For unseasoned expats, finding jobs in China gets harder

Expats looking at brochures at the 2015 Job Fair for Foreigners held last Saturday in Beijing. [Photo/SAFEA]

The senior candidates at the job fair, despite have a comparative advantage in experience, seem to see eye to eye with Edward. And more often than not, they think that for anyone who wants to get a satisfying job in China, he or she has to really compete like the locals to get the job.

"It won't be long for the expats to realize that their advantage as a native speaker in a certain country has diminished," said Michael J. Jordan, a former employer at the Agence France Presse (AFP) and now looking for flexible jobs while staying at Hong Kong Baptist University as a visiting professor.

"It's an important fact to realize that jobs are getting more specialized in China. You have to go to the job fairs and ask around, make an effort to get what you want," Jordan said.

Or, as some young aspirant employed expats suggest, network to get work. "Try Linkedin, build up your CV, demonstrate what you are good at and prove it," said Nick Bedard, a 25-year-old editor employed by a state news agency this year through social networking.

"The key to get a job in China – online or offline, really is, to be good at something and show them what you've got," Bedard said.

So far, the Job Fair for Foreigners has been held for ten years. Since 2008, it has been held twice a year alternately in Shenzhen and Guangzhou in addition to the usual Beijing and Shanghai. This year, there were over 900 expats participating in the Beijing fair that just concluded last Saturday.

The last fair for 2015 would be held at the Swissotel Grand Shanghai this Friday from 9:00 to 16:00.

If you go:

Address: 1 Yu Yuan Road, Jing An District, Shanghai.

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