Challenges in obtaining employment in China: Lived experiences of Australian Chinese graduates

Abstract

Previous scholarly work has elaborated on challenges faced by Chinese international returnees at Chinese workplaces. However, limited research has captured to what extent such challenges have involved Chinese Australian graduates in gaining employment in China. Hence this study investigates the challenges involved in obtaining successful employment in China. Drawing on a qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 Chinese graduates who studied at one Australian university and returned to China upon graduation. The study results highlight significant barriers to employment. Challenges include limited prior working experience, graduation in Australia that is not synchronised with employment months in China and lack of guanxi. This study provides important insights into barriers of employment in China for Chinese returnees from Australia and, potentially, for graduate returnees from other countries to China. It also discusses implications for Australian universities and for Chinese international students in Australia.

Employment of international education graduates: Issues of economy and resistance to change

“…The employment trajectory of international education graduates is influenced by a range of economic, social and cultural factors (Amazan et al, 2016;Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020). Economic factors such as limited jobs (Abimbola et al, 2016;Amazan et al, 2016), saturated fields caused by an overly competitive domestic labour market (Abimbola et al, 2016;Amazan et al, 2016;Hao & Welch, 2012;Nachatar Singh, 2020) and high salary expectations against those offered in the market (Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Perna et al, 2015) make it challenging for the graduates to obtain post-graduation employment.…”

“…Sociocultural factors also have a significant impact, and local cultural expectations place tremendous pressure on international education graduates. Research on Chinese graduates showed that families expected them to smoothly transition from university life to a workplace (Gill, 2010), whereas employers expected them to be considerably superior to their local counterparts (Hao & Welch, 2012) making reintegration into the domestic cultural environment difficult (Gill, 2010;Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham et al, 2019).…”

“…Hence, the deeper intercultural understanding gained through international education is an advantage when the graduates need to navigate between home and international contexts at the workplace (Gill, 2010). Conversely, perceived lack of understating of the local context makes graduates less attractive to domestic employers (Gill, 2010;Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham et al, 2019). Traditional, often inflexible, cultures in workplaces in China, Kazakhstan and Uganda, and coworkers' unfriendly attitudes towards graduates with international diplomas prevented graduates from applying their knowledge and skills effectively (Amazan et al, 2016;Gill, 2010;Perna et al, 2015), and colleagues' resistance and resentment were also found to be a major challenge (Amazan et al, 2016;Pham, 2020).…”

“…Another social factor limiting graduates' domestic employment opportunities is the lack of social networks (Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020). Recent studies suggest that an international diploma itself is no longer sufficient to secure employment (Amazan et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham et al, 2019).…”

“…Another social factor limiting graduates' domestic employment opportunities is the lack of social networks (Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020). Recent studies suggest that an international diploma itself is no longer sufficient to secure employment (Amazan et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham et al, 2019). Rather, it is social relations with others that help international education graduates to land a job (Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham, 2020;Pham et al, 2019), and good relationships with colleagues and supervisors are important for their career progression (Pham, 2020).…”