How to find a job in China (FAQ, information & tips)
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:
Check out China Insight’s very own China job listing board, or list yourself on our China job seeker board.
Sign up with Asia Net, which posts jobs on its web site and delivers e-mail regularly with job postings. Will send e-mails specifically for jobs in Asia for people with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language skills. Most are techie jobs, but once in a while something interesting comes up.
Wang & Li has all the top spots for Greater China, and competitive market information.
Alliance – mainly jobs for PRC locals, but an on-the-ground, professional recruitment group with exclusively PRC job listings.
Global Villager/ CareerChina has a full array of China oriented information.
Surf for jobs in China.
OUR PERSONAL ADVICE ON THE JOB SEARCH:
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.
Send us info on changes in the job market so we can update this page
MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Can I find a job?
How much can I expect to earn?
How and where should I start my job search?
How should I prepare before I come?
What are key issues when coming?
What’s important in the job search?
What types of jobs are out there?
What are key elements of a package?
What’s your final advice?
Return to (a little) China Insight main page
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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?
Teaching English
Being a student
Interning in the U.S. embassy/a western company.
Translating services
Legal assistant
Journalism
Business
Odd jobs for local Chinese companies
Be creative – think outside the conventional job box
Start something on your own – be an entrepreneur
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 [spam word detected] 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:
SALARY: As a journalist or clipper, you might get $500-1500 a month and up; As a translator or legal assistant $15K – 30K; In business typical salaries are between $15-50K, but can be higher if you have experience in the industry or get lucky enough to latch on to a big company. As a teacher, you can earn $5-20 an hour, but work can be patchy. Remember that your salary is only as valuable as the rest of the package: housing allowance, tax coverage, health insurance, etc. can tilt the balance.
HOUSING ALLOWANCE: Housing in Beijing is the biggest ma fan (nuisance) for expats. Living in a _legal_ apartment can run $1200 at the cheapest, and up to $2000 for something reasonably located. Don’t expect much for housing allowance, but figure the cheapest “non-legal” apartments will run about $300-600 per month. Lots of local expats live in these apartments. Some expat packages don’t include housing; others will give you perhaps $1500 a month at most. Few local hire expat jobs will provide you an apartment – you’ll have to find one on your own. If you choose to live in local housing, you can save money, but you will always live with the fear of the gong an ju (PSB) knocking on your door. (Yes, I’ve been booted from my apartment more than once, but that is another topic – see separate section – seeking local housing). The good news amid all of this is that housing prices are coming down in Beijing; overdevelopment has changed the real estate scene from a seller to buyer’s market (though legal housing still ain’t cheap), and the government has gotten a little more lax with living in “local” housing.
HEALTHCARE: Ideally you should get a US healthcare package or evacuation service through SOS or AEA, the two biggest providers in Beijing. Figure the US healthcare package to be worth $200 per month in your salary. If you get evacuation insurance (your parents would want you to have this), it will run the company $300 per year, but doesn’t mean as much if you don’t have health coverage also. (A visit at Beijing United Family Hospital is around $80). In Beijing, aside from Beijing United Family Hospital, you might check out AEA and IMC for western healthcare. Cheaper but OK are the Sino-German Health clinic or the Hong Kong Medical Clinic. Otherwise, if you go to a Chinese hospital, you’ll pay less and still get decent treatment at Peking Union or The Sino-Japanese Hospital. There is a difference is the healthcare provision, though; I didn’t spend three years setting up Beijing United for no reason at all! For inquires about Beijing United plans, send them an e-mail
VACATION/PLANE TICKET: Standard for an expat who signs on for 1-3 years is 3-4 weeks of paid vacation, and one roundtrip ticket back to the States per year. But sometimes you won’t even get this.
VISA: Your company should handle this. If you are lucky, maybe they send you to Hong Kong every 3-6 months to get a new visa. This works out well (go buy some new clothes and get a needed rest from Beijing), and also helps you avoid taxes in China. Visas are a major tou teng (headache) if your company refuses to handle this for you. Insist on your company handling your visa and all related work permits.
TAXES: Big companies will handles your taxes for you (meaning what they quote you as your salary is after tax). Smaller ones probably will deduct taxes from your pay; others will not report it and leave it up to you. If everything is done in accordance to China and U.S. law, however, you can expect the following: Around 8% of your salary should be deducted for Social Security and FICA by your company (if it is a US company). If you earn less than $72,000 year (and if you don’t, I’ll trade jobs with you), you are totally exempt from US personal income taxes if you spend more than 330 days of the year outside the U.S. Just make sure you file (you get an automatic extension until June 1, by the way) the 1040 form as well as the 2555-EZ form available in the States or at the US embassy. If your company follows Chinese law (not all do), you pay a graded tax (meaning you pay x% on income from 0-3000 RMB/month; y% for the amount from 3000-5000 RMB/month; z% for the amount from 5000-7000 RMB/month, etc. – note figures not accurate). Whatever you earn, figure China taxes are less than your equivalent grade in the States. For example, if you earn 25,000, you might pay on average 20% income tax in the States (correct me if I’m wrong – I’ve never worked there!); in China, the level is closer to 13%. In short, if you are thoroughly confused: if you work in China, make a real salary, and follow all US and China laws, you pay less taxes than if you worked in the States for the same salary — but not THAT much lower. If you can find ways to get the company to cover taxes, all the better. If you don’t pay China taxes, the burden should be on your company.
Other issues: It’s always good to get perks on the job: e-mail, mobile phone, pager, computer, reimbursed rides to and from work. Standard bonuses are a month salary or less, or if you are in sales, commissions. Throw these jobs in to sweeten the deal. Standard raises vary from year to year, but are between 3-15%.
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.
This page authored by: Michael Wenderoth[/b]
Here are a few links that will save you loads of time finding a job.
http://jobs.amcham-shanghai.org – Quality jobs from many fortune 500 companies. Mostly managerial and Director positions.
www.51job.com – Top Chinese Website: Milions of jobs and viewers, but you gotta get past the advertising first.
www.zhaopin.com – similar to above. 2nd in race.
www.chinahr.com – linked with Monster. Similar to 2 above.
www.thishanghai.com – good variety of jobs, not always best quality.
www.asiaexpat.com – Shanghai page has loads of jobs. Good amount of traffic also keeps jobs fresh.
www.shjob.cn – Shanghai version of 51 job. Recently with multi million Euro injection.
www.chinaonline.cn.com – good site in general, but not loads of postings.
All of the above are useful in finding work, the Chinese websites are more catered to Chinese obviously, even though they do have english version. The local community websites, like Shanghai Expat, are good for general range of jobs and have good response to postings or requests. Chambers of Commerce are good to find quality jobs as their members have a majority of big companies, multinationals and such.
There are plenty of ways to find jobs in Shanghai and China, but websites are certainly a good start!