While some lucky foreigners are sent to China by their employers with an impressive expat remuneration and perks package, many others have to find a job on their own. They're often called "half-pats," foreigners hired locally in China.
A few years ago it was not difficult to find a job in China if you were a foreigner speaking English, but times have changed and now with more competition, China is looking for increasingly more qualified foreigners and speaking Chinese is becoming essential.
Here are a few leads to help you find a job in China.
Online resources
Less than five years ago, expat-oriented magazines and their websites were almost solely centered on China's major cities. However, in the last few years, most cities with expat communities have seen expat websites and magazines spring up to serve the growing population of foreigners.
For foreigners seeking a job in a specific city, this type of website is the perfect resource. Be warned, there will be a high proportion of teaching positions amongst the jobs on offer, as this is still the biggest pool of employment opportunities for foreigners. But you will also find some job offers in other areas like writing, editing and translating, IT, sales and marketing.
Another option is to simply type "China jobs" into your search engine. You'll be rewarded with many specialized recruitment websites. They will allow you to research according to the city or province of your choice and your professional area of expertise.
Finally don't forget to check the website of your embassy, or the websites of the different chambers of commerce in China like the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, and American Chamber of Commerce in China.
Headhunters
Finding the right job can be difficult and time-consuming. So why not let somebody else do it for you, someone who has contacts with major companies in China. Headhunters help companies on the lookout for new talent. The big advantage is that the cost is likely to be relatively minimal since the headhunter will, in most cases, charge the company rather than the employee.
The flip side to this is that opportunities are also limited to those companies with which the headhunter has a relationship - for this reason many expats will use more than one headhunter at a time or won't rely only on one approach.
However, this solution might not be suitable for everyone, as headhunters will be focusing on the high-end job. If companies are willing to pay in order to find the right person, they are likely to set their sights higher.
Networking
The growth of networking sites such as LinkedIn has made developing contacts and cultivating relationships that could lead to jobs much easier than ever before. However, don't neglect the old-fashioned way of actually going out to meet people face to face. The more people you know, the more opportunities you are likely to find.
Most major cities will offer you that chance through special events or private networking parties. In addition, big cities like Beijing have started to organize job fairs for foreigners. They are the ideal format as they allow companies looking to hire foreigners to make contacts with dozens of potential employees. Human resource departments in China use them to find entry-level employees and young graduates.
Keep your eyes on the expat-oriented magazines like Time Out, Cityweekend or The Beijinger as they keep a list of events taking place in the cities.
TO HELP YOU IN YOUR JOB SEARCH
Job Fairs for Foreigners
The 2011 Job Fair for Foreigners in Beijing
> Date: November 12, 2011
> Venue: 2nd Floor, Swissotel Beijing
> Website: Jobfair.chinajob.com
Expat Show Beijing
> Date: March 23-25, 2012
> Venue: China World Trade Center
> Website: http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/expat-show-beijing.html
Magazines & Their Websites
The Beijinger
> www.thebeijinger.com
Time Out
> http://www.timeoutshanghai.com/index.html
> http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/index.html
Cityweekend
> http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/
> http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/
> http://old.cityweekend.com.cn/guangzhou/
Specialized websites (in English)
> http://www.chinajob.com/
> http://www.foreignhr.com/
> http://www.matchdragon.com/
> http://www.chinahr.com/index.htm
> http://english.zhaopin.com/ |