XL29: LARRAINE CHANG - Successful Careers are by Design not Accident: How the Decisions You Make Today Will Shape Your Career Tomorrow
Larraine Chang · June 28, 2022
Interview with Larraine Chang
Podcast: XL Podcast by Graham Brown
June 28, 2022
The world of work is changing. We all know how the pandemic has radically changed how we work and how we hire talent. But, more importantly, the bigger changes lies with those being hired, us. In this episode of The XL Podcast I’m joined by Hong Kong based headhunter Larraine…
About Larraine Chang
Founder of Ascension Associates, Facilitator, executive coach, Headhunter
ICF ACC Associate Certified Coach8+ Years in executive search4 Global cities studied and worked in3 business lines Run simultaneously
Larraine is the founder of Ascension Associates, a business strategy and human capital management consultancy that brings strategy implementation, talent acquisition, and human capital management together.
She runs 3 separate lines of business simultaneously. It makes her day when: her C-suite clients are achieving leadership performance even better than before after having sessions with her, having peace of mind in navigating their career transitions that few can understand, teams are having high performance after having strengths-based development workshops, and her hiring managers are in good hands to have niche senior positions tackled. Having worked in the executive search field for over 8 years, Larraine often sees the alignment gap between business strategy and talent acquisition, and this prompts her to set up Ascension Associates to solve business problems with a bigger dimension. She is leading the business development, marketing, and international expansion, and continuing the mission to bridge the gap between strategy execution and organizational design.
Prior to Ascension Associates, Larraine was the Recruitment Director for the Insurance Desk at a Hong Kong recruitment start-up at the time of 2011, and a Life Actuarial Consultant for one of the fastest-growing financial services search firm Gravitas Recruitment Group Asia.
About this episode
The world of work is changing. We all know how the pandemic has radically changed how we work and how we hire talent. But, more importantly, the bigger changes lies with those being hired, us.
In this episode of The XL Podcast I’m joined by Hong Kong based headhunterLarraine Changto get a top level view of what is working (and what isn’t working) in the ever evolving world of careers. One of the big changes in the talent market is how and why people are choosing to move. While salary and company brand are still important, other factors now come into play. As Larraine shares, candidates are more likely to go check out the backstory of an organization, learn about their DEI, ESG and work culture in assessing the overall appeal of a next move.
Candidates are also increasingly aware of the developmental opportunities in an organization. In a recent survey on Linkedin, the number 1 skill listed by Headhunters and Hirers as the skill they most wanted to acquire or focus on was “personal development” (44% of responses). Headhunters are no longer in the business of placing candidates, they are increasingly advising and coaching people on how to make the right career choices. A good Headhunter not only needs to know the organization’s needs, but also the intrinsic motivations of their candidates too.
Larraine advises leaders on the importance of “career by design” as opposed to “by default”. No matter how strong your CV resume, you need to make a conscious decision of how to manage perceptions about your career move. “By design” means planning your career move to make change on your terms rather than by accident, tips which Larraine shares in this podcast episode.
Guest: Larraine Chang
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