第1集：求职建议​Advice for Young Jobseekers

Advice for Young Jobseekers

China’s job market is an increasingly dynamic and rapidly changing environment. With it’s giant economy moving out of a predominantly manufacturing base and into a service based one, there are bound to be lopsided, mismatched skills for the jobs available. A record 7 million plus university students will graduate this year alone, which means increasing pressure in the employment market and rising competition for all young jobseekers. According to official data, there are an estimated 88 graduate level jobs for every 100 jobseekers.

So how do you make yourself stand out from the crowd and impress potential employers? Here are some of our career crunch tips to help you out.

Internships. Given that a CV is normally your first point of contact with a recruiter or employer, you must have an impressive work experience list before you even begin your first job. Whether this means landing unpaid or low paid internship programs or working at your father’s business, an impressive CV is one that shows you’ve taken intiative from an early start in your career and have developed skills other than the knowledge you’ve learnt through the education system. Internships can teach you valuable soft skills that make you extremely attractive to employers. This includes good communication skills, how to interact in a business setting, taking initiative for tasks and projects and good time management.

Have an open mind and be flexible. Many young university graduates these day have high expectations for salaries and career satisfaction. The reality of the situation is that China’s job market is still fluctuating and changing trends mean there is a harder time matching up candidates with their ideal positions. By being flexible with the type of position you accept, keep in mind that the opportunities offered through that first role may lead you to the kind of job you would like to pursue in the future.

Participate in as many non-school activities as possible, which include charity work, sporting teams or societies that may round out your skills and help personal growth in other ways. One of the top complaints of HR managers these days is that fresh employees have a hard time applying the knowledge learnt at university to a work context by thinking out of the box. These extra-curricular events and achievements are good practice for applying your skills to different settings.

No matter how outstanding you are at your studies, remember that competition for top spots at the world’s best firms are going to be tough no matter what. If you want to maximise your chance at finding employment, do not have reservations to apply for smaller boutique firms, that may offer you more responsibility and guidance with practical experience. These smaller firms will have more potential for permanent positions and earlier promotions due to a more relaxed management structure.