According to the Ministry of Education, the number of college graduates in China this year reached 10.76 million, surpassing 10 million for the first time. As of mid-April, only 23.61 percent of graduates had either found jobs, or were continuing their studies.

In addition to the impact of COVID-19, college students this year are facing some of the toughest challenges ever to find work.

Hu Jiahui, human resources manager at a cultural company in Shanghai, said: "There are not as many vacancies available in the market for fresh graduates as in previous years. However, the number of applicants continues to grow, which has forced us to raise our recruitment standards, such as requiring higher qualifications and more work experience."

Unlike previous generations, applicants from the post-2000 generation are more confident and clearer about the goals they want to achieve, and also prefer to stick with their own thoughts instead of listening to others, Hu added.

According to the latest report from 51job Inc, one of the biggest human resource service companies in China, 45.2 percent of graduates are planning to work after they complete their studies, down by 7.1 percent year-on-year, while 28.2 percent have decided to further their studies, a 2.6 percent year-on-year rise.

Like Chen, the student in Shanghai, Wang Yulu, 21, who graduated from Zhejiang Vocational Academy of Art, where she studied music performance, has also decided to further her studies, as her college degree is not sufficient for her to become a teacher.

"I started thinking about applying for university in my first year at college, because if I want to find a promising job, then a bachelor's degree is essential, while a master's would be even better," said Wang, who started learning the guzheng, or Chinese zither, when she was 9 and chose it for her major at college.

In May, Wang received an offer to study music education at Wenzhou University in Zhejiang province, where she plans to apply for a postgraduate course.

"My three years at college taught me that I should keep fighting against pressure and failure, and that I should be strong-minded to face fierce competition. On the other hand, I was motivated to improve and learn step by step," said Wang, who believes that the word "fearless "epitomizes the post-2000 generation.