Tag Archives: CRI

Dealing with Stress in the Year of the Monkey

Thursday, 25 February 2016 08:58

It could be that the economy is booming and there’s pressure to drive a better car, live in a better house and wear more expensive clothes. It could also be the case that the economy is tanking and there is pressure to stay put and maintain a quality of life. There is even a possibility your family is encouraging you to “take it easy” and “have a rest”, even though this may not be practical. It is hard to dispute that in modern China, competition and pressure abound. In this edition of career builder, we address a number of issues surrounding:

Pressure, what is reasonable, and when does it become stress?
Should we take drastic action to deal with pressure and stress?
Is pressure and stress part of the normal pattern of working life?
What can we do to relieve stress?
What are the benefits or relieving stress?

Career Builder – Impacts of Economic Slowdown on Recruitment Market

Thursday, 22 October 2015 01:54

The recent economic dilemmas caused by a series of events also raised a lot of concerns: the declining output from the country’s enormous manufacturing sector; the decline in the stock market; the weakest GDP growth figure (The annual GDP growth rate had revised from 7.4% to 7.3%)… all these factors have also affected the talents market, and brought a concern whether the dark days for job seekers are coming. In this episode of career builder, we will be discussing about the influences of Chinese economic slowdown on the recruitment market as well as some suggestions for people who are seeking jobs at this very moment.

Does it mean the job seekers can hardly get their jobs if we were experiencing an economic slowdown?

There is no necessity to be panic. The Chinese economy is still developing in a space that is much faster than anyone from the western society. The economic slowdown we are having now is simply a must-experienced stage for the economic reform.
When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. The real talents are always marketable no matter how hard the economic situation gets.
Not all companies are laying people off. There are still companies in certain sectors are still hiring dramatically.
As people with experience are more valued, the young graduates might have some difficulties in finding jobs.

What kind of companies will still maintain a high hiring demand?

There are certain sectors that are actually booming at the moment: IT, Dentistry, and all kinds of high level service sectors are all open available. There are still lots of field with high developing potential.
A rising tide floats all the boats. Everyone can make money in a booming economy. But only the excellent ones can go through the dark tunnel to get to the light at the end. The first-class companies would never cut their demands on the real talents.

How can the young graduates survive from the economic slowdown period?

Re-managing your expectations. Young graduates need to be more realistic about what they do at the starting point of their career. Do not underestimate the importance and meaningfulness of the basic office jobs.
Do not stop learning. Constantly storing and expanding your expertise of your professional field will eventually helps you to get a desirable job opportunity.
Good things may come to those who wait, but only the things that left behind by those who hustle. Your job opportunity would never come to you were you waiting passively. Go make the calls, writing e-mails and ask for your chance to go for it.

Do you have some other suggestions for the candidates who are currently looking for jobs?

Nothing beats experience.
Be ready to make change. There is nothing wrong about picking up a new trade if you find yourself suitable.
Do not lose your confidence. Always talk to yourself in a positive way, especially in the hard days.

Listen to the original radio, please go to: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/09/23/3262s897185.htm

Career Builder-Graduates’ Employment

Wednesday, 21 October 2015 06:32

Whilst most of the enterprises have finished their campus recruitment, the graduate employment has become one of the most popular topics in the current recruitment market. With the release of Recruitment Insider Q2 Report, RMG has specifically focused on the Problems of Graduates’ Employment.

When it comes to the starting salary level of new graduates, how big of a difference does their education level make?

The survey result from RMG’s latest Recruitment Insider Q2 Report suggests that the starting salaries for new graduates have remained in accordance with their education level. 47.4% of bachelor graduates could only get monthly incomes from 3k-5k, while only 22.2%/17.5% of master/PhD graduates were getting this amount of commencing salary.
In the 2015 China campus recruitment, most of the graduates with PhD degree could get a starting salary level from 8k-10k, and 40%-50% of Master graduates can get a salary from 5k – 8k. Not surprisingly, it is true that the higher education background you get, the better chance you will get a higher starting salary.

So does it means the individuals with higher education level could always get better jobs for granted?

According to our survey result, the top 2 aspects of candidates valued by employers are Professional Knowledge/Skill (64%) and Communication Skill (48%). These are the two factors that really differentiate you from other candidates when you are applying your first job as a new graduate.
People do business with people they like, this will always remain unchanged. It’s fair and reasonable for people to have expectations about their starting income that will match their education level. However, since the increasing amount of majors we have today as well as the declining difficulty of getting high levels of education, there is a trend for employers to emphasize more on job seekers’ skill and working competency and less about the education background.
There is a limited amount of job categories which are truly requiring a really solid education background. Frequently, people with higher education backgrounds often end up in an awkward position because of their over qualification for most of the job opportunities.

What should the graduates with relatively lower education level do to acquire better career development in China job market?

Make your campus life count. A diploma from higher education might be a guarantee for specific knowledge in a major, but it is also significant how the students spend their time during the study. This actually makes huge difference! Use your spare times on gaining relevant experience that could be helpful for your later career, such as taking internships, managing a project or getting a higher academic performance. Those are the experiences you MUST have to justify your ability and future behavior with authentic facts.
Work HARD to gain your own future. Companies in China are likely to pay new graduates a relatively lower starting salary, yet you are often given the opportunity to demonstrate what you are capable of and whether you deserve a more important role. Go prove it if you think you are qualified for a better career development. In return, those young professions who have proven themselves will also end up with much higher salary raises.
Always be confident. An attitude that is neither too humble nor too pushy is also essential or job interviews.

What other suggestions would you give to the new Chinese graduates for their career development?

Lower your expectations. No one could get a dream job without any relevant working experience. As a rookie, you need to go through the necessary dark days to steel yourself to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.
Be Prepared! Doing your research to your interview company and the job you are applying for. It is important to find if there is truly a fit between you and the company you intend to apply.
Persistency is always a key element for everyone’s success. I had 10 interviews until I got my first internship, and I am convinced it isn’t unusual for any of the young graduate to spend a long time before getting their first desirable job.
Give up the idea of pursuing a higher degree of learning if you are doing that for the sake of a better starting income. But do not hesitate to keep on studying if you are pursuing better education background for the aim of learning more in your field.

Listen to the original radio, please go to: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/08/26/3481s893287.htm

Career Builder – Challenge Your Manager

Wednesday, 21 October 2015 02:55

One of the most intractable problems for today’s young professionals is how to ‘challenge’ their superior when there are necessities to express their concerns or advices. But is “challenging” your manager really a terrible thing? How to question your manager in a way that won’t put your job security into risks? Please listen to this week’s Career Builder, here Robert Parkinson, Founder and CEO of RMG Selection – a leading Asia focused executive search business, will share his thoughts about the topic “Challenge” your manager’.

Why it’s not terrible to challenge your manager?

The best thing about questioning your manager is that it helps you to clarify for yourself and avoids misunderstanding between you and your boss.
Building rapport is especially important in Chinese society. And giving useful advices to your manager could actually boost your relationship with your manager if you did it in the right way.
Nobody could claim oneself to be perfect. The definition of successful manager is someone that is always seeking the opportunity to get to know the truth and the chances for improvements. As a manager, you will always need the necessary advices and aids to maximize the team efficiency and let yourself become a better leader. You can be helpful to your manager by questioning him or her.
A wise leader does not necessarily to be the one who is best in the field, but an expert who is good at accepting different points of views and absorbing the essence of other employees’ best advices. Consequently, there is no need to be afraid of doing such thing.

What are the tips for young people to challenge the seniors without having the risk of losing their job?

Avoid uncertainty and always make sure that your ‘challenge’ has detailed suggestion which could actually help your manager to make improvements based on your advice. You don’t come to your supervisor with your angry complains without giving any constructive advice.
Communication skill is really essential in China, where the notion of ‘Face’ plays a crucial role in the business world. Make sure to communicate with your manager in an indirect tongue to minimizing the potential embarrassment. It is wise to make your suggestion focus on the problem you are questioning rather than the person who caused the problem.
Try to communicate with your manager in a private environment where no one else is around.
Have a good judgment of what kind of boss you are having. The significance of knowing your superior’s managing style is even more important in China.

So what should I do when I am having a manager that is not reasonable?

There is always plenty of promising career opportunities for smart people. Leaving the job when you cannot see any potential improvement of the status quo is a considerably good move.
Often you will not meet the serious standard to change the job. A compromised way of questioning this kind of boss is to find a good timing and a buffer zone.

As a manager, how to get useful suggestion with better ideas from your employee?

Have trust in your staffs
Do not take any rational feedback personally. Asuccessful manager should encourage feedbacks from his or her employees constantly. It is important to have a good company culture and not to let your staffs fear to question.
Do not suppress the young people in your company. Compare with senior staffs, the new graduates and young employees are often less biased and do not have the baggage from previous working experience. The encouragement for them to speak out is the spirit for them later to delivery really constructive advices. Simultaneously, the space you gave to people to speak could also bring you a lower turnover rate by increasing their commitment to the company.

Listen to this episode of Career Builder on CRI: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2015/08/05/3481s890421.htm

Chinese Graduates Face Tough Job Market – CRI

Thursday, 30 May 2013 02:51

This year, nearly 6.99 million students will graduate from college, an increase of 190,000 compared with 2012. This number is the highest since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949.One of the most important indexes of employment, the job contract signing rate, is on a downward slope compared with last year, indicating 2013 will be a tough year for graduates. What’s your opinion on the tough Chinese graduates’ job market? Listen to the live show on CRI with Robert Parkinson, CEO of RMG Selection. 与2012年相比，今年的毕业生总数（699万）又增长了19万。这是自1949年建国以来毕业生数量最多的一年。作为最重要的就业指标之一，今年的签约率呈现出急剧下降的趋势，这意味着2013年将成为毕业生就业最艰难的一年。你对于中国毕业生艰难的就业形势有何看法呢？即刻点击链接，了解罗迈国际CEO Robert Parkinson在中国国际广播电台节目中的独家看法吧！ listen to the news on CRI: http://english.cri.cn/8706/2013/05/27/2861s767175.htm Watch the interview video on Youku: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTY3NTU0NTQ0.html

Page 1 of 2