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Hiring days are back at Chinese companies

By Ding Qingfen (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-08 07:59

Job seekers at a recent IT employment fair in Dalian. With economy showing signs of recovery, Chinese companies have started to hire new talent again. [CFP]

Chinese firms have started a fresh round of hiring, especially for management level position, as part of the efforts to cash in on the economic recovery. However, most of these firms are still finding it hard to get the right candidates for the posts, said employment service providers.

Companies from three industries -- real estate, hi-tech and retailing -- are at the forefront of the current round of hiring, they said.

According to Wang Shangfeng, general manager of Gold Elite, a major Chinese job hunter, the past few months have been the worst ever for the company.

"Demand (from clients) for new labor shrank overnight (since the financial crisis broke out). Some were watching, like private owned companies, although they still had demand. Others, especially international companies, stopped hiring," he told China Daily.

But since early June, "we have started to see light at the end of the tunnel, and business is now improving", he said.

Gold Elite is not alone. DoWelljoin Hunter, another employment service provider, is also feeling much better now. "With the nation's economy showing signs of recovery, many of our clients have come back to us for new hires last month," said Bao Changming, partner of DoWellJoin.

The company's business has grown by 40 percent last month compared with the previous months, even higher than a year earlier, Bao said.

The corporate recruitment turnaround corresponds to a talent shortage survey forecast by Manpower. The leading global employment service provider said yesterday that there is a "growing demand for high-level staff and management" as companies are placing more emphasis on "finding and keeping core talent" to better prepare for the economic recovery.

Related readings:  Job growth strong sign of recovery  Hit by job crunch, China trains entrepreneurs  China vows to find work for 88% of college grads this year  Building renovation scheme to boost employment

"Foreign companies are seeking local managers, while domestic counterparts are exploring business diversification and overseas expansion," it said.

The government's preferential policies given to the real estate sector seem to have paid off with property sales improving, while the 4-trillion-yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package has stimulated domestic consumption for everything from food to cars.

However, companies in China are still finding it difficult to get the right candidates for the wanted positions, said the Manpower survey.

That is because "they are looking for people with not only degrees, but also many other factors like right managerial skills, overseas experience and probably knowledge about mergers and acquisitions," said Robin Zhu, PR manager, Manpower.

According to the Manpower survey, 15 percent of the employers are struggling to fill up positions. The top three jobs that they are having difficulties to fill up this year are technicians, management or executives and sales representatives.

"After having been hurt by the financial crisis, companies are now more careful, lifting their expectations and requirements on recruitment," said Bao.

Take real estate as an example. Leading developers like Hopson Development and China Resources Land, have sought DoWellJoin's help to find brand managers to promote brand awareness, said Bao.

This is the fourth year that Manpower came out with its survey and it interviewed nearly 4,097 Chinese companies.