Posted on 07/10/2025 10:30:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A record 12.2 million university graduates enter China’s job market this summer - but for many, the future still feels out of reach.
SHENZHEN: “I was confident at first but I feel numb now.”
For Ou Muoli, a 23-year-old graduate from Chongqing searching for work in Shenzhen, July is not just graduation season - it marks the fourth straight month of her relentless job hunt.
Ou, who graduated with a degree in international finance and trade from Henan University, knows what she wants: a decent monthly salary of around 5,000 yuan (US$697), full weekends off to rest and recuperate, and benefits like proper social insurance coverage.
Since March, she has submitted more than 100 job applications, both online as well as in person at graduate job fairs.
A few companies had gotten back, Ou said, but they were either teaching or sales roles she was not interested in - or expected early start dates, which wouldn’t work, she said, as she still had her thesis to complete.
“Roles in administration, human resources or marketing all require experience,” she said - a clear hurdle for someone like herself, fresh out of university.
MISMATCH BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY Across China, as graduation ceremonies roll out from late June to early July, millions of students are tossing their graduation caps and bracing for what comes next.
This year, a record 12.2 million fresh graduates are set to enter China’s job market.
At first glance, the opportunities look bright. Just five fast-growing sectors - wind and solar, drones, AI, new energy vehicles a
(Excerpt) Read more at channelnewsasia.com ...
That’s cause China is an export based economy and not a consumption based. Their selling point is doing stuff dirt cheap.
Teaching and sales. That’s it. Otherwise it’s the shit MFG jobs no one wants.
They aren’t nearly the cheapest anymore.
in”- or expected early start dates, which wouldn’t work, she said, as she still had her thesis to complete.”
Then she’s NOT ready to work?
All 11 spillways open
Heavy rain and flooding all over China.
*** “ Roles in administration, human resources or marketing all require experience,” she said - a clear hurdle for someone like herself, fresh out of university. ***
That seems to be the case in the US, too.
Me, personally, had that same problem upon graduation. Worked 2 years as an unpaid, no benefits “intern” for the State of TX so I could get experience.
“Ou, who graduated with a degree in international finance and trade from Henan University, knows what she wants: a decent monthly salary of around 5,000 yuan (US$697), full weekends off to rest and recuperate, and benefits like proper social insurance coverage.”
Dear Ou,
To get hired, focus on what you can do to make money for the target employers and don’t breathe a word about what you want out of them. The latter will either scare them off or let them undercut what they might have offered you; they’ll see that you have no aptitude for negotiating from a weak hand, and are focused on yourself, not the job.
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