Editor’s Note: Young Chinese graduates are heading out into the workforce. Those who can actually find jobs in this tough economy may face a bit of a wake-up call: the values mentioned in the two surveys of young graduates are not always present in the real world. Young Chinese hope to get funding for their own startups, work at jobs with flextime and other soft benefits, and while being the most attractive person in the office.

In 2016 there was a record number of university graduates in China: 7,65 million young people received their undergraduate degrees. These young millennials are quickly entering the workplace and are a force to be reckoned with. They are young and full of ideas, but tend to be selfish and impulsive.

 

QQ’s 2016 College Graduates page recently released a big data report on the employment outlook for young Chinese graduates born after 1995. 52% of recent graduates looked for work directly after graduation, and 48% did not. However, with more flexible employment options for young graduations, the concept of employment has changed greatly for Chinese millennials.

Startup Dreams, But No Cash

Nearly a quarter of young graduates chose to continue their studies. 16% hope to study abroad. 15% want to become the boss of their own startup.

Young graduates said that they would need to receive 10,000 to 50,000 RMB in funding for their startup. A number of young graduates hope to return to their hometowns and begin an agricultural startup. Students in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou mainly want to start Internet companies, those in Chengdu and Lanzhou are interested in education technology. Students in Anhui, Henan and Northeast China are most interested in agriculture tech.  

In 2015, Baidu Tieba and Zhilian Zhaopin jointly released the “Secret Workplace Survey for Chinese Millennials.” 58% of respondents wanted to found a startup by themselves. However, before beginning their startup, 63% hoped to work a large company for a period of time to gain experience and connections for their future business endeavors.

Professional Cosplayers?

4.8% of respondents said that they would take a “gap year,” after university. During a gap year, young graduates take a long trip to experience life and different social environments. The number of young graduates who take gap years in China has increased in recent years. Many do not feel they are ready for work and want time to think about the future.

Of those who wanted to take gap years, 76% said they would want to volunteer teach. Others wanted to volunteer to do physical labor (7%), medical work (5%), environmental protection work (3%) and other services (8%). Most said they would prefer to volunteer in a quiet remote area, rather than a huge city.

Young Chinese millennials grew up with the Internet, and the Internet has had a large impact on their hopes and dreams. Some of the most desirable careers for young Chinese millennials are online webcast star, online anchor, voice actor, makeup artist and professional Cosplayer.

Flextime and WIFI are Priorities

How do they feel about their potential roles in the workplace? 48% of Chinese millennials feel that sucking up to one’s boss is unacceptable. 60% believe that they can maintain a sense of individuality in the workshop and that they will be able handle complicated office relationships and still achieve self-worth.

In terms of benefits, young Chinese graduates value “soft benefits” like flextime and annual leave. 64% think that flextime benefits are important, and 35% think it is the most important benefit a company can give employees. 32% believe that annual leave is most important.

Haixia Daobao newspaper reported that young Chinese graduates from vocational colleges consider more than salary when finding their first job. A spokesperson from the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security said that students from vocational colleges consider a number of options before choosing a job. These options include the employment environment, opportunities for career development, corporate culture, social security. Other concerns include the company’s male to female ratio, the distance from the company’s dormitories to its offices, the availability of WIFI in the dormitories, and so on.

Many young Chinese graduates think that one’s attractiveness can have a huge impact on one’s work, life and future. 43% of survey respondents said that they hope that their level of attractiveness will help get them noticed by their colleagues even more than their work ethic. 58% hoped that their colleagues will admire them so much that they become the center of focus in the office because of their looks. Even though they want to be seen as good-looking by colleagues, more than half of young graduates refused to discuss the possibility of office romances.

Source: The Paper

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Keywords: Chinese millennials Chinese graduates