Returning to work in China: Lessons for Chinese students in the UK

Presentation by Ellen O’Brien

International Careers Adviser

Aims of this session: Provide a brief overview of China’s economy and

graduate labour market

Outline employer perceptions of returning Chinese graduates

Highlight approaches to recruitment in different sectors

Discuss challenges faced by Chinese graduates returning home and implications for their job hunting strategies

An opportunity for discussion

March 18-22, Beijing and Shanghai

Wide range of employers – State Owned Privately Owned Foreign Investment / Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprises

Feedback was mixed but patterns became clear!

4

Background on China’s economy China’s economy slowed following the global crash in 2009

Following a stimulus package (big infrastructure projects), growth picked up in 2010 as a result then fell back from 2011

Growth comes from people (urbanisation) + capital (machinery) + productivity (managerial techniques) and these can’t go on growing forever

Hitting 7.5% growth until 2020 is still remarkable and will see China’s economy overtake the USA’s but reform is needed to make this happen – including skills required from returning graduates

Source: Alistair Thornton, Senior China Economist, HIS

Long term challenges 40% of the economy is driven by exports and

domestic consumption is too low with government investment and exports too high

The government needs to bring down the savings rate - still very high, partly due to the one child policy

Demographic problem - there will soon be a huge proportion of old people due to the one child policy. “China faces growing old before it grows rich”

Source: Alistair Thornton, Senior China Economist, HIS

Some background on the Chinese graduate job market in 2013

Companies expect >10% headcount increase in 2013, much of it from fresh graduates

Talent supply – nearly 7m fresh graduates per year

230,300 overseas graduates returned in 2012, accumulated total is 1.05m

SO, it’s very competitive…..

Source: Aon Hewitt China Salary Increase Survey 2010‐2012

From Hai Gui – sea turtle

to Hai Dai - seaweed

Starting pay is based on educational background – Masters can add £2,200 pa over UG degree av. annual salary of £8,000 in Tier 1 cities

Overseas study still has a salary premium but the gap is closing

Sales and Marketing and R&D attract higher salaries than other functions - PhD much preferred in R&D

Auto and healthcare industries offer highest starting salaries

Graduate Salary Trends in China

Employers Recruitment Styles in China Recruitment methods are common across most

sectors including attending campus job fairs, applications by CV and possibly online tests, 1 or 2 rounds of interviews, assessment centre

All focus on skills and mindset – solid professional knowledge, development potential, work ethic, team focus, results-driven, innovative / entrepreneurial / think outside the box

Typically recruit between Oct and Jan

State Owned Enterprises (SOE) Still very traditional in their recruitment methods

Only hire from 211 Chinese universities and often family “guanxi” is also required

May not have equal opportunities for male and female applicants for some roles

Starting salaries tend be lower but do increase over time –benefits include organising the “hukou” and job stability

Overseas educated Chinese need to be careful not to appear arrogant (“improper mindset”)

Expect some “reverse culture shock” at first

Quotes from / about SOEs

“Personality is not crucial – a new graduate is like a tree - integrity (roots), reliability (trunk) and ability to learn (branches)”

“In an SOE, people need to spend 50% of their energy on relationship building”

“Chinese employers don’t know which UK universities are the best so that’s a big problem”

“Some employers dislike returners speaking English because they think they are arrogant – need to be respectful of the company culture”

Privately Owned Enterprises (POE)

Recruitment is likely to be more open and based more on knowledge and skills

There is no typical POE – some have grown from SEOs and are therefore more traditional while others are small start ups and pay less but are more realistic for those not from 211s with guanxi

It is possible to earn more money more quickly in a POE than in a SOE

Proving your ability is important - don’t “jump” too quickly chasing higher salaries - salary and career progression will improve by playing the ‘long game’

Quotes from / about POEs

“We can pay double for UK graduates with an IT degree”

“Graduates want a 20% p.a. pay rise so move on quickly”

“Our graduates leave and go on to FIEs which is a success (if they have stayed for 2 or 3 years)

Foreign Investment Enterprises (FIE)

Seen as being fairer in their hiring, including gender

Value all UK work experience (more than others do)

Focus is more on personality than where the graduate studied Also open minded about UG v PG degree

Graduates are mentored, the focus is on career development

Huge competition from overseas returners

Quotes from / about FIEs

“Hires from the UK meet our criteria very well, they are more mature than the locally educated Chinese”

“We prefer the more aggressive and culturally aware overseas graduates”

What do graduates want?

“job security” - SOE

“get rich quick” - POE

“professional skills” - FIE

Fresh graduates’ preferred Top Ten employers

1. China Mobile 2. Bank of China 3. Alibaba 4. Microsoft Corporation 5. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 6. Procter & Gamble 7. PetroChina 8. Huawei 9. Baidu 10. Google

Source: Zhaopin.com

Before applying, students should ...

Assess their own skills and experience

Research suitable opportunities and organisations – use social media (e.g. Weibo), job portals (e.g. Zhaopin) and contacts

Find out what they want for that role – do their homework!

Before applying, students should ...

Match themselves to employer needs and identify sources of evidence – bring Western thinking to Chinese business

Think about location – 2nd & 3rd tier cities is where the opportunities are

The hukou can be a constraint – make sure they know what help may be available

Professional, theoretical knowledge

International outlook – inc. work experience

Creative thinking – think outside the box

Executive ability – think independently

“Survival” ability – work under pressure, adapt quickly

Skills that Chinese employers look for from overseas educated graduates

UK degree is less of an advantage now so you must sell the benefits clearly (66% of HR managers do not see overseas study as giving an advantage in itself)

Be prepared for reverse culture shock – respect company culture

Be realistic about your value in terms of salary (most graduates look for 3-8K RMB per month)

The benefits of overseas education will be important in the long term in your career including in terms of salary

Top tips from Chinese employers

Your approach needs to fit the type of employer, be respectful of the company culture

ALL employers look for work ethic, drive, teamwork and commitment

Most employers want a short, clear CV (e.g. “I review over 1000 CVs in 3 hours”!!)

Don’t be a jumper!! Stay in a job for 2 to 3 years to prove your value before moving on

Top tips from Chinese employers

Where are the jobs advertised

Social media (massive in China): • Weibo

Job boards: • www.zhoapin.com • www.51job.com • www.chinahr.com • www.baijob.com • www.yingjiesheng.com – exclusively for fresh

graduates • www.alumniuk.org.cn - just for UK alumni

Government expenditure in education is 4% of China’s GDP, (>1.5% on HE compared to 0.6% in the UK), although per capita this is 14 times less than the UK and per university half

China provides the largest group of international students in the UK, over 80,000 undertaking HE courses - an increase of 11% over 2011

Challenge for UK is in ensuring sustainable market growth in a mature market with visa changes

194,029 Chinese students studied in the USA in 2011/12, an increase of 23% on the previous year

China market challenges

A different perspective…. Surprising / thought-provoking issues

Chinese employers lack knowledge about the UK HE system, rankings of HEIs, UK qualifications & professional bodies

We encourage Chinese students to mix in order to improve English but do we consider the value in networking with other Chinese students?

Do Chinese students understand “guidance”? They are more limited by their choice of major than if working in the UK

Generally, the better the education background, the higher the starting pay – hence importance placed on study over extra-curricular activity