Finding a Job in The World's Second Largest Economy

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The job market in China varies depending on geographical area. For Shanghai and Beijing, there is a large variety of occupations open to foreigners. However, in the smaller cities or the surrounding areas of Tier 1 cities, the openings are mostly dependent on the industry specialization within the area. 

For example; in Suzhou, Wuhan and many other Tier 2 cities there are lots of jobs in the manufacturing industry. For skilled graduates with expertise in Lean and Six Sigma and possessing engineering backgrounds, there are a plethora of companies seeking foreign expertise for their factories. 

For expats who don't fit into this category, many Chinese manufacturing companies are also willing to hire foreigners in sales and business development roles. In Ningbo and Shenzhen there are several jobs for foreigners as traders. Chongqing, Shanghai and Beijing have booming financial sectors willing to hire expats and for IT, Dalian is where most technology companies (both multinational and local) have set up.

So, in terms of the types of jobs that are available, this is entirely dependent on your Chinese level and previous experience. For engineers, IT professionals, architects, bankers etc. For these types of jobs it is often not a requirement for the candidate to speak Chinese and for experts the salary can be incredibly high. "Expat contracts" as we refer to them here, are given to those who relocate from home to China with the same company. 

These contracts include housing, transport, children's education and an extremely high salary (compared to the market or locally hired colleagues). These kinds of contracts are slowly fading out as the local talent pool increases and multinational firms become more established in China. However, for companies looking to bring in experts from overseas, the benefits are still excellent.

For "general" type, these usually require a higher level of Chinese (simply put, the better your Chinese - the more jobs that are available to you). There are hundreds of positions in things like marketing, sales, events, PR and branding for foreigners looking to enter the Chinese market. These kinds of positions exist in every industry and majority of young expats work in these kinds of positions.

Some General Tips

- The working visa is difficult to get in China, you need to be above 24 years old and have at least two years relevant working experience for the position you get. It also costs a lot of money.

- If you improve your Chinese, you will greatly increase your chances of finding a good job.

- It is not wise to leave gaps on a resume but do cater your resume for the specific position you are applying for. It takes more time but if you err on the lazy side, you reduce your chances significantly. Recruiters want to see directly relevant experience.

- If you have a history of changing jobs too often you will not be recommended by recruiters and HR are likely to disregard you as unreliable. Stay in jobs for over a year at the very least!

- If a job description says they need native Mandarin and English they are in all likelihood looking for a native Chinese candidate. Be smart about which jobs are actually open to foreigners.

- Contact HR directly, don't spend days ploughing through job ads. Find a company you want to work for then find their HR on LinkedIn and message them.

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