Recruiter’s Analysis of market for China jobs: The Chinese government has introduced some polices to attract more talent from different cultural backgrounds. Robert Parkinson, the founder and CEO of RMG Selection, gave his advice for expats who wanted to find jobs in China. Here are some key points expats should know about finding China jobs.

(This episode on China jobs is part of a series called “Career Builder” where RMG Selection  is invited to talk topics such as China jobs and many related topics every other Wednesday at 3:20pm China Standard time. Further episiodes can be found at https://www.rmgselection.com/category/radio/ or other topics can be found at https://www.rmgselection.com/news – to register with RMG please go to https://www.rmgselection.com/register)

The Chinese government has introduced some polices to attract more talent from different cultural backgrounds. But how an expat who knows nothing about Chinese job market successfully start his career here? What industries nowadays are in strong demand of expats? And how can China improve the current situation to attract more top talents overseas. Robert gave his advice for expats who want to find jobs in China. Here are some key points expats should know about finding China jobs.

1. For an expat who are blank-minded about Chinese job market, what is he going to do first if he wants a job here? How are you going to advise him?

• We have just done a quarterly survey. What we find strongly is that there are tremendous demands for foreigners with experiences in the service industry.
• Compared to the UK, it is fair to say that in China the general service industry requires a lot of development. And it is probably one of the key areas for advancements.
• So for a foreigner looking for a job in the Chinese market, if he has experience in the service industry or if he is a service-minded person, then that should be the key thing.

2. You just suggested that service is the sector. Specifically, what kind of service?

• The legal service industry, the accounting service industry or simple training business are all included in the service sector.
• Another finding from the survey is that western ways of doing things are nothing new because nowadays a lot of Chinese are brought up overseas or are educated overseas. Thus naturally they expect higher standards for foreigners.
• Another interesting thing that the survey brought up is that there is strong demand for foreigners particularly in the scientific area, like bio-technology and healthcare.

3. Medical degree is so expensive and so hard to get. Also people in this field are desperately needed elsewhere too. Why should China be attractive to them?

• Hospitals in China, I happen to know, offer a higher salary, about 20% to 30% above what doctors may receive.
• Also there is a strong demand in certain specialty like cancer or psychiatry.

4. Top foreign talents still don’t want to come to China. What can we do to improve the situation?

• Income tax here is less attractive than that in Hong Kong and Singapore. In Beijing, foreigners need to pay welfare, pensions, housing fund…
• Hong Kong real estate is cheaper than Beijing real estate. It is a really an issue.
• I suppose it would be better to have cleaner air in China. Smog here is one of main reasons why foreigners choose to leave.

5. What are the attractions that China has for talents?

• Countries across the Euro zone are still in a terrific mess. China has more opportunities as an emerging economy.

6. Do you think people overseas find it difficult to adapt to China?

• From the business perspective, I’ve learned far more about business in China that I did in the previous years. Chinese are excellent business people.
• If expats keep liberal mind and be open, you can embrace different cultures and deal with different people.
• You need spend more years in China to gain in-depth understanding in this country.

Listen to the original radio show:http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/04/16/3262s874610.htm