This blog is written for international students studying at Royal Holloway, University of London. The blog is written by Andrew Falconer, International Student Careers Adviser with contributions from other careers professionals.
Speculative articles for publication are welcome.
The Spring term is off to a flying start with a great programme of events from the careers service. If you go to the booking page of this blog you can now sign up for some of the events specific to international students. This term we are continuing to run sessions on marketing yourself through CVs but also sessions on UK Interview style and technique. There is a session on building up your personal networking from a distance as well as finding work in India and China for students returning home. This term we are also going to pilot online careers advice – you may have noticed the Meebo box on the blog although I’m not sure that’s the application we will use for this. Details to follow!
International students studying Psychology or in the Arts will be able to attend sessions about career choice and job hunting techniques relating to those sectors. I will blog more about those in the next few weeks.
So what else is happening?
In addition to the international student events, the careers service has a large programme of activities ranging from mock assessment centres to careers in medicine and law. The full programme can be found here. Employers attending the campus include Chatteris who provide opportunities in Hong Kong, Ernst & Young, Proctor & Gamble, KPMG, Weber Shandwick, Research in Motion and Capital IQ.
This term is short but the careers service has packed a lot in with many evenings having options of different careers related events taking place.
Remember that places at many of these events are limited and you need to book in advance to attend them. International student specific events can be booked here but all others must be booked in person at the careers centre.
This is the penultimate article in the short series considering how the global financial crises is effecting graduate career opportunities internationally. The other articles in the series can be found here. The final article will consider the impact of the recession on careers in the USA. There is also a different in how the credit crunch will effect different parts of China and Hong Kong. It is difficult to fully understand what the employment market is doing in any particular region so if you have any new information you may want to share it using the Comments tag below.
Current Situation:
China’s economic forecast is mixed. With a growing and ageing population, economists believe that a growth of 8% is essential to sustain the economy as it has been developing. However on October 31, UBS have issued a growth forecast for the country at just 7.5% and have called for the Government to introduce measures to avoid further economic downturns.
The past year has been difficult. As the July 2008 video clip above shows, it isn’t just the global credit crises that is affecting employment – natural disasters have also had a powerful impact. To keep up to date with economic issues in China try the China Economy Watch blog. It seems a very straight forward guide to what is happening. Also have a look at the China Economic Review.
China Daily is pessimistic about the employment market for new graduates. They suggest that the number of graduate job hunters entering the market next year is expected to exceed 6 million nationwide, an increase of 7 percent from this year. It is no longer considered easy for graduates majoring in once-popular fields such as banking, finance, trade and management to land positions.
“Employers always give preference to applicants with some experience so the unemployed possess more advantages than fresh graduates, whose inexperience often works against them in the job search,” said Tang Xiaolin, director of the career development Center of Fudan University. Human Resources and Social Security Minister Yin Weimin described the country’s employment situation as “grim“. He promised that the Government is looking to introduce measures to ensure businesses can survive the current market.
But is it all so terrible? Where are the sectors that provide greater opportunities than others? How can you be one step ahead of the crowd and increase your employability?
Manufacturing
Careers in manufacturing are not limited to those in product development and manufacture. Logistics, international trade, quality control, financiers, managers and human resource roles are typical, as well as the opportunities in supply-chain or BPO.
However, manufacturing is being hit hard by the global recession. The China Manufacturers Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) showed that factory activity contracted sharply during October, with the index falling to its lowest level since the surveys began. Despite the usual Christmas demands in the West, the key light industry province of Guangdong has seen nearly half the toy manufacturers go out of business. This contraction in manufacturing is of course having a knock-on effect on other industries including logistics.
The manufacturing sector has also been hit by quality issues in exports. The United States have recently required an independent third party to inspect goods being exported from China, in order to assure quality standards. The Chinese Government are actively engaging with the US to ensure the Chinese Quality Inspection Department meets the quality standard to continue manufacturing exports.
However the situation is not entirely bad. For example, in Yuyao, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, export-oriented manufacturers have recorded a 17.32 percent increase recently. Exporters are being encouraged to develop their own brands and value-added products.
In heavy industry, automotive manufacturers are feeling the impact of the decline in global car sales but whilst the market is slowing it is by no means over. Even with the pressure they are facing in the USA, General Motors have no plans to halt output in their China plants. High-end luxury car and aerospace manufacturer Rolls Royce are cutting their global workforce but many of those affected will be staff in the UK.
Professional Services
Management consultancy services continue to do well in China although their graduate recruitment intake may be compromised by the market. PWC have a great graduate blog and their recruitment site has details of the recruitment cycle. Remember that your friends in China will have access to the Autumn recruitment round whilst Chinese students studying overseas will tend to be recruited through the Spring programmes. Other companies recruiting include KPMG China , Ernst & Young and Deloitte. BCG Greater China are growing their professional services and whilst they are not in the Big Four they are an impressive organisation with great career development potential. Remember also that there are many consultancy firms of different sizes and the experience you get with a smaller firm may be more varied and with greater initial responsibility than some larger competitors. The only “list” of management consultancy firms that I can find for China can be found here.
Banking and Finance
EFinancial Careers has a broad range of employment opportunities within the banking and finance sector. These include positions in Trading, Risk and Sales. Unfortunately efinancial careers does not yet have a specific site for China but searching the site generally will give you an idea of what the positions are. Click here for their China jobs. Vault has a reasonable section on the banking, finance and consultancy sectors in China.
The banking sector is being hit. In addition to its recent loss of 1,100 jobs globally, HSBC have announced the loss of 500 jobs in Asia – mostly in Hong Kong. Other banks such as Citigroup have also announced significant jobs cuts but it isn’t clear yet what the impact will be in China. However the Jiang Dingzhi, from the banking regulator, recently stated that “The performance of Chinese banks has reached a historic peak”. The regulator takes a very positive view of the banking sector and its growth potential.
Wealth Management is continuing to grow. According to the China Economic Review, most Chinese family fortunes are barely a generation old, which means the target market for wealth managers is fast-growing. In addition to banks such a CMB, brokerages, fund management companies, insurers and trust companies are all offering wealth management services in one form or another. Foreign banks such as UBS, Citi and Barclays Capital are all developing their business opportunities in China. Another area of growth is that of Private Equity. FountainVest, aims to complete 15 to 20 investments in China in the next four to five years.
The State Sector
Despite the move to the greater use of the private sector, the State should still be an attractive potential employers. Premier Wen Jiabao believes the sector to have great vitality and its impact and influence on the national economy have been “greatly enhanced” over the past five years. The most recent figures available state that the total value of assets of state owned enterprises (SOEs) in 2006 grew by 60.98 percent compared to 2002, their total profits increased by 223 percent and their tax contributions grew by 105 percent. A list of state enterprises can be found here.
OK so are there are jobs out there. Where do I go next?
The message from employers is that Chinese students studying abroad need to return home exceptionally well equipped to find the graduate level positions that many seek. English language and soft skills development is essential for working in international companies and candidates will be asked to provide evidence of their soft skills. Contact the careers centre for information about marketing these. Many students only want to work in Beijing or Shanghai without considering provincial capitals or other large urban areas. And yet many international companies are seeking to expand into the provincial areas and require quality educated staff to do so.
Employers also require candidates to have a firm understanding of both the international and China economies and how they relate to specific sectors. For example, if you want to work in logistics you need to understand what the trends and issues are, who the key players are – both in China and in the West. China Daily has a subscription service that covers a range of sectors including industry, finance and energy. You have to pay for it but the quality of information is high and it is an excellent way to keep up to date with the sectors back in China. Click here to see what is available. China Labor is the website of the state China Employment Agency and provides useful information on employment issues in China.
It is wise to spend your time at University developing your own personal network. Guan Xi is a useful relationship to develop not just for your immediate interests in job hunting but also in allowing you to help others once you are in the work place. Think about who is in your network: family, friends, former employers, former school classmates but also consider the connections your department and the college has in China. Royal Holloway has active alumni associations around the world and particularly in China. When you graduate you may wish to join the British Council China alumni association which is a large and active network for anybody who has studied in the UK.
There are lots of Chinese job websites including region and sector specific sites. Excellent general sites include New China Career and 51Job. The University of London’s International Job Online website has a range of vacancies in China and in the New Year will have a significant new partnership with hundreds of vacancies of interest to Chinese students.
Last year's edition was popular so make sure you get your copy now!
The latest edition of the popular Vacation Opportunities booklet published by The Careers Group is now available free of charge from the careers centre. The guide provides details of internship opportunities (many of which you may not already know about!) as well as voluntary positions in the UK and overseas. The range of opportunities is extensive – from banking and finance, retail, law and positions of interest to humanities or language students. And whilst some internship deadlines are currently closing, many are not so check out this invaluable guide to identify potential schemes.
Internships can be very valuable experiences and make your employability potential grow significantly. If you don’t know what sort of internship would be most useful to you, why not drop in to the careers centre to find out?
For many students and graduates this is a time of significant uncertainty. The newspapers are full of gloomy headlines and the effect of the financial crises is clearly global. In this short series we will try to explore how the credit crunch might affect your career prospects when you go back home. We will consider graduate prospects in the USA, South America, Australia, Middle-East, Africa, China and India.
So what does a bank closing mean for you? What is getting a job in a recession like? We cannot cover everywhere with this short series but please do post comments and your experiences no matter where you are from. Your experiences can be very valuable for other people and might dispel some of the myths of the current job market. You might also find this article from the BBC about the last recession in the UK (not career specific). This series is not going to concentrate on just careers in the financial sector but the current turmoil has ramifications across each economy.
For those who aren’t sure of what the Credit crunch is (or are too afraid to ask!) there are some basic guides here and here. Or ask an economics student. Essentially it is a sudden loss of the availability of credit and banks start to worry about liquidity. Credit becomes more expensive and institutions struggle to finance their business.
Careers in the UK
The introduction of the 2 year Post-Study Work immigration status gives international students the opportunity to work in the UK and gain valuable experience. However you must be realistic. Applying for the visa does not guarantee you a job. All it does is allow you to join the Home and EU candidates in applying. You must keep your expectations moderate.
Also bear in mind that at the moment there are few experts. The pace of change in the economy is causing uncertainties. Employers recruiting this week may not be recruiting next. Some employers may keep recruitment at a very low level until they are sure of their requirements. Please also note that the information below was correct at time of writing but may become obsolete quickly.
I wanted a job in banking but there’s no point now.
With that attitude, perhaps. It is certainly easy to think that and the media keeps telling us about job losses in the City and banks cutting staff. Clearly there are some jobs that are going to be harder to get into than others – no change there then. And yes, if you want to be involved in Short Selling then this probably isn’t your time.
But banks are still recruiting. Merrill Lynch is currently advertising graduate roles in sales, trading and structuring, IT and capital markets. Barclays Capital and UBS are actively looking to hire analysts although there are suggestions that positions might be deferred for a year (i.e. successful applicants will not start work until Autumn 2009). The situation will continue to change and each company will evaluate its own requirements and yes there will be fewer jobs than before but that does not mean the sector shouldn’t be considered. Perhaps think about different roles within banking. There is a perception that smaller investment banks such as Jeffries, Houlihan Lokey and Gleacher Shacklock recruit only from the top Oxbridge colleges. The reality is that yes, some employers do tend to recruit only from a select University background. However by looking through staff profiles on these bank websites you often see greater diversity than you would expect. They are always worth trying but just be aware that they may not have policies on recruiting international graduates.
Banking? Maybe I meant the “City”.
Often people confuse banking with the “City”. The City has many different types of institutions within it. So what happens during a financial downturn like we are facing now? In fact, who “benefits” from a financial downturn? The big one surely must be in financial regulation. The UK’s Financial Services Authority is currently recruiting through its graduate schemes – Graduate Development, Legal Development, Management Accountancy and Actuarial Development.
Consultancy / Professional Services
Professional Services are involved in much of the mergers and acquisitions currently taking place. PWC have not decreased their graduate intake this year and in some business areas may look to increase opportunities. Both PWC and E&Y have a strong on-campus presence this year. With many of these organisations the roles available may be different from before but that just reflects the current market. For example, Ernst & Young are very keen to encourage applicants to their non accountancy roles and are running a session on campus to discussion those career options. For those still interested in accountancy, there may well be options to work with some of the mid-sized City firms such as Moore Stephens and CRA.
Other roles in the City include insurers Lloyds of London who are continuing to recruit for their graduate programme. And of course, all of these organisations rely on the efficient exchange of information. Thomson Reuters have been recruiting in journalism, finance and IT. Their competitor, Bloomberg, are also advertising roles for graduates.
Are you surprised?
If you think about it, there is logic to these companies continuing to recruit at graduate level. Graduates are cheap. Yes the salaries may be excellent graduate salaries (and they often are) but compare that salary to that of somebody in middle or upper management and it doesn’t take long to see where cost savings can be made.
So things are not as desperate as you might think. There are still career prospects in the financial sector but we have to accept that the roles and priorities have changed for the moment. Competition for jobs in the City is always high and the current situation could increase that.
There are several useful online resources that can help you find out more about different business environments. Efinancialcareers tries to keep up to date with events in the City. The Telegraph newspaper has an awkward online version of its finance careers guide and Careers Tagged is a new resource with substantial information about a range of career options.
Ways in
The conventional route into the City is through a graduate training scheme. However these can be costly for employers and, in the current market, they have limited opportunities. There are often other routes in and you should consider if they are appropriate for you.
Get Qualified First!
It may be possible for some graduates to secure positions in accountancy by undertaking the qualifications first. This can be a costly experience and there may be issues with immigration visas. The different qualification routes have varying requirements so it is worth looking at the ACA, ACCA , CIMA and AAT. You can dramatically increase your employability by undertaking these qualifications with the potential to enter City firms at a level higher than most graduate entry.
Internships
Some banks are not currently recruiting because they have offered positions to last year’s interns. Whilst this should not be your expectation there is little doubt that interning can boost your potential. Interns are favoured by regulators and companies because they can try out prospective employees without having to commit to recruiting them. There are internships at many City firms despite the financial crises. Even small Investment Banks like Gleacher Shacklock and Greenhill have a number of internship opportunities. However you must be applying now for internships in summer 2009. Internships are advertised on company websites and careers websites.
Speculative Applications
A speculative application is where you send a CV and letter to a company in case they may have a suitable job. It can be more effective than you think. Sometimes companies are reluctant to advertise vacancies online because they may get hundreds of applications for one job. Speculative applications are often kept on file and referred to. To make this work your CV and letter must be extremely effective, targeted to a specific job in a specific company. You can take advantage of market intelligence to increase your chance of success. If it looks as though a company is going to pursue a new business area then perhaps you can market yourself as being a useful part of that process. Some companies do not accept speculative applications and state it on their websites. You should respect that.
So, not as bad as you thought?
If you are thinking about a career in the City, be it in a bank, regulator or wherever, you need to be clever – not just academically but also in how you go about developing your own skills and making yourself slightly more employable than the many others who might be interested in the same job. The key task whilst at University is to build up your knowledge of the sector beyond your academic requirements. Many organisations recruit from most degree backgrounds so you don’t have to be an economist to apply. But they all expect you to know something about what they do. What do the different roles mean? What makes one company different from its competitor? You need in-depth knowledge and, quite frankly, if you had to read the links above to find out about the credit crunch, things aren’t looking good!
This session is designed for those who are interested in working in the City or financial sector but may not be sure about the sorts of opportunities open to them. The event will include presentations from ACCA, Baker Tilly and UBS. This event is open to all students but you must book in the careers centre if you want to attend.
