Once upon a time, working in China almost guaranteed you a great job back home. These days, a stint in the Middle Kingdom doesn't have quite the same cache, not least because everyone in the West seems to be learning Mandarin these days. So what can you do to ensure your China work experience will impress employers back home? Let’s take a look…

Be Ambitious

You’ll be in higher demand and more of a novelty in China than in the West, so, generally speaking, it's easier to get your foot in the door of a big company or halfway up the ladder of a new career. This is what former British IT consultant Simon discovered when he moved to China to become a personal trainer in his 30s. "I studied a sports science diploma in London, but couldn't get any work because there were so many of us,” he said. “I came to Shanghai on holiday and saw how much opportunity there was for someone like me, so I moved here permanently. The cost of living is cheaper than London, so I could afford to charge low fees while I built up a client base."

The same goes for corporate jobs in China. Simply coming from somewhere other than China can open doors to positions you wouldn't have a hope in hell of getting at home.

Finally, if you’re destined for stardom, China’s big cities can be fertile grounds for honing skills like singing, acting, DJing and modelling. You’re more likely to get super famous here, just on account of being unusual. Even if not, you’re certain to be able to get some experience before you try to crack the market in your home country.

Skill Up

Even if you already have the job of your dreams and no worries about getting on after you leave China, dedicating some time to learning extra skills while you’re here will pay dividends in the future. You can enroll in English-led courses in a wide selection of résumé-perking subjects in most big Chinese cities. Once you start looking, you’ll find many part time courses you can do around a full time job, either online, in the classroom or with a combination of the two. What’s more, class sizes are likely to be smaller and prices lower than you’d pay in the West.

Even if you come back from China with no Mandarin at all, an extra feather to your cap, such as a certificate in Photoshop, Illustrator, web design, counselling or accounting, could make all the difference.

Learn Business Mandarin

Many expats leave China with intermediate or basic Mandarin and expect to walk into a highly-paid job back home. The humbling truth is that if you aren’t almost completely fluent and capable of business Mandarin, all your wet market bartering skills are worth zip.

If you really want to acquire Chinese skills good enough to work in your favour back home, focus your studies on business Mandarin. Most language schools have specially designed courses for this. Otherwise, ask your tutor or language exchange partner to concentrate on this area.

Build Your Network

Guanxi isn’t just for the Chinese. A network of business contacts in China will go a long way to endear you to potential employers back home. So, put yourself out there at corporate networking events (grit your teeth and tell yourself it's for the future you) and meet and be nice to as many new people as you can when you're socialising outside of work.

You don't even have to concentrate solely on Chinese people. Making friends with expats from other countries will also widen your network and enrich you on a personal level. Thankfully, both locals and expats in China are typically very keen to make new contacts. Add everyone you can on WeChat and make an effort to maintain and grow your network once you have one.

Learn What You Can

One thing they can’t teach in schools back home is genuine on-the-ground experience of China and Chinese people. Even if you come back with no extra skills or contacts, therefore, you can still learn everything you can about Chinese culture.

I’m not talking “intangible culture” like paper cutting and sugar blowing here. I’m talking business etiquette, workplace culture and managerial styles. If you can get your head around that lot, your dodgy tones might not be such a deal breaker after all.

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Keywords: China work experience