China has changed. Gone are days when a person considered a poor candidate for a job in the West automatically became a strong contender for the same job in China. I know this from the placement of my interns even in part-time unpaid positions. There is a lot of competition out there, and I believe that by next year cumulatively about 10 million Chinese graduates, including the more than 7 million expected to graduate from college in 2015, will be looking for jobs.

A huge number of Chinese graduates are returning from abroad after completing higher studies, learning the ways of Western business and culture, and becoming profficient in English. There is thus no reason that just being a foreigner and having a command of the English language will make a person unique in China's current job market. The better qualified you are, the better your chances. Are you an expert? Do you have a good degree, preferably a post-graduate degree?

China is not looking for losers. So my advice to foreigners seeking jobs in China is to think hard about why they want to work in China. I also advise them to come to China to study first and establish local contacts to see if they really fit in the scheme of things here.

COLIN SPEAKMAN, from China Daily blog

Readers' comments are welcome. Please send your e-mail to opinion@chinadaily.com.cn or letters@chinadaily.com.cn or to the individual columnists. China Daily reserves the right to edit all letters. Thank you.

(China Daily 07/02/2014 page9)