Recruiting in China

Chinese students possessing a degree from an overseas university do not necessarily receive a similar wage when seeking jobs at home, with a huge gap of up to 100,000 yuan (US$16,400) existing between them, a recent survey shows.

Their salaries are instead determined by their work experience during their time abroad, a survey conducted by the Beijing-based EIC International Education revealed.

The survey found that a Chinese job seeker with less than five years of overseas work experience receives an annual salary of 165,000 yuan (US$27,100), while individuals with at least five years working experience abroad can command a salary of up to 267,100 yuan (US$43,900) a year.

Most of the positions offered by Chinese companies do not specify a requirement for a domestic degree or a foreign degree, the EIC International Education said, while 62% of recruiters placed greater emphasis on a candidate's professional skills when hiring rather than merely whether they hold a foreign diploma. Around 84% of the Chinese firms polled stated that they considered job seekers who had overseas experience, innovative abilities and proficiency in a foreign language.

It is not an easy task for Chinese students to find work overseas, however. A total of 38.9% of the respondents said the major obstacle they faced while looking for jobs in a foreign country was the prevailing local economic situation. Moreover, their possession or lack of cross-cultural social abilities also affected their chances of working abroad, accounting for 33.6% of the total polled respondents.

Meanwhile, the dropout rate of Chinese students at Ivy League schools in the US, including Harvard, Yale, Cornell and Columbia was as high as 25% this year, according to Li Zhu, president of EIC International Education. Li said that some Chinese students are unable to adapt to the educational system and the language requirements in western countries.

The survey was conducted over a nearly six-month period. A total of 9,173 valid responses were collected from industries, such as finance, education, healthcare, real estate, tourism and science in 23 cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenyang.