Job hunting for overseas returnees in London is also highly competitive. The "2021 China Returnee Employment Survey Report" gives you a rough idea.

Job hunting for overseas returnees is also highly competitive. The "2021 China Returnee Employment Survey Report" gives you a rough idea.

In recent years, the domestic job market can be described as extremely competitive, with graduates from many well-known Chinese universities having to go through numerous rounds of stressful interviews to find relatively satisfactory jobs. So, what are the employment prospects for returnees in the domestic market?

Recently, Zhaopin Limited released the "2021 China Returnee Employment Survey Report," analyzing the employment situation of returnees in 2021. Let's take a look together~

Increased willingness to return, accelerating salary growth

There are often voices questioning whether Chinese students studying abroad will cause a brain drain. In response, the Ministry of Education has publicly stated that it has full confidence in students studying overseas. After all, there are many returnees willing to serve their country after completing their studies.

The pandemic stabilized in 2021, but monitoring data shows that the total number of returnees and fresh graduate returnees seeking jobs in China in 2021 was basically the same as in 2020.

Why, after the pandemic stabilized, are returnees still so eager to return home for employment?

First, due to employment protection policies in some countries, there are relatively few jobs available for international students, and most positions are limited to fields such as computer science and engineering. Therefore, even with the pandemic stabilizing in 2021, fresh graduate returnees still tend to return to China to seek work.

At the same time, having an "international perspective" has become a key competitive advantage for returnees in the domestic job market, making them highly favored by employers and giving them more opportunities during job hunting.

The average recruitment salary for returnee-priority positions has been rising for three consecutive years, reaching 13,719 yuan per month in 2021, 46.5% higher than the average monthly salary across all platform positions.

In 2020 and 2021, the average salary for returnee-priority positions increased by 7.3% and 8.9% year-on-year, respectively, both higher than the growth rate of all platform positions.

In terms of both salary level and growth rate, returnees hold a clear advantage.

New trends in returnee employment

1. More jobs in first-tier cities, but smaller cities are also gaining favor

First-tier and new first-tier cities are home to many companies, offering a broader job market and more opportunities for returnees. According to this survey report, 44.5% of returnee-priority positions are concentrated in first-tier cities, while new first-tier cities account for 34.4%, together making up nearly 80%.

Moreover, returnee-priority positions in first-tier cities alone saw a year-on-year increase of 7.6%, while other regions experienced declines, further concentrating returnee-priority positions in first-tier cities.

Although first-tier cities extend olive branches to returnees, the report shows that compared to the fierce competition in first-tier cities, more and more young people are choosing new first-tier, second-tier, and third-tier cities.

In 2021, the willingness of returnees to move to third-tier and lower-tier cities for development increased significantly, with the number of applicants growing by 24.5% year-on-year. Meanwhile, new first-tier cities, due to their development potential and well-established infrastructure, have great appeal, with applicant numbers rising by 2.6% year-on-year.

2. Increase in applications to state-owned enterprises, growth in listed companies

In the past two years, graduates seem to be seeking more stability. According to Tsinghua University's "2021 Graduate Employment Analysis Report," among the 2021 graduates who had confirmed jobs, nearly 70% chose to enter the government or public sector system.

This trend has gradually spread to returnees. In 2021, the number of returnees submitting resumes to state-owned enterprises increased by 3.7% year-on-year. Additionally, 30% of returnees expected to work in state-owned enterprises, and 59% of returnees believed there was a "fever for civil service exams" among returnees, with 38.3% believing it had significantly heated up in the past two years.

Listed companies, due to their larger platforms, more promotion opportunities, and higher salaries, have long been favored by returnees, with the number of applicants increasing by 5.0% year-on-year. In contrast, applications to private enterprises decreased by 5.0% year-on-year.

3. High demand remains in education, IT/Internet, and other industries

In terms of industry distribution, the culture, sports, and education sector is more friendly to returnees, accounting for the highest share of returnee recruitment positions at 34.9%.

The IT/Internet, business services, and financial industries also have strong demand for returnees, with returnee recruitment positions accounting for 19.3%, 13.0%, respectively, and both showing year-on-year growth of over 15%. These positions are good options for returnees currently seeking employment.

4. Study abroad market rebounds, demand for study-abroad tutoring positions surges

With their overseas experience and language advantages, returnees have greater advantages over domestic job seekers in areas such as school selection and application essay writing. Coupled with the stabilization of the pandemic, the study-abroad market has begun to recover, making returnees popular in study-abroad tutoring positions.

In 2021, the demand for returnees in study-abroad tutoring positions accounted for 6.5%, a sharp increase of 87.6% year-on-year.

In 2021, positions such as lawyers, new media operations, e-commerce operations, and business operations also showed a preference for returnees, with the number of job openings increasing by 48.2%, 61.3%, 54.1%, and 52.6% year-on-year, respectively. Returnees have significant development potential in these industries and can consider them when job hunting.

In recent years, with the increase in returnees seeking jobs in China, the competition they face domestically has grown, but the job structure for returnees has improved, and salary levels have risen significantly, meaning returnees still have access to better job opportunities.

For returnee talent, upgrading education and skills can help open the door to ideal jobs, but a lack of understanding of the domestic employment situation and corporate needs is a major disadvantage for returnees developing in China.