USEFUL WEB SITE SERVICES FOR CHINA JOB SEEKERS:
To get a quick and easy list of China job postings, although limited, look at the following. Also a good idea to keep these in your pocket so you have one ear on the street all the time:
OUR PERSONAL ADVICE ON THE JOB SEARCH:
(right: Michael waits
in line for this first China job interview.)
In our four years in Beijing, we have seen many friends come to China and find jobs. Many we have helped, and frequently we are asked the same questions by those considering taking the leap in coming to China. Briefly and succinctly, below are our own views on: the various paths people have taken, the types of jobs they have found, and advice if you are looking for a China job. This advice is primarily for college graduates or 20 somethings just getting their feet on their ground. If you have an MBA from a top business school or can command a top job by virtue of your experience, much of the below probably may not pertain to you.
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MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
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DETAILED INFORMATION:
CAN I FIND A JOB? Yes. You will need to be resourceful, a bit lucky (all jobs are like that), and you may have to bite the bullet by sleeping on the floor of many apartments and eating fang bian mian (instant noodles) for several months, but it can be done. The key is being persistent, patient and lucky. More important is that you first set your own goals and parameters: what field do you want to be in, what salary do you expect, how long can you live without a salary, what is your ultimate goal in coming to China, etc.?
HOW MUCH CAN I EARN? If money is most important to you, you had best look first for a China job in the States or from Hong Kong. Any company that sends you overseas will most likely give you a full package plus great benefits. The downside is that these jobs are harder to find, especially if you have limited relevant experience; it also generally means working/training in the States for 1-2 years before heading over, but not necessarily. Even if money is not important to you, before you leave the States you ought to do a heavy job search on that end. If you find a job in China (see details below on compensation levels), they will most likely pay you less, although you can live well and still save money on a decent salary. See details on compensation below.
HOW AND WHERE SHOULD I LOOK FOR A JOB? Many people come and then look for a job. It's probably the true China person who chooses this riskier strategy. We do advise you to first look in the States, though, or in Hong Kong, before packing your bags. Hong Kong can be a prime job market, but unless you have a friend there, it is very expensive to stay and hang out. Who knows also? Maybe you get a good job in Hong Kong and they send you into Mainland China. Don't come here without first trying your luck in the US and/or HK. First try the web sites we recommend above, mailing out lots of resumes and using any network(s) you may have.
HOW SHOULD I PREPARE BEFORE I COME/WHAT SHOULD I BE PREPARED FOR? Be flexible: prepare all sorts of resumes, with different slants. Be prepared to be patient and not find a job for several months. At the very minimum, before coming prepare at least one resume with the "teacher" slant, as this is a sure backup to make money.
Also, if you arrive without a job, be prepared to spend 3 months getting settled, brushing up on your Mandarin, making connections and finally landing a job. Hopefully you won't need that long. Have at least enough money in your pocket to cover your expenses for this period. Figure about 1000 USD a month should cover you no problem, but that's if you are resourceful. The big chunk of that is housing, so if you find a dorm or crash with a friend, you can live on less. Many of us can live on 200 USD a month, outside of housing, in fact. Eat cheaply, not much western food, don't party a lot, take public transport or ride a bike, and live in a dorm, crash on someone's floor, or find a cheap hotel. Be creative. Housing and visas will be your main concern (see below), and oftentimes it's advisable to come first and study or work as a teacher, just to get your feet solidly on the ground and have housing and visa problems resolved right off the bat..
WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN THE JOB SEARCH? Get to know people: network, network and network. Send out resumes; reach as many people as possible. (But don't bombard us with e-mail). Many people who come as students also intern at companies or for the US embassy commercial section, or U.S. companies. The internships in the commercial sections can often lead to good job offers. Unpaid, but you are working for your future right? If you work in a certain sector of the commercial section, you'll be able to somewhat become an expert on it, and you can impress all those US companies in that sector who come through the embassy wanting to know about China. Latching on to a big multinational from the China side, save having incredible working experience or a top degree, is extremely difficult. However, local and many small western companies can offer interesting opportunities. Likwise, another advantage of coming on a study program first, particularly the better ones, is that they will help place you in an internship. This internship sometimes can turn into a job.
If you come to Beijing without a job, it is obviously better if you have some work experience or great Chinese. Best is both. You have an advantage if you can push one of these when job seeking. Take the position of the company you are interviewing with: why would they want to hire you? A Chinese person who is experienced and already knows the environment here earns probably 1/10 to 1/2 of the salary that you might command. Or a company could hire an experienced expat who knows their company and send them to China. Your chances improve if you have relevant US job industry experience or great Chinese. Gone are the days where good Chinese will get you by, or so I have been told. Many companies are also rethinking their China strategies and cutting back, and in the wake of the the rest of Asia's economic woes, the next year or so may be a period of retrenchment. But maybe you are just lucky. Remember, for as many local expats who say it's hard to find a job here, almost 90% of them, when asked how they found their job in China (and most got their foot in the door with little work experience behind them), will say, "Oh, I just got lucky."
WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES TO CONSIDER WHEN I GET OFF THE PLANE? Your immediate problems will be your visa and housing. Come to China on a tourist visa and you will most likely have to leave to change it's status or to extend the visa eventually, which may mean taking an expensive trip to Hong Kong. Because of the visa problem many people come and teach (resolves both visa and housing issues right off the bat) or come as a student (also resolves both issues). This allows you to get your feet on the ground and build up connections and language skills. If you come and then look for English teaching, they will seldom give you a visa. If you take the student/teaching path, you will usually have to be locked in for 6-12 months, but that's alright. Not cool to skip out on a teaching job.
WHAT TYPE OF JOBS/OPTIONS ARE THERE?
WHAT SHOULD A PACKAGE INCLUDE? There are several issues here to consider, which I elaborate on below: salary, housing allowance, healthcare, vacation/plane ticket, visa, taxes, other issues.
Your package will depend if you are hired as an expat from abroad or a local hire. Obviously if you are brought in from overseas, you can expect big bucks and a full range of benefits. Salaries range in the industry, but if you are sent here, figure you will get $25-100K, hardship posting pay, standard bonuses, housing allowance of at least $1500-6000 a month, 3-5 weeks paid vacation, and round trip air ticket once a year (and perhaps more for R&R leave time), full US standard healthcare, evacuation insurance through AEA, SOS, or MEDEX, tax coverage, shipping fees covered; and all other reimbursable expenses and training that would accrue to you as an employee. Sometimes language lessons are paid for as well. If you are high enough up or the position requires it, you will get a car and/or driver, a mobile phone, or at least have travel to and from work reimbursed.
If you are hired locally, the story is drastically different, and you should have no illusions about landing the above. Your compensation of course varies on the company, your background, the industry, and your position. Nevertheless, here's what you can expect, as an expatriate local hire:
[Please note: this entire section represents our personal opinion and experience. It does not portend to be 100% accurate or up to date. Advice here should be taken as general guidelines when job seeking and negotiating a contract. One should double-check information with other local expats or seek formal legal or financial advice.]
FINAL ADVICE: No matter what job you land and what compensation you get, know there will always be someone who earns more than you. The grass will always be greener on the other side, as they say. Pick a job that you are interested in, and offers you a chance to develop. If you want to know China and speak Chinese, pay attention to the company culture: will you speak Chinese? Who are the expats? What life do they lead? At the same time, remember that you have to negotiate your contract. Look out for yourself, as no one else will; that's why we've written this and put it in public access cyberspace.
[Please keep in mind too this is written based on our experience, which is all in Beijing. We hear Shanghai is a good market, if not better than Beijing, and the terms may all be different. Also I haven't updated this; if China's rapid changes are any indication of change in the job market, maybe all this will be different tomorrow.]
FINALLY, will you be able to find a job? Of course. It may not be easy and it might not be what you like right off the bat, but there are jobs out there. Know what your goals are and also know how long you can stay without real employment (read: income). Worse comes to worse, you work on your Chinese and travel and witness first-hand the greatest economic and social revolution of all time. That's not so bad, now is it? The longer you stay and dedicated you are, the better your chances become of finding something interesting (and interesting jobs there are). Also remember that once you work, and if the job is demanding, you won't have time to bum around and see the craziness of Beijing/China. If you can't find a good job, use the time to study Chinese -- trust me, you'll never regret it.
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This page authored by: Michael Wenderoth
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Last updated: April 20, 1998.