Bright future enriches charm of private firms for talented people

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, December 21, 2003

Bright future enriches charm of private firms for talented people

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"How long ahead of departure do you usually arrive at the railway station for a business trip?" This is just question for job applicants at Baoxiniao Co. Ltd., a big private clothing company in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The answer to the question could reflect applicants' personality and business manner, said Vice General Manager Zhang Qiwen of Baoxiniao.

The questionnaire was created by Britain's Hewitt Associates LLC, a global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm, one of a growing number of companies offering headhunting and employment services in China.

The company will help Baoxiniao hunt for 20 "tailor-made" employees from among more than 400 university graduates, he said.

Nowadays, private companies in China have much more leeway to choose employees among a fast growing number of applicants, said Zhang. "So we introduce scientific employment methods and set higher requirements for the applicants."

"It is a new twist compared with the practice in the past which regarded education degrees as the only criteria to choose candidates," Zhang said.

In 2003, more than 80 percent of jobs offered in Zhejiang were in local private companies, according to the provincial job market.

Nearly 3,000 of the 8,000 companies registered in early December this year with China's top ten job websites are private.

The private sector's promising future, flexible conditions and great demand for professionals were behind their increased attraction for skilled staff, said experts.

Not just university graduates, but also high-level professionals and even senior government officials regard private firms as the take-off platform for their careers.

Xu Gang, 42, a senior accountant at the provincial taxation administration, resigned last year, turning down higher official positions to take up the role of CEO of Geely Group Co. Ltd., China's first private manufacturer of cars.

He expressed his resolve to give up his political career, and stated his wish to put his accounting talent into full play.

College graduates used to be reluctant to work for private companies considering their small size, unprofessional operation, and weak capacity, said Hong Wenxiang, general manager of ZhejiangQianlima human resources information company.

Today, it is totally different, he said, and many people quit their jobs at state-run and foreign-funded companies to work for private businesses which they term as " vigorous and promising" with a great potential for professionals to display their talent.

"Today, as many as 85 percent of our clients are private firms,but in the past, 90 percent of our clients were overseas-funded and listed companies, said manager of the hunting company.

China now has a total of 1.32 million private companies, accounting for 43.7 percent of the total companies across the country.

Zhejiang has seen the most inspiring development of private businesses in China and private companies have blossomed to be a key contributor to economic development in the Province, which is ranked among the country's top three economic generators.

Private companies contribute 95 percent to industrial and commercial growth in Zhejiang and are involving themselves in the international financial capital market.

At present, what private companies need urgently for further development are professionals and talented people rather than money, said Bai Zhiyong, board chairman of Zhejiang Zhizhonghe Wine Company.

The renowned Chinese e-commerce website, alibaba.com, now has 600 employees, but 25 percent were still taking training courses to prepare for work starting in 2004.

Ma Yun, president of the Hong Kong-based company, said that Alibaba was aware of the possible losses caused by a shortage of skilled staff.

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