Graduates face 30% salary gap between top-bottom categories

Fresh graduates in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia who have secured jobs in professional services (compliance, consultancy and legal services), banking and finance, and information technology have a lot to be happy about. According to a survey by jobsDB, these are among the top-five best-paying job categories across the region. 

The survey showed a 30-per-cent gap in average salaries between these top-paying job functions and the bottom, which are transport, administration and human resources, hospitality and food and beverage (F&B), merchandising, and accounting. Tony Lau, head of strategy and marketing at jobsDB Group, said these salary gaps were expected to grow even wider across Asia as jobs that require specialised skills will see salaries rise faster than those at the bottom. 

Noppawan Chulakanista, managing director of jobsDB Thailand, said most employers were not just looking for graduates from the directly relevant faculties, but were also looking for candidates with other value-added skills, such as in information technology or relevant languages. That is because many jobs nowadays require well-rounded individuals who have both specific industry-related skills and experience but also other knowledge that could help increase productivity and efficiency. 

Those who can demonstrate various kinds of skills will certainly get more and better job opportunities; for example, in the finance and banking industry, roles related to mobile banking will require a combination of IT and marketing skills in addition to banking and finance expertise. 

“This may sound like small stuff, but it’s really a big thing that differentiates salaries nowadays,” she said.

The jobsDB online survey found that employees in the merchandising, administration and human resources, and hospitality and F&B job functions consistently ranked at the bottom five across all the economies listed above. This may be due to the high turnover seen in these job functions, where low pay may be a factor.

“However, new graduates in these areas have nothing to worry about. Their salaries will increase dramatically by an average of 44 per cent once they gain more than three years’ of experience,” Noppawan said.

Jake Andrew, jobsDB’s head of product, said many higher-paid jobs did not even exist just five to 10 years ago, so job-seekers who possess the capability of “learning how to learn” will be able to land in a good position. 

Andrew recommends 10 useful tips for corporate human-resources personnel and recruiters to boost hiring efficiency via online job portals. These can be applied to attract the right candidates and quality applications.

1. Create a relevant job title so the right job seekers consider your job.

2. Provide a summary to encourage job seekers to read your full advert.

3. Include quality content to motivate good job seekers to apply. 

4. Showcase your company culture and use the right tone.

5. Present and structure your advert professionally.

6. Maximise your brand value on desktop, mobile and e-mail platforms. 

7. Target your adverts to relevant job seekers. 

8. Approach candidates to apply for your job. 

9. Measure and research to optimise performance and value. 

10. Assess applicants efficiently with candidate-management tools.