Job market tightens for overseas returnees

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Job market tightens for overseas returnees

By Zhao Wen (Shanghai Daily) 08:26, November 25, 2013

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A Chinese student, who did his studies abroad, has sparked an online debate after telling a local newspaper that he had to lower his salary expectations after being unable to find a decent offer at a job fair over the weekend.

The overseas returnee, whose name and age was not revealed, did his major in biology in the United States.

He went to a job fair for biology graduates in the city on Saturday and found his overseas qualification did not give him the edge over local college graduates. He told Shanghai Morning Post he had to lower his salary expectation to 5,000 yuan (US$821) per month — an amount that he thought was the same as demanded by local graduates.

Feng Lijuan, a human resource consultant with 51job.com, said overseas returnees were no longer getting paid as much as before because local graduates can match them well, including speaking foreign languages.

“Many foreign-invested companies prefer local graduates because they are more familiar with the domestic market,” Feng said.

Kevin Xia, a graduate of University of California in Los Angeles, also said he did not find any advantage over local graduates when looking for a job in Shanghai.

Xia, who joined Bank of China, told Shanghai Daily he realized the job market was stiff so he started looking for a job in the final year at the university. He said his salary was similar to those earned by local college graduates.

（Editor：GaoYinan、Yao Chun）