Chinese prefer to become employees of international companies, but getting hired is difficult - without help.
As an HR director of a Fortune 500 company working in China for almost seven years, I am daily both angered and amused by the hundreds of local Chinese job applicants who will resort to almost anything to get their foot in the door of an international company like ours. Although I give them high marks for their creativity, 90% of the applications received are not worth the paper they are written on. Why do so many Chinese citizens want to work for an American, Canadian, U.K. or Australian firm? The answer is not only more money. Their reasons are quite valid, but not always so obvious as follows...* Working for a foreign company generally pays 80% to $150% more in salaries than
Chinese companies in the same industry and markets.
* Working hours are 20%-30% less with a foreign company.
* Tuition assistance plans and programs for advanced degrees and the chance to be sent
overseas to work on research and other company projects in America, Canada, etc.
* Employee benefits are far better in an international company and usually include medical
and dental plans as well as paid vacations, maternity leave, and many gifts.
* More pay raises, bonuses, promotions, and sometimes even stock options.
* The opportunity to travel abroad at company expense to interesting business destinations.
* The opportunity to get transferred to an overseas post in America, Canada, The U.K. etc.
* The opportunity to meet new foreign friends and even a future husband or wife!
But getting into a foreign company is not easy for Chinese job applicants especially for new university graduates, even those who graduate from Tsinghua, Peking, or Renmin Universities. Last year for example, there were over 8,000,000 new graduates but only 475,000 news jobs to fill in primary cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The competition is fierce and relying on "Guanxi" does not always work with international companies. As my colleague Judy Chen (Nestle's HR Director in Beijing) recently told me, "Today we are looking for employees who have already made their mistakes and proven themselves at another international company, and of course we are still looking for the best qualified candidates. Local guanxi will soon become a thing of the past."
So what do we look for screening new job applicants? There are basically three key ingredients to getting even an interview, much less hired by a foreign company in China:
1. A professional and concise resume that highlights an applicant's education, experience, abilities, and any special skills or contacts that would make them an asset to the company.
2. At least one reccomendation letter from a former international employer that confirms their work history, habits, talents, and skills already proven, and identifies any special achievements.
3. A sincere cover letter that explains why they want to be hired at that specific company and outlines the applicant's long-term career goals and objectives.
If a job application arrives without all three of the above, most HR assistants will simply trash the paperwork within 2-3 minutes of reviewing it. Those with the key 3 enclosures will at least be selected for an interview.The interview given at an international company is much different than one at a Chinese firm. Although looks and personality are important to all employers who care about their public image, a foreign company will focus on past experience and how they can be an asset to the company in both the short and long term. While Chinese firms will seldom or never call former employers for their evauations and opinion of anapplicant, virtually every foreign HR office will do so. No recommendation = rejection.
My staff will personally call every former supervisor of an applicant before we decide to hire them. Why? Because more than 80% of Chinese applicants lie on their resumes. It is no big secret in China and every HR staffer knows it. No matter how proficient their language skills, or how charming their personality may be, we need to speak directly with a former foreign employer before hiring a local Chinese.
Even the questions asked at an international job interview are a bit different and often include trick questions. One wrong or right answer can spell the difference between rejection and being hired. Most of the trick questions are aimed at young single women whose career and family priorities need to be accurately assessed, but male applicants also face some tough questions as well. On averages 5-7 applicants will be interviewed before one is selected for a particular job. In China, one job vacancy can easily generate 300 resumes in just one week.
Language skills are important indeed, but we do not go by IEFL and ESL scores or hire based only upon foreign language skills which always improve over time. We like sincerity, reliability, and proven abilities. Lnaguage skill may be 20% of the equation at the very most. Some more useful tips about the job interview can be found at this link:http://top.at0086.com/Manager-jobs/Top-6-Useful-Tips-for-Preparing-an-Interview-in-China.html
Many may wonder why we are so strict and don't give young grads and other older Chinese locals, the chance to prove themselves? It all comes down to economics. Annual employee turnover in China averages 9% of the work force and is very costly. A foreign company in China will spend an average of $7,000 training a new employee. Multiply this by 15 and you will see how much a company loses every year in turnover. For a company with over 1,000 employees, the money lost could be much better used. Therefore, carefully screening and hiring a long-term employee saves the company a small fortune.
Knowing this all in advance should help prepare both young and older Chinese grads and professionals get their foot in the door of companies like Motorola, Siemens, Microsoft, etc.
My advice? Chinese locals desiring to work for international firms can more than double their chances of success by hiring a foreign career coach who can help them get letters from their former employers and prepare them for the critical interview with interactive role play training. One company from Canada that seems to be doing a great job is the Strategic Resource Group and free Interview skills seminars are available from the China Trade Commission once a month at Renmin University. They can be contacted at ChinaTradeCommission (at)gmail dotcom. HR directors are frequently guest speakers at these seminars and applicants can get some first hand counseling.
Hopefully these words will not fall upon deaf ears so we can reduce the hundreds of resumes received every day that are full of bogus entries. Last week alone I received 139 resumes from people who claimed to have graduated from Tsinghua yet 22 could not even spell the name of the university correctly, and 67 others could not identify their favorite professor by name! Give me a break. Resumes must at least pass the basic BS test.
Related Articles:
-
Start A Conversation On A First Date First Date Coversation Topics Before you spend hours... Read Full Story » -
You see a girl or a guy in a bar and you'd love to strike up a conversation...but how to get... Read Full Story »
Comments
