WHEN JAMES HARRIS first went to Shanghai in 1998, he noticed that quite a few Hongkongers and overseas professionals were already well established there and building successful careers.
Now, however, there is a steady flow of new arrivals getting off the plane every week, all of them are keen to capitalise on the exciting opportunities opening up in the rapidly expanding economy. They all know that the best way to secure a good job is to be there in person.
Mr Harris is managing director, China, for recruitment company Hays Executive. He said many companies saw Shanghai as the place to establish their initial mainland presence and as a base from which to expand. Job seekers from Hong Kong and elsewhere were aware of this and saw the city itself as the logical starting point to go hunting for work.
The situation is similar to Hong Kong in the mid-1990s, when young graduates and people looking for a new challenge arrived here in their thousands to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the booming economy and China's opening up.
'It's incredible,' Mr Harris said. 'People are heading to Shanghai to see what they can find and it is surprising how many good openings are available.'
Some of these are at middle-management level, but there is also a wide range of senior expatriate positions that require industry experience and offer packages comparable to those offered in other international business centres.