Online hiring lifts job market uncertainty

What worried 22-year-old Shanghai graduate Tang Yining the most until mid-March was uncertainty over finding her dream job as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

A few job interviews originally scheduled to be held after the Spring Festival holiday were all postponed due to the outbreak-related restrictions on free movement of people.

Thankfully, three interviews were shifted to the online medium. "They are actually more efficient than I had expected. In fact, online interviews helped me save time and money because for offline interviews I usually end up traveling to different provinces," she said.

This year, Tang figured among China's fresh graduates whose number at 8.74 million surged 40 percent year-on-year. Their job-hunt was delayed by the epidemic but resumed after employers and universities started to use online tools for recruitment.

According to online recruitment firm Boss Zhipin, the number of companies using distance interviews increased by more than 20 times within 10 days after Spring Festival, compared to the first week of the autumn recruitment season in 2019.

To meet the surging demand, Boss Zhipin upgraded its technology and service platform. It is now able to support several job applicants and interviews at the same time.

Industry insiders said online recruitment will help fill in job vacancies in time and is of great significance to keep the employment stable nationwide and further offer economic impetus.

"The epidemic hampered the golden season of recruitment. As the outbreak gets gradually contained, most businesses have resumed their normal pattern in filling up job vacancies," said Lin Liuyang, a human resources manager from a Hangzhou, Zhejiang-based internet firm.

"Online businesses have offered a fresh impetus for companies as employers can recruit their ideal graduates as soon as possible to offset the difficulties brought by the epidemic, which is also important for economic stability of the country," he said.

Noting that this year's employment situation could be tough due to the epidemic, Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua urged localities and the government agencies concerned to guide all kinds of employers to provide wide-ranging jobs and help those facing difficulties in finding suitable jobs.

Public employment service agencies and the market players concerned should also be encouraged to share information on job vacancies and strengthen the coordination of online and offline recruitment activities to ensure a stable job market, Hu said.

As of mid-March, more than 50,000 companies had participated in the online campus recruitment, providing more than 200,000 positions.

Over 450,000 university students on the verge of their graduation had made 1.7 million job application submissions by then, said online recruitment platform Zhaopin.