Hong Kong is my all time favorite place. I would LOVE to work there. I'm a White American, currently studying International Relations. I used to live in Taiwan, so I can speak Mandarin very well, almost fluently. I'd love to work in Hong Kong doing... well... something. However, do you think I would need to speak Cantonese? Or, are there a lot of Chinese/Taiwanese companies over there that I could work with?
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1 :
Actually, how well you speak a Chinese dialect isn't an issue. The only way that someone who isn't a citizen or permanent resident can get a job in Hong Kong is if they can offer a job skill that isn't available in the general population. And that job skill is almost always being a native-English speaker. You also would have to be offered a job before actually moving to Hong Kong. Getting a job isn't as easy as moving there and dropping off résumés, unfortunately.
2 :
You won't die even if you don't speak Cantonese in Hong Kong, but this brings you lots of inconvenience. There're mainland companies which will bring you opportunities but in HK, most people are not really that good at Mandarin. They only know some basic conversations. It feels much more comfortable if you can talk with them in Cantonese. Most of them can speak more English than Mandarin. LOL!!! Of course, as an American, speaking fluent Mandarin already brings you advantages, so try to contact some companies you want!!! Good luck!!!
