Open-minded or forced? Chinese graduates go slowly in finding jobs

THE JOYS OF PRIVILEGE

While Xia is assertive and determined, a young lady, only willing to be identified as Xu, from the Communications University of China, has also taken her time to find a job, but for a different reason entirely : she is picky.

The 25 year-old took several job interviews, but none of the opportunities met her exacting standards. She insists on a job she will enjoy, and she wants to be well paid for her efforts.

Regardless of her opinion about the jobs in question she failed several interviews, and returned home to Shandong province with her tail between her legs, idling away half a year before she was eventually hired by a training agency in Beijing.

"It is easy to find a job, but hard to get a good one," said fresh graduate Huang Xiaoqian. Huang spent three months looking for a job in Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, after months of searching in Beijing, where she graduated.

"Slow employment" is the outcome of social progress and better-off families. In the old days, fresh graduates would kill or die for a job simply because, if not, they would have no money to survive. Now, many mollycoddled young people no longer carry such economic burdens. Parents are ready and willing to finance their kids as long as they need money.

At the same time, society is no longer judging success only through one's occupation and income, and technology has reshuffled the employment structure in China.

"Traditional jobs no longer hold the same appeal. There are much more choices now -- opening a Taobao shop, becoming an overseas purchasing agent, doing live streaming -- but these are not deemed 'real' jobs with a stable monthly income and therefore are not included in the so-called 'employed population,'" said Yan Su, professor at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University.

"Slow employment is most common among students whose families have enough money to allow it. They want to have more alternatives and richer experiences," said Wang Lei, a law professor at Peking University. "But they should not wait too long or it may have the opposite effect."