China’s tech sector is losing its shine but remains top career choice for young talent
- Beijing’s crackdown on Big Tech, delisting risks for Chinese companies in the US, and poor consumer sentiment amid the global pandemic created a perfect storm
- The contraction in number of new hires comes at a time when China expects to see an unprecedented 10 million new graduates this summer
China’s tech sector is losing its shine as a career choice for the country’s best educated and most entrepreneurial amid widespread headcount cuts, subdued growth and intense regulatory scrutiny, according to jobseekers and workers in the sector.
Evan Liu, a 28-year-old with a master’s degree from the US, did not foresee that job hunting would be this hard. He started looking for work in the internet industry soon after the Lunar New Year in February, a period known as “golden March, silver April” for jobseekers in China.
Yet, despite a stellar resume that includes work experience at Big Tech firms as well as an entrepreneurial stint, Liu only managed to get one second round interview after sending out 100 applications.
Compare that to 2019, when “all Chinese tech firms, no matter big or small, were expanding” and every potential employer talked about an IPO plan in Hong Kong or the US, Liu said.
A lot has changed in the macro-environment since then. Beijing’s crackdown on Big Tech that started late 2020, delisting risks for Chinese companies in the US, and poor consumer sentiment amid the global pandemic created the perfect storm for the once booming industry.