In job hunt, people are years apart

Significant differences show up in employment goals, depending on the period in which a person was born

In Chinese society, the differences between people born in different decades are discussed and compared from time to time.

The differences are deemed significant in various aspects of social life, and even between adjacent generations, such as those who were born in the 1970s and those born in the 80s or 90s.

In terms of jobs and careers, a recent report found that the first consideration of the post-1990 generation when hunting for a job is personal interest and preference.

The report, released by zhaopin.com, a leading Chinese job-hunting website, showed that this generation tends to be bold and willing to try various, fresh experiences.

Another recent report by Tencent Browser showed that more than half of young people born after 1995 consider being an online celebrity－performing on live-streaming websites, for example－as an ideal job. Other exciting job opportunities for them include working as voice actors, cosmeticians, cosplayers or online game evaluators.

The report by zhaopin.com also found that people born in the 1990s are more likely to embrace the possibility of starting up their own businesses, compared with their post-70s and post-80s predecessors, who are described as preferring stable jobs and feeling content with a steady work-life balance.

Year of birth: 1994

Major at university: Teaching Chinese as a foreign language

Current post: Sales management trainee of a US-headquartered corporation in Shanghai

Length of employment: Song graduated from university in June and her job will start from September.

I felt quite lonely when I started hunting for jobs in the autumn of 2015, because the majority of my classmates chose to continue studying for master's degrees in or out of China. Very few decided to join the job market.

It meant that I had no one to go to job fairs with, no one that I could share my pains or gains with while looking for job opportunities.

Like others, my first step in searching for a job was sending my resume to every possible enterprise that was recruiting, and I was interested in. By the time I accepted my current job offer, I had sent out at least 80 copies.

It may sound crazy, but that's what my peers and I were facing, graduating in 2016. Landing a job seems to be more difficult, as many companies have reduced their hiring quotas due to the economic situation, which is not bright.

In the beginning, I felt depressed being turned down over and over again. Other times, although I succeeded in interviews and received job offers, I found that they offered such a low salary that I couldn't persuade myself to accept them.

I almost lost hope, when fortunately a well-known US company reached out to me at the end of last year. The company sells fast-moving consumer goods and has a good reputation in China. It's well known among college graduates for the good training and guidance it offers young employees. The salary is also not bad. I accepted without hesitation.

Work starts in the autumn and I'm looking forward to it. As rookies in the workplace, fresh graduates often have fantastic ideas, or even delusions, about their future career paths. I know that there will be some barriers and bottlenecks ahead, but I'm not afraid. I'm prepared for that.