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Foreign job hunters: What economic crisis?

By Markus Wanzeck (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-27 11:15

They're from the United Kingdom, Austria, Pakistan or the United States. Hundreds of job hunters gather at the Swissotel in Beijing on an April afternoon.

They're smiling, chatting and full of expectation. Their positive mood stands in striking contrast to the gloom overshadowing their home countries, where the economy is facing the most severe downturn in decades.

Catchwords such as "bankruptcy", "depression" and "recession" are dominating the headlines there. But in Beijing it's not a belly-up, it's a thumbs up.

More expats look for jobs at the job fair held in Beijing. Photos by Wang Yang. [China Daily]

"It's the seventh time that the Chinajob.com job fair has taken place, and never before there were so many visitors," says Michael Li, organizer of the event, which attracted more than 1,100 job hunters, more than double than last year.

"China and especially Beijing are less affected by the crisis than almost anywhere else," explains Li's colleague Christina Yang.

There is still an increase in the job market - and not only in terms of quantity of positions, but also the quality. "Compared to previous years, the jobs offered demand higher qualification and imply a higher salary," she says.

Language teaching positions are still the top dog: 37 out of 56 exhibitors at the job fair were looking for foreign language experts, like Argentine Laura Leiro, who strolls through the fair booths with a pack of CVs in her hand.

The 25 year old came to Beijing to studying Chinese and wants to finance it by teaching Spanish.

"I plan to do that for a year or two and then make the most out of my multilingualism," she says.

Fred Khan, 31, from Pakistan already works as an English teacher. He regards the job fair as a chance to test his market value and "to see about the possibilities".

After three years in Beijing, both he and his wife feel at home, he says.

"Beijing is incredible peaceful compared to other international cities - and China is just an ocean of opportunities," he says.

As China's economy continues to grow, even though much lower than recent years, the influx of expat grows with it, especially if the foreigner has something to bring to the developing economy. China has become a paradise for skilled foreigners.

One of them is Peter Strijdonk. Like many visitors at the job fair, his mood is running high. The Dutchman moved to China just six months ago, and he is very enthusiastic about his new life.

Peter Strijdonk visits the Chinajobs.com job fair for networking purposes. [China Daily]

"While a lot of people in Europe are very insecure about their future now, here you can feel a positive vibe everywhere," he says.

When Strijdonk came to China, he founded a consultant firm named Small Steps Coaching - and the move became a great big step for himself.

He would never have dared to start his own business in Europe he says.

Strijdonk visits the Chinajobs.com job fair for networking purposes and also to look at the very foreigner friendly job market, he says.

"When you look at China, there are great future prospects almost everywhere," says Strijdonk.

"There's energy, and there's room for initiative. If you want to reach a certain business goal, then you can do it."

For newly arrived foreigners, diving into a teaching job is the most popular starting point, but other opportunities arise, explains Flora Sheng from international removal company AGS Four Winds.

The Beijing branch of her company organizes about 50 removals per month.