A paper posted to a campus information board at Peking University reads "Graduate from Guanghua. Still unemployed. Looking for means to make a living. Thanks for your attention" on October 25, 2006 with Gao Jian standing beside it and using his cell phone.

Gao Jian, graduate from the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University sits beside a paper board and waits for help-seekers on campus October 25, 2006. The board reads "Graduate from Guanghua. Still unemployed. Looking for means to make a living. Thanks for your attention". [The Beijing News]

Still jobless months after his graduation, Gao, a graduate from the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, a renowned management school, has lost hope and resorted to 'pei liao' (a person who is paid to listen to other's problems), the Beijing News reported on October 26, 2006.

Gao had tried to find a job, and almost succeeded, but is still unemployed. He said many potential employers were so unprincipled that they would take back initial job offers after agreeing to give a potential employee a job. He said he had signed contract with a national department and later took a physical exam for a job at a renowned enterprise, but both rejected him without telling him why.

Gao denied that he had high expectations. "I have tried almost every kind of place, including a private enterprise with only 30 employees," he said.

In his post on the campus forum, Gao said he felt he was cheated after so many failed attempts at finding a job. He said he has experienced other ups and downs in his life and is ready to share his experiences with those who have similar problems in chat rooms to help them out.

He claimed his aim is to help them rather than just engage in casual chats and the pay would be whatever the person seeking help wants to pay.

Some students asked Gao what he would base his advice on, and Gao said his experience and extensive reading of psychology texts. Other students told him he must fit into society. "Why should I ask for help in job-hunting? Why do enterprises come to recruit on campus when they don't want to hire anyone indeed?" retorted Gao, adding he has always been shy about asking-for-help.

Ma Huaxiang, deputy Party secretary of the school, however, denied Guanghua students have problems finding jobs. He cited a survey on current Guanghua graduates, which puts their annual average earnings as high as 170,000 yuan, with that of those in foreign-funded banks being 500,000 yuan..

The deputy secretary refused to comment on Gao, explaining the student has no link with the school since he has graduated.