Job search trend among youth propels show

As Dear Younger Students, a campus interactive reality show, attracts widespread attention among college students, topics related to job hunting and employment have generated vigorous discussion.

With the increasing popularity of the show, its corporate sponsor — Chinese job recruiting platform Boss Zhipin — has gained further brand influence among the general public, especially younger fans of the interactive program.

Regarded in the industry as a typical case of content marketing, the variety show marketing of the company provides a reference for practitioners seeking innovative ideas for new growth points.

Based on insights into audience needs, the workplace variety show invites prominent alumni to various campuses in China to offer suggestions regarding job hunting and employment to college students, creating more personalized encounters.

Liu Yichen, senior vice-president of Boss Zhipin, also chief planner of the show, is an expert in internet brand marketing. In 2018, Liu — a former investigative reporter and producer of a China Central Television program — joined Boss Zhipin.

Within five years, through sports, publicity events, cross-border marketing, brand alliance campaigns and other strategic initiatives, she made the company into the top online platform in terms of monthly active users in the internet recruitment sector. The brand awareness and influence of the enterprise have continued to expand. In November, Liu became vice-chairwoman of the China Advertising Association.

"In an era in which information is fragmented, it is indeed difficult to achieve marketing effects through a variety show. This requires brands to find the best combination of marketing methods, communication channels, marketing content and communication timing to capture consumer attention," said Liu.

She said that good content is at the core.

"Specifically, we found that in recent years, anxiety about job hunting, employment and workplace relationships has become a concern for many young people.

"Through the programs, these anxieties are truly on display and discussed, and the core value proposition of 'having problems and talking about them directly' is consistently adhered to in the programs, providing solutions to young people's problems. These actions and proposals have won widespread recognition," Liu said.

Speaking of job-seeking anxiety, she added that currently, young people are both clearheaded and confused when looking for a job. The clear and rational aspect is that young people's employment attitude, their definitions of good jobs, and the conditions they value when looking for jobs all exhibit strong intergenerational differences compared to their predecessors.

"In the past, job seekers may have placed more emphasis on factors such as salary, benefits, office environment, company size and job stability when looking for gainful employment. However, today's young people believe that job hunting involves a two-pronged choice. In addition, they have their own definition of what constitutes a good job and are more concerned about their adaptability of the position on offer and self value fulfillment matters. They value weekends and a good work atmosphere. Also, they have a higher acceptance toward small and micro enterprises, as well as flexible employment," Liu said.

"At the same time, we also see that the post-2000s have a common sense of confusion, especially among fresh graduates. When they submit resumes, they make decisions based on more diverse perspectives. On the one hand, they have a broad mindset, but on the other hand, they lack a comprehensive understanding of the industry and the job, rendering their search choices blind and scattershot," she added.

The rise of new occupations may serve as new options for young job hunters. In the past two years, a number of new occupations have emerged amid China's shift to more inclusive and higher-quality growth, including duties such as pet trainers, pet groomers, robot engineering technicians and building energy conservation consultants.

Powered by the emergence of new occupations, innovative industries, new business forms and models, China's new growth driver index — compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics — jumped 28.4 percent in 2022 from a year earlier to hit 766.8, according to the bureau.

"In recent years, there have been new changes in the household consumption habits and structure in our country. The consumption pattern is gradually shifting from consumption of goods to a balance between goods and services. Among them, modern services consumption, including both traditional lifestyle-related consumption like tourism, catering and entertainment, as well as personalized consumption in the spiritual and psychological levels, meet the needs of new occupations," Liu said.

"Technological advances create conditions for the emergence of the new economy and new occupations. The fact is that youth employment concepts are advancing, and social attitudes are becoming more open and inclusive, which have contributed to the emergence of new occupations," she added.

zhengyiran@chinadaily.com.cn