something) has been harmonized.” According to the Wall Street Journal report by Xiao Qiang and Perry Link, people in mainland China have to be very “creative” when communicating on the internet because the government is actively and heavily monitoring people’s conversation in the cyberspace. So, instead of posting “my wallet has been stolen” on the internet, one must use “wo bei hexie le” as a “synonymic but good” expression (translated into “I have been harmonized” for the bad accident happened to me). Otherwise, this kind of messages will be screened, and their voices will never be heard. For a long time, I have known and accepted the fact that I cannot communicate with my family and friends in mainland China via social media. They have no access to Facebook, Twitter, or my blogs --- you can be the judge here and decide whether my blog is strictly business focus or pr...

A Pizza Hut in Canton The first Pizza Hut restaurant in mainland China opened in 1990. Yet, the Pizza Huts in China look nothing like the ones in the U.S. In China, customers will be greeted and seated by a hostess. They will then be served by young and good-looking waitresses or waiters. Back then, not many Chinese could afford to eat in a Pizza Hut because the average check per person was around 150 RMB (close to $20 at that time) while most Chinese were only making 1,500 RMB per month (less than $200 per month). With 150 RMB, people were able to purchase a whole week of food for two at home. As a result, most Pizza Huts opened in selected locations (e.g., in big business districts).     Different from Pizza Huts, the Starbucks in China copy the U.S. concept with very few modifications and entered the market in 1999. The stores, menu items, and prices look almost the same as the ones in the U.S. A cup of latte, for example, costs about 35 RMB (about $4.5 back then). W...

Social networks can be referred to as a complex social structure in which people connect with one another. Social networks have been around for as long as there have been human beings. People established networks by interacting with one another. Now that there is internet, which allows people to break the physical boundaries and connect with others in almost everywhere and at any time, will people find it easier to build a social network? Indeed, it is often just one click away from connecting with someone online, but think deeper, there is no shortcut for building a real social network. Let’s say if we want to establish a professional relationship with a potential business partner in a traditional setting. First, we will find ways to get introduced to the partner. Then, we want to speak to the partner on the phone, in person, or at least with e-mail/mail. Such conversation provides a good opportunity for both parties to assess each other’s work and ideas. If both parties ar...

It is no longer a secret that companies use social media to recruit and select managerial candidates. As a result, if a job seeker wants to catch an employer’s attention, s/he must be visible online as an expert. Last year, I published an article about social-media job-search tactics in HOSTEUR™ , in which I shared some career advice with hospitality and tourism students. A year later, I was invited to write an article of the same topic for the HealthyYou Magazine , but this time my target audience is the students majoring in nutrition science and public health. I actually offered similar advice to both groups (even though with different wordings). The truth is it doesn't matter in which area(s) a person wants to advance his/her career. The basic tactics of using social media in job search remain the same. Here are some examples, A job seeker must understand the characteristics and qualifications that his/her ideal employer is looking for in order to design/devel...

I recently read two discussions about company policies on employees’ grooming standards and social media. I believe they both deserve our attention, especially if we are working in the service sector. The first one is about a company’s guidelines on employee dress codes and grooming standards. Today, there are more people wearing tattoos and piercings than before. It is found that 32% of those between 25 and 29 wear at least one tattoo . Does this mean more companies will allow employees to uncover their tattoos and piercings at work? I doubt it. Based on my own research on hospitality recruiters’ expectations of job candidates and my work experience in the industry, I believe the service industry is still very conservative in dress codes and very strict on employees’ grooming standards. The question is: What policy is deemed appropriate in the work place? According to a recent report in the HR Magazine, strict work place dress codes may raise legal issues, especially wh...

Can a job candidate with exceptional analytical skills set him/her apart from the sea of applicants? Furthermore, will good analytical skills be able to help people advance their career? According to Julie Martin, the Controller and Director of Operations at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center ¹:    Analytical skills are very important. Sometimes, it equals to “smart” even though there are smart people who might not have good analytical skills. … People with good analytical skills will be able to present their arguments with numbers and facts, which makes their statements more convincing. … Besides “numbers,” analytical skills can also be referred to a person’s ability of analyzing a complex issue and identifying the possible solutions to the problem(s). Julie’s words remind me a qualitative study of mine in 2011 , in which I asked a group of hospitality recruiters: “What intellectual skills are important in hiring a hospitality senior? ...