In recent years, the willingness of overseas students to return to China for development has increased significantly, and the number of students who choose to return to China for development after completing overseas studies has shown an upward trend. So what is the current situation of international students returning to China to find a job? What is the demand for returnees from domestic enterprises? What are the job search preferences for international students?
Students' return to China to find a job
Zhaopin's recruitment data shows that after the smooth transition of epidemic prevention and control in 2023, the flow of international talents will gradually recover, and the trend of overseas talents returning to China at an accelerated pace has slowed down, but it is still higher than before the epidemic. In 2023, the number of returnees and fresh international students looking for jobs in China will decrease by 5% and 22% respectively compared with 2022, but increase by 34% and 70% respectively compared with 2018.
Looking specifically at the distribution of study abroad countries for job-seeking international students, the United Kingdom accounts for the highest proportion at 40.7%, followed by Australia (16.1%) and the United States (9.9%), ranking the same as in 2021 and 2022. In recent years, more and more Chinese students have chosen to study in Southeast Asia, and the number of international students returning to China for employment has also increased.
Regarding the conditions that are important for returning to China to find a job, in 2023, international students will still pay the most attention to "salary and benefits", accounting for 74%. 37% of international students care about "corporate culture", ranking second. In addition, the proportion of international students who pay attention to organizational management and employer image will increase from 9.3% and 10.1% in 2022 to 15.7% and 14.2% in 2023, respectively. It can be seen that international students' feelings and evaluations of work experience are more rational and diverse, and in addition to the "hard currency" such as salary and benefits, different dimensions of work experience have also become a "soft weight" to attract international students.
The demand for returnees from domestic enterprises
According to Zhaopin's recruitment data, in 2023, the priority positions of returnees in the new energy/electrical/power industry will increase by 71.7% compared with 2022, and the year-on-year growth rate of jobs in insurance, processing and manufacturing (raw material processing/mold), academic/scientific research, and electronic technology/semiconductor/integrated circuit industries will also rank among the top five, with an increase of 27.8%, 17.3%, 16.2%, and 2.9% respectively. Technology-driven industries such as new energy, manufacturing, and integrated circuits are very eager for returnees who have mastered international advanced technology and have international experience.
From the perspective of occupation, the fastest growth in the priority position of returnees in 2023 is study abroad counseling, with a year-on-year growth rate of 42.8%. The rebound of students studying abroad has led to an increase in the demand for study abroad counseling positions, and returnees who are "coming over" are favored. Among the top five occupations in terms of growth, the priority positions of overseas returnees in senior management, clothing/textile design, electronics/electrical appliances/automation engineers, and marketing/brand promotion all grew by about 10% year-on-year. The proportion of returnees majoring in economics and management is relatively high, and the management and marketing positions are also more favored by returnees, and the recruitment growth rate is leading.
From the perspective of recruitment salary, the average recruitment salary of returnees for priority positions has risen for five consecutive years, reaching 15,240 yuan/month in 2023, an increase of 560 yuan/month from 14,680 yuan/month in 2022, an increase of 3.8%. Domestic enterprises actively seize the opportunity to recruit returnees with high salaries to enrich their human resources.
The new trend of job search for returnees
According to Zhaopin's recruitment data, among the top 10 industries in 2023, tourism/vacation will rank first, with a growth rate of 24.5%, mainly in tourism planning and tourism product manager positions. The second is the new energy/electrical/power industry, with a growth rate of 19%, and the rapid development of the domestic new energy industry, attracting returnees to actively join. High-end manufacturing industries such as instrumentation and industrial automation, large-scale equipment manufacturing, processing and manufacturing, automobiles/motorcycles, and aviation/aerospace research and manufacturing occupy five of the top 10 industries in the growth rate of returnee delivery, with a growth rate of about 10%. It can be seen that high-end manufacturing has become a popular field for returnees to find jobs.
From the perspective of occupations, the top three occupations in the growth rate of the number of returnees in 2023 are tourism services, convention and exhibition affairs, and study abroad counseling, with growth rates of 106.3%, 56.9%, and 36.5% respectively. In addition, core technical positions such as energy-saving/energy engineers, chip engineers, chemical R&D, automation engineers, and pharmaceutical R&D occupy the main body of the top 10 occupations in the growth rate of returnees. The return of core technical talents in the field of new energy and high-end manufacturing will inject new impetus into the development of domestic industries.
Employment status of returnees
According to Zhaopin's recruitment data, returnees who have been employed in China said that 7 percent believe that "returnee status" is a plus in the job search process. 6 percent of returnees believe that overseas experience has helped them in their work, of which 25.2% think that "all aspects are beneficial", 20.4% think that it is mainly helpful in business, and 17.3% think that it is helpful in interpersonal relationships. It can be seen that most returnees recognize the role of "returnee status" in helping them find jobs and career development.
In the past two years, more and more returnees have joined the flexible employment team. When asked whether returnees are willing to try flexible employment, more than 7 percent of respondents answered in the affirmative. Among them, 42.9% said that "many people are already trying" flexible employment, and 32.7% believed that the popularity of flexible employment "has increased significantly in the past two years", accounting for 75.6% of the total, up from 55.5% in 2022.
From the perspective of flexible employment, 46.5% of the respondents said that the returnee group is mainly trying short video bloggers, ranking first. followed by financial investment, knowledge payment, education and training, and live broadcasting, accounting for 42.5%, 35.4%, 33.2%, and 28.8% respectively. Compared with 2022, the proportion of people engaged in knowledge payment and live broadcast has increased by 9 percentage points. Returnees are good at using traffic and professional knowledge as levers to show their strength in flexible employment.
Policies that international students can enjoy when they return to their home countries
1. Employment support for overseas talents
In recent years, the state has paid more and more attention to overseas talents, and has established the policy of "supporting overseas students, encouraging them to return to China, coming and going freely, and playing a role" in the new era.
For example, the China Scholarship Council awards scholarships to outstanding doctoral returnees every year. As long as you graduate and are ready to return to China, you can submit materials to receive $6,000, and especially excellent ones can receive $10,000.
At the same time, in order to support the employment of returned international students, the Ministry of Education also launched the "National Employment Service Platform for Overseas Students" in 2022.
Among them, most of the recruiting units are enterprises with high gold content and guarantee, of which 18% are university research institutes, 10% are public institutions, 36% are state-owned enterprises, 27% are private enterprises, and 9% are entrepreneurial and entrepreneurial enterprises. Obviously, this kind of national-level talent introduction service platform for overseas students, which is jointly participated by government departments, employers and overseas students, provides a lot of convenience for international students to return to China for employment.
In addition, the targeted selection plan for international students can be described as a green channel provided by the government for outstanding international students, providing more employment opportunities for international students.
2. Preferential policies for international students returning to China to settle down
At present, many first-tier cities in China have policies to attract international students to settle down, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc., as long as they meet certain academic qualifications and employment needs, they can get a local hukou.
The specific settlement criteria for each city are different, and you can check them on the official websites of local governments.
Taking Shanghai as an example, the conditions for settling down:
● The following categories of (1)-(4) international students can apply for settlement after paying social security and individual income tax for 6 months:
(1) Doctoral degree from a foreign university, with a cumulative study time of not less than 1 year; Doctoral degree graduates of Sino-foreign cooperative education and joint training shall have a cumulative study time of not less than half a year. Among them, PhDs graduated from overseas high-level universities (top 500 universities) do not need social security and individual income tax, and can directly apply to settle in Shanghai.
(2) Bachelor's degree from domestic double-first-class university + master's degree from overseas; Bachelor's degree from domestic non-double-first-class universities + master's degree from overseas high-level universities; Overseas Bachelor's + Overseas Master's.
(3) Bachelor's degree from a high-level overseas university.
(4) Domestic master's degree or above + 1 year of overseas study or visiting scholar.
● On the basis of meeting the basic conditions for overseas students to settle down, for those who graduated from the world's top 50 universities, the requirements for the payment base and payment time of social insurance premiums will be cancelled, and they can directly apply for settlement after working in the city full-time; For those who graduated from the world ranking 51-100, they can apply for settlement after working full-time in the city and paying social insurance premiums for 6 months.
● Units in the "Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Occupation List", units in Shanghai's key industries, regions and basic research fields, and overseas students with bachelor's degree or above in STEM majors from the top 500 foreign universities can apply for settlement after paying social security for 6 months of full-time work, without individual income tax and social security base requirements.
3. Rental and living allowance for international students
Many cities in China have rental and living subsidy policies for returnees, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Nanjing and other cities.
● Beijing: You can apply to rent a short-term working place provided by the Beijing Overseas Scholars Center at a preferential price, or you can provide housing in the form of a contract by the employer.
●Shanghai: Renting a house in Hongkou District, Baoshan District, Yangpu District, Xuhui District, Minhang District, Songjiang District, and Pudong District in Shanghai can apply for a 6-month rental subsidy. The amount of the subsidy ranges from 7,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan.
● Huangpu District, Guangzhou: Undergraduate students can apply for a living allowance of 20,000 yuan, 30,000 yuan for master's students, and 50,000 yuan for doctoral students. Outstanding talents and outstanding talents will receive an annual allowance of up to 200,000 yuan for three consecutive years! There is a housing subsidy of up to 10,000 yuan per month.
● Shenzhen: International students can apply for Shenzhen rent and living allowance, the subsidy amount is 15,000 yuan/person for undergraduates, 25,000 yuan/person for masters, and 30,000 yuan/person for doctors.
● Nanjing: 600 yuan per month for bachelor's degree, 800 yuan per month for master's degree, and 2,000 yuan per month for doctorate.
● Hangzhou: A living allowance will be provided to all fresh college students with a bachelor's degree or above, including 10,000 yuan for undergraduates, 30,000 yuan for masters, and 100,000 yuan for doctors.
4. Entrepreneurship support for international students
Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou and other cities have support programs for international students to start their own businesses, and if they meet certain conditions, they can get preferential policies such as financial support and interest-free loans to help international students start their own businesses after returning to China.
● Beijing: When starting a business, overseas students can enjoy preferential policies such as no household registration restriction and 100,000 yuan enterprise start-up fee, and there is also support from the "Beijing Overseas Students Entrepreneurship Award" and the "Special Fund for Entrepreneurship of Returned Overseas Students".
● Shanghai: International students who meet the Shanghai Pujiang Talent Plan will receive 500,000 yuan of financial support; Entrepreneurial talents can enjoy an interest-free loan of 150,000 yuan in Pudong New Area, Shanghai.
● Guangzhou: The project of overseas students shall be declared to the Science and Technology Commission, and a one-time start-up capital subsidy of 100,000 yuan will be given.
● Shenzhen: first-class subsidy of 1 million yuan; second-class subsidy of 500,000 yuan; The third-class subsidy is 300,000 yuan; After being assessed by experts, particularly outstanding projects can be given a maximum of 5 million yuan.
● Chengdu: Returnees with a master's degree or above who start a business in Chengdu and are the legal representatives of the enterprises they founded can apply for the support plan for overseas students to return to China to start a business, and can enjoy a subsidy of up to 500,000 yuan.
● Hangzhou: High-level returnees who have returned from studying abroad can get 100-5 million yuan of entrepreneurial capital in Hangzhou.
In addition, there are many subsidy policies for international students in various places, including the purchase of tax-free cars, academic research support, and so on.
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