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.
“Take advantage of one of a limited number of opportunities to work at PwC this summer.You’ll be given a real taste of life at the heart of the firm, working alongside graduate trainees and experienced professionals on live and interesting client projects. By experiencing life inside the world’s leading professional services firm you’ll develop many new skills and qualities that will be valuable for your future career.
If you are in your penultimate year of study, you are fluent in Mandarin/Cantonese and you are looking to pursue your career in China upon graduation then we would encourage you to apply for our PwC China Insight Internship. PwC China operates in one of the fastest growing economies of all time, with an impressive range of global clients and exhilarating projects. Therefore it’s no surprise that China provides fantastic career opportunities for ambitious and adventurous business professionals. We are currently active recruiting for Assurance summer interns in our Shanghai and Hong Kong offices. Start your journey from here for Shanghai; andhere for Hong Kong.
I have been in contact with a Royal Holloway alumnus who has had extensive experience working as a journalist for business media in China.
I am willing to organise a web-chat (after the exams) with her but need to have enough interest from students to make it worthwhile. If you would be interested in taking part please email me here to let me know.
Article recently published in the Times Higher Education paper. Click here
16 April 2009
With an unprecedented 6.1 million college graduates due to enter the job market this year, employment is at the top of the Chinese Government’s agenda.
In recent sessions of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee, employment was listed as the number-one priority. Read the rest of this entry »
PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINE FOR CVS HAS CHANGED TO MONDAY FEBRUARY 23
You may remember that Zara (China) attended the campus last term. They are continuing to expand and are looking to recruit staff. Any student interested in an interview with them should email me your CV no later than Friday 27 February. Zara will consider the applications and invite students directly for interview.
I recently attended Target China, a forum run by UCL Careers Service for Chinese students seeking work back home in China. The event is specifically for UCL students so I was not able to publicise it earlier. Congratulations to the UCL careers service for putting on a very well co-ordinated event even down to having traditional erhu music on arrival!
Of the employers who attended, some were law firms that might be of interest to Royal Holloway students considering converting to a law career after graduation. They were Mayer Brown, Linklaters and BDO Stoy Hayward who offer a variety of opportunities for graduates.
Consultancies represented included PWC and Harvey Best who were detailing their operations in China, Hong Kong and India. For IT and business students, IBM spoke about their international graduate programme based in the UK.
For students returning back to China or Hong Kong the message from employers was clear – make sure you have the right skills for the job and that your command of Mandarin, Cantonese and English, where appropriate,are of professional standard.
The event was recorded for future podcasting. I will publish details of this when I have them.
The Chatteris Educational Foundation provides native English speakers to schools in Hong Kong. The positions are paid and are seen as more than just a typical “TEFL” projects. In addition to skills graduates develop whilst training and working within a Chinese school culture, Chatteris offers optional further programmes with focuses such as career development, community work, cultural understanding and professional skill enhancement.
Chatteris is looking for graduates from any academic discipline but their English proficiency must be equivalent to native standards. The programme offers graduates very well supported programme designed both to provide help for Hong Kong schools but also to develop graduate career paths and increase employability.
Royal Holloway Alumni have already taken part in this scheme and Chatteris are keen to follow that up with future applications.
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.
This session is aimed at 1st year undergrad students from China.
The skills agenda is increasingly important in China. Employers based in China are expressing concerns that job applicants do not have the right skills for careers in an international business economy. The purpose of this session is to explain what this means for current undergraduates and how to make sure they have the right skills to impress employers back in China.
More information on the China Talent Paradox. You are not expected to have read this before today’s session! Information on Hai gui or Hai Dai is available here.
