The CV and the letter a Hong Kong desk reads

The notes below are on how to write an English CV (also called a resume) and a cover letter for a Hong Kong employer: structure, how to quantify a result, how to fit an applicant tracking system (ATS), how to state your visa, and common mistakes. The method is general. It does not deal with one firm.

How Hong Kong employers read a CV

1. The first screen is short. The top half of page 1 decides whether the reader goes on.
2. Attention usually runs in this order: degree and institution, relevant internships or jobs, skills (languages, software, certificates), and whether you can work legally in Hong Kong.
3. Large employers mostly use an online application system. The CV is parsed for keywords and format first. A person reads it after that.

Structure and length

1. If you are a fresh graduate, or you have worked for 3 years or less: 1 page.
2. A useful order: personal details, education, work and internships, projects or activities outside class, skills and certificates.
3. Personal details: your name in English (the pinyin that matches your passport; you may add an English name you use), a phone number (a Hong Kong number first, with the area code), an email address, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link if you have one.
4. Leave out: date of birth, marital status, identity card number, a full address (the district is enough), and a photo (unless the employer explicitly asks for one).
5. Education: the institution, the degree and the major, the start and end month and year, results (GPA or class of honours, included when they are good), relevant courses (2 to 4 that relate to the post), and scholarships.
6. Reverse chronological order. The most recent item goes first.

How to write an entry: action, content, result

Each entry is 1 or 2 lines. The pattern is a verb, plus what you did, plus the result or the scale.

1. Start with a verb. Use the past tense for work that is finished: Analysed, Built, Led, Reduced, Coordinated, Drafted.
2. Write the substance: the object, the tool, the method.
3. Write the result: a quantity, a ratio, a time, an amount, a scope. Only use a figure you can verify and that you are willing to explain in an interview.
4. If you have no result you can quantify, write the scope or the deliverable: how many companies you covered, how many reports, how many users you served, and for whom it was used.

A rewrite, to show the structure. The figures are placeholders. Replace them with your own real data.

1. Original: Responsible for market research.
2. Rewrite: Analysed [N] listed peers' annual reports to build a comparable-company table used by the team in a client pitch.

How to write the skills section

1. Languages: write the written level and the spoken level separately, for example English (fluent), Mandarin (native), Cantonese (conversational). Write them as they are. In an interview you may be asked to switch language on the spot.
2. Software: name the tool and how well you use it, for example Excel (pivot tables, lookup functions, modelling), Python (pandas), SQL, Tableau, PowerPoint.
3. Certificates and examinations: for one you have passed, write the name and the year, for example HKSI Licensing Examination Paper 1 (passed, year), IIQE Paper 1. If you are sitting one now, state the expected time.
4. Do not write an adjective you cannot prove, for example "strong communication skills".

Visa and right-to-work information

Hong Kong employers often want to know whether you can work legally, and whether they have to file documents for a visa. You can add 1 line under your personal details.

1. If you hold IANG: Right to work: IANG visa holder (no employer sponsorship required). An IANG holder is limited only by the limit of stay, and may take up employment and change jobs freely.
2. If you are a fresh graduate and you have not yet applied for IANG: Eligible for IANG upon graduation (no employer sponsorship required for fresh graduates). Under the Immigration Department's rule, a fresh-graduate application filed within 6 months from the date of the graduation certificate does not require a job first.
3. If you hold the Top Talent Pass Scheme: Top Talent Pass Scheme visa holder.
4. If you need the employer to apply under the General Employment Policy or the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, you do not need to put that on the CV. Explain it at the interview, or when you receive an Offer.

Write only your real status. Do not write a visa that has not been approved.

Fitting an applicant tracking system

1. File format: upload what the system asks for. PDF or Word is common. The text in a PDF must be selectable and copyable. It must not be a picture.
2. Layout: a single column as the main layout. Avoid text boxes, nested tables, key information placed in the header or the footer, and icons used in place of words.
3. Use ordinary words as headings: Education, Experience, Skills.
4. Keywords: against the job description, write a skill you actually have in the same words, in the experience section and in the skills section. If the description says financial modelling, you write financial modelling, and not only Excel work.
5. Use one date format, for example Sep 2024 – Jun 2025.
6. File name: Name_Role_CV.pdf.

The cover letter

1. Length: within 1 page, in 3 to 4 paragraphs.
2. Paragraph 1: the title of the post, who you are (institution, major, and graduation date), and one sentence on why you are applying.
3. Paragraph 2: the 1 or 2 pieces of experience most relevant to the post, using specific examples of what you can do.
4. Paragraph 3: why this firm and this team. Refer to a business or a project you learned about from public material. Do not write a line that would fit every firm.
5. The close: say that you look forward to a further conversation, and leave your contact details.
6. The salutation: if you know the name of the person hiring, write Dear Mr or Ms and the surname. If you do not, write Dear Hiring Manager.
7. Revise every letter for the post. Check the firm name and the job title one by one.

A Chinese CV (when you need one)

1. Some local employers, or posts whose business faces the Mainland, may ask for a Chinese CV.
2. Use the same structure as the English CV. You do not need to translate word for word. Keep the quantified results.
3. On a Chinese CV you send to a Hong Kong employer, you may use Traditional Chinese characters if that is what they ask for.

Common mistakes

1. Longer than 1 page, with a large amount of experience that has nothing to do with the post.
2. Experience that lists duties and no results.
3. Mixed tenses, spelling mistakes, and a mix of British and American spelling. Pick one and stay with it.
4. The same CV sent to every post, so the keywords do not match the job description.
5. An inflated title or an inflated figure, which you cannot answer for when the interviewer follows up.
6. A phone number with no area code, or an email name that is not professional.
7. Languages left out, or a language level set too high.
8. A vague line on your visa, so the employer wrongly thinks a complicated work visa is required.

A checklist before you submit

1. Is it 1 page, and does the layout look the same on different devices?
2. Does each entry start with a verb, and does it include a result or a scale?
3. Do the keywords cover the core requirements in the job description?
4. Is the visa or right-to-work line accurate?
5. Are the firm name and the job title in the cover letter correct?
6. Ask a classmate, or a teacher at the careers centre, to read it through.

Sources

• Immigration Department, Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (staying in or returning to Hong Kong for employment), webpage (checked 18 October 2026). The visa wording follows this page.
• Immigration Department, Top Talent Pass Scheme, webpage (checked 18 October 2026). The visa wording follows this page.
• The rest is a general writing method.