Broadening skills
It pays to make sure that qualifications are of value and add to your career before signing up
Individuals armed with qualifications in various areas may have the best of intentions, but being over-qualified does have its drawbacks and can come across negatively if executives don't manage the process properly.
'Too many qualifications can actually hurt the candidate,' said Guy Day, managing director of headhunting firm Ambition in Asia. 'That's why people need to really make sure the qualification is of genuine value, can add to their career, and is something they can properly justify in an interview in terms of why they did it. Employers are, after all, looking for a strong balance of people skills, intellect and knowledge.'
Though headhunters differ over the impact a postgraduate degree can have on salaries, most notably an MBA, with some saying there is little difference to others who have seen salary adjustments of up to 30 per cent, one thing they do agree on is that employers are most interested in the person's wider experience, skills and attributes, rather than the qualification alone.
'Someone with a postgraduate qualification might be in a better position to find a job because it at least shows the employer they have been proactive at furthering their skills and knowledge,' said Anthony Thompson, managing director of Michael Page International in Hong Kong and Southern China.
'But it doesn't guarantee more money. Employers will look at candidates as a package. The qualification is only useful if it allows the person to do the job better. If it doesn't, then it might as well just be a piece of paper,' he added.
More pertinent, however, is the fact that an advanced degree cannot protect anyone from a recession.
'Redundancies can be ruthless and indiscriminate. It all depends on how much value the individual can add to the organisation,' Mr Day said. 'What academic qualification you have doesn't really make any difference.' And with two degrees being ever ubiquitous in the city, headhunters say some candidates run the risk of being too academically qualified but having little work experience.
'By collecting these qualifications, people might think they can walk into an organisation at a senior level, but ultimately the academic achievement is only a supplement to experience,' Mr Thompson said. 'The quality of someone's experience always comes first.'
