Unless you have been living under a rock for the past ten years, you are well aware that China is the economic growth story of our generation.
For this reason, hundreds of thousands of expatriates and students have flocked to China to learn Mandarin, find internships and jobs, and launch businesses in this dynamic market and ancient civilization.
If you are seeking an extraordinary career abroad in a high-growth juggernaut economy, you should definitely be considering China. However, once you begin conducting your China job hunt from outside of China, you’ll realize that you face some serious difficulties in your search.
Here are three major problems job seekers will face in their China career launch and solutions to counter these obstacles:
1. Language
The first, and most obvious issue, is that you likely do not speak Mandarin. However, how are you supposed to compete in the job market without speaking a word of Chinese? How are you supposed to become fluent in Chinese without having lived and spent time there?
If you are serious about launching a career in China, it is worth investing in a semester/year abroad or doing an independent language study program at an institution like Tsinghua in Beijing or Jiaotong in Shanghai. If you are immersed in Chinese language and culture then you will progress rapidly. Even if you do not reach total fluency, reaching intermediate proficiency will make a significant difference in your local job hunt.
This will also make you, overall, a more formidable internationalist.
An added benefit of doing a language exchange in China is that it will give you a long-term student visa. You will then be able to spend more time building a network in your chosen city, practicing Mandarin in a range of situations, and sourcing interview opportunities.
2. Work Visa And Experience
Another major issue that China job hunters face is how to secure a work visa. The only way to get a work visa is to get a job offer and have the company sort this out for you. How can you deal with this quandary?
As an expatriate hire, you will be more expensive to hire than a Chinese national because sponsorship of foreigners requires registering with the government. In addition to this, it’s inevitable that you will demand a higher salary than a Chinese national in the same position. How will you convince the hiring manager that you are worth your stated salary price and the work required for the visa?
We suggest that you take on a part time or full time internship position while you are conducting your language exchange and education period in China. The benefit of this is that you will gain practical China-specific work experience in a setting that is low risk for both yourself and the company for who you are interning. If you perform well over a period of 3 months, then you might source a full time offer.
Alternatively, if you do not want to accept an offer at that company and want to explore other options, you can source a linkedin recommendation from your manager. This will give you instant credibility as someone who has China-specific work experience and a solid foundation upon which to source new interviews.
This is a potent cocktail for launching an extraordinary career in China.
3. Connections
You probably don’t have a network in China to rely on - at least not yet. International careers will frequently depend on your ability to work through your network to land interviews at your target companies.
How do you build a network from scratch in China? How are you going to convince a hiring manager in Beijing that you are worth his time and energy?
Building a social network from scratch in a new country is more of an art than a science.
The first place you can start is by searching your university’s alumni association chapter in that city. Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong are the cities that are most likely to have alumni based there. Invite them out for a bubble tea and catch up on your university days.
In addition, you can search Linkedin and Facebook for university alumni who are based in your new city. This is a great place to begin in terms of both building a social circle and also potentially sourcing job opportunities down the road.
Finally, you should explore web communities like Meetup, Internations, and Toastmasters. Experiment by showing up at the weekly or monthly events that these organizations hold and build relationships with people with whom you have mutual interests.
The amazing opportunities available internationally in places like China will never cease to amaze, surprise, and excite you.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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