Are you prepared for China’s white-hot job market?
China is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Competition is rife, but for a well prepared professional with patience, it is still the place to be for opportunity and excitement.
China’s corporate job market has never been so attractive and yet so competitive.
Boosted by steady economic growth in the country and across the region, many multinational companies are starting or dramatically increasing their operations here. Despite health concerns arising from pollution and food safety issues, foreign nationals are still transferring into China. Meanwhile, better education and international company exposure have also made the local workforce much more competitive. This perfect storm now poses a tough question to job seekers in 2013: how do you stand out among this fierce international competition?
To those based outside China, this could be quite a surprising read. It is common knowledge that there are plenty of jobs across many industries in China. However, recent graduates might be shocked to learn that companies just aren’t interesting in education anymore: they are looking for real practical experiences. Below are some factors working against different types of job-hunters:
-- The number of Chinese graduates with rich internship experiences is traditionally low compared to the West. Multinationals also find many local graduates not “international” enough for them, or their language and communication skills not up to standard.
-- On the other hand, the sheer volume of Chinese graduates returning home with shiny diplomas from prestigious foreign universities has unfortunately diluted the value of, even created a slight distrust in, such degrees. State media have reported that nearly half of all Chinese returnees earn no higher than 5,000 yuan (HK$6,000) a month.
-- Finally, foreigners job-hunting in China can be considered expensive and potentially unstable, merely looking for another two to three years of employment in China while maintaining their expat benefits. Companies are also looking to reduce the number of foreign senior managers and replace them with local professionals to localise their business, so the smaller number of roles open with this expat capacity is fiercely contested.