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CLA survey finds 43% of workers want job change

A survey released by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) yesterday found that more than 40 percent of respondents wanted to change jobs within one year.

The survey of 600 workers over the age of 19 found that 43 percent hoped to switch jobs. The No. 1 reason was a desire for a better salary.

Other reasons cited for wanting to switch jobs included concerns about the future of their current employer, which could be a reflection of worries about the economic slowdown.

The results of the survey indicated that those who want to change jobs are mostly in the retail or service industries, with a monthly salary of less than NT$20,000.

Most found their current jobs on job bank Web sites. In contrast, most of those who planned to stay at their jobs for at least another year were above the age of 40, had graduate degrees, earned more than NT$40,000 a month and worked in the computer, telecommunications, finance, medical or social service sectors.

Among the 600 valid samples, pay was listed as the top factor when deciding whether to accept a position, followed by company benefits and the working environment.

The survey results were presented at a seminar in Taipei yesterday on job-hunting in an economic slowdown.

Council Minister Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄) offered participants advice on job searching.

“[Changing jobs] is kind of like getting a divorce, you have to ask yourself if you have really thought about the consequences [of your decision] before you go through with it,” she said.

For those who have recently graduated and are looking for their first job, Wang’s advice was: “First find a job, then find a good job.”

“It is easier to figure out what you truly want after you have started working,” she said, adding that “at different stages of your life, you may have different sets of priorities and make decisions you might not have thought possible at an earlier stage.”

Kevin Tsai (蔡康永), who has worked in the travel, film, entertainment, publishing and art industries, said he had once worked at the front desk of a hotel in order to find prospective employers.

“If you can take care of [a guest’s] problems in five minutes while it takes someone else 10, then [the guest] will certainly have a strong impression of you,” he said. “Always focus on people.”

The Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training has set up an online job bank at www.ejob.gov.tw to assist people in looking for job opportunities.
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