I posted a Career link on the left for many months already. Up to now, only a few responded to that job advert. At this point in time, I haven’t found anyone suitable. Why?

Some problems I encountered with candidates are:

* Totally not qualified. For very strange reason, people who want to become say an Engineer – would get their Engineering degree first. Or if they want to become an accountant, they go to get the relevant certification. But when come to financial advisory, many people thinks they can just join without even knowing anything.

* Academically qualified but do not wish to met clients. Among those very few who are qualified, they do not wish to meet people. They prefer to be at the “backroom.” However, this is also not consistent with other professionals. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers are all required to meet real people to get their work done.

* Not hungry for business. Another common problem is middle age personnel who has already accumulated significant personal wealth. They are thinking of changing career and they think the financial adviser is a more relax job. It appears to me that they are not hungry enough to work.

* Pessimistic attitude. Some have no faith in the business. They think fee-based model is doomed to failure. On the other hand, they don’t want to become salesman as well. Before they start to do anything, they already declare themselves defeated.

Almost everyone I met doesn’t know anything much about marketing. Even if they had studied marketing in school or is currently in charge of their employer’s marketing department, it is really amazing that I they do not know anything about marketing. I discovered this when many asked me how to get customers. I will not be surprised if this is asked from those who had no experience in marketing. But some are currently involved in their companies’ sales and marketing department! This is one mystery I cannot grasp…

I personally think that it is quite important for any professionals to know a bit or two about marketing. I don’t know of any professionals who do not do any marketing and expect customers to walk into their office to do business. I studied a simple course on marketing when I was doing my bachelor in engineering more than a decade ago. Later on, I picked up marketing when I was doing R&D developing consumer electronic equipments because I needed to know about the psychology of customers and under what circumstances customers will buy such products.

I also fee that Singapore people are quite out of touch with the world. People thinks that after they have finished school, they don't need to learn anymore. This thinking is flawed because a structural shift in economy will render many occupations obsolete but there will be new type of jobs created. Perhaps that's why there is always an on-going struggle by the government to encourage people to upgrade their skills. My advice to everyone is this: Learning is for a life time. The day you stop learning is the day you leave this world. As for the job advert placed on my website, I am always looking for new advisers to join me in my team but please for goodness sake go and get yourself qualified and have a good attitude. Indeed, it is all about changing mindset. Of course, there is always "short-cuts" and get-rich-quick way of manipulative selling techniques but this shall not happen under me.