Hiring in Hong Kong means navigating a competitive, multilingual talent market with strict work-permit requirements and a strong preference for candidates who speak English and Cantonese. Supply of senior technical and finance talent remains tight, while mid-market roles see heavier competition. Most hiring managers source through local job boards and professional networks, but struggle with screening speed, permit eligibility verification, and scheduling interviews across time zones. Raffi operates natively in Hong Kong's employment framework. The platform supports both English and Traditional Chinese, quotes salaries in HKD, and integrates with Workable so your existing workflows stay intact. Raffi interviews candidates who apply to your posted roles—no passive sourcing, no global scanning. The agentic AI recruiter handles initial screening, work-permit questions, language proficiency checks, and calendar scheduling via Google Calendar, so your team moves from application to qualified shortlist in days, not weeks. Compliance with Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance and work-visa rules is embedded into the process. Start by connecting your Workable account and posting a role.
1
Cities supported
30+
Candidate interview languages
<24 hrs
Application to first contact
Raffi calls every applicant for a 10-15 min structured interview. Not just the top 5 résumés — every one. Result: nobody good slips through.
Conversational AI interview, rubric-anchored scoring, transcripts you can read. You get a top 3-5 shortlist while competitors are still scheduling first-rounds.
SaaS pricing from $199/mo. No 15-25% of first-year salary, no per-hire kickback. Cancel anytime.
Hong Kong's labor market remains bifurcated: finance, accounting, and professional services continue to draw strong applicant flows, while technology hiring faces persistent supply constraints. Mid-market manufacturing and logistics roles see steady demand but lower wage elasticity. Outbound migration has modestly tightened the available pool, particularly for roles requiring 5+ years of experience. Work-permit sponsorship for non-locals has become standard for senior positions, but hiring managers report longer processing times. Cantonese-English bilingualism is non-negotiable for most customer-facing and operational roles; Mandarin is increasingly common for China-facing finance and business development. Salary expectations in HKD have held steady in established sectors; tech salaries remain elevated but no longer see the year-on-year jumps seen pre-2022. Hiring cycles tend to align with fiscal-year planning (March–May, September–November).
Hong Kong hiring requires fluency in work-permit sponsorship rules: most roles need a Certificate of Exemption or full visa sponsorship, adding 4–8 weeks to onboarding. Language is non-negotiable—English and Cantonese fluency is the baseline for most professional roles; Mandarin increasingly expected in finance and business roles. Local job boards (JobsDB, LinkedIn Hong Kong, 104 Job Bank for regional roles) and professional recruiters dominate sourcing. Salary norms in HKD vary sharply by sector: mid-market finance roles typically range HKD 400k–700k annually, tech roles HKD 450k–850k, and operations roles HKD 300k–500k. Hiring timelines are longer than Western markets due to permit lead times. Cultural cadence favors relationship-building and formal interview processes; many hiring managers still prefer phone or in-person first screens.
Raffi's structured interview format and rubric-based scoring is designed to meet anti-discrimination standards in Hong Kong. AI use is disclosed to every candidate, and human review of every hire decision is built in.
Candidate transcripts and recordings are stored with consent, candidate-accessible, and removable on request. Per-country data residency available on Growth plan.
Yes. Raffi operates in 30+ languages and supports candidate calls in any timezone via self-booking — there's no per-country integration. If you can post a role from Hong Kong, you can run Raffi from Hong Kong.
Raffi is calibrated against the major AI-in-hiring frameworks (EU AI Act + NYC Local Law 144) and discloses AI use to every candidate before the call. For Hong Kong-specific work permits and right-to-work checks, those happen outside Raffi — we screen, you verify eligibility before extending an offer.
Not always. Hong Kong citizens, Macanese, and holders of valid visas do not need sponsorship. For non-visa holders, you'll need to apply for a Certificate of Exemption (for specialist roles) or full employment visa. Most mid-market and senior roles require sponsorship. Raffi tracks visa eligibility during screening so you know permit requirements early.
English and Cantonese are baseline for most professional roles. Many operational and customer-facing roles require functional Cantonese. Mandarin is increasingly expected in finance, business development, and China-facing functions. Raffi supports screening in both English and Traditional Chinese and can flag language proficiency gaps.
Mid-market finance and accounting roles typically range HKD 400k–700k annually; tech roles HKD 450k–850k; operations and HR roles HKD 300k–500k. These vary by seniority, industry, and company size. Local job boards and recruiters publish regular salary benchmarks by role and sector.
Agentic recruiting is recruiting done by an AI agent that takes action on your behalf — not a chatbot or résumé summarizer. Raffi calls every applicant for a structured 10-15 minute interview, scores them against your rubric, and hands you a ranked top 3-5. The work happens autonomously.
Most agencies charge 15-25% of first-year salary as a placement fee — a $90k hire runs $13-22k. Raffi is SaaS at $199-599/mo plus per-action credits, typically landing under $10k/year for a team hiring 12 people. Same shortlist quality, no placement contract.
About 25 minutes to onboard, post your first role, and have Raffi ready to interview applicants. No engineering work, no integration project. Connect your work email, paste a JD, you're live.
Free $25 starter credit. No credit card. Screening live by tonight.