Cao Ran, a post-graduate student in Beijing, is one of the best students in his class, but his good scores are not getting him a job offer.
Cao graduates next summer, and in the past few months he has been busy looking for jobs.
"I have been sending out resumes at job fairs since July when the semester started, but four months have passed and I have not received a single interview," he said. "There are just not enough posts this year. Fewer companies are hiring compared to last year."
Cao majored in chemical engineering in China University of Petroleum.
"I thought I was good, but there are many Chinese graduates from abroad who are also looking for jobs in Beijing. Competition is unimaginable," he said.
Across the country, as the job-hunting season starts pressure has been mounting for new graduates, with the economy tepid, companies have slashed posts.
Li Hu, a student of public management at Renmin University of China, has found a job at a training firm.
"The salary is fine, in this economy, but there is no Hukou [household registration], which means I cannot buy apartment here and in the future my children cannot go to school here. So I am still looking for better opportunities because I want to settle here," he said.
Unlike Li, many graduates choose to leave Beijing and look for jobs elsewhere.
Starting from this year, Beijing has been capping its population as it pushes forward the integration plan of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. The capital has been moving out labor-intensive and polluting industries such as real estate construction, steel, coal and mechanics.
"Years ago, at least 60 percent of our graduates had their first jobs in Beijing, but the percentage is less than half now," said Lyu Yuan, a teacher at the employment center at Peking University.
"The outflow of graduates has been more voluntary in recent years as students evade the high-cost, high-pressure lifestyle in Beijing. Meanwhile, we are also advising and assisting students to seek jobs in other cities," she said.
In 2016, there were 7.65 million new college graduates in China. Only about 80 percent of them found jobs immediately on graduation. Figures from the Ministry of Education show there will be more than 7.95 million graduates in 2017.
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, around 15 million young people will join the urban labor force each year between 2016 and 2020. College graduates represent the majority of the new job hunters.
Chinese face an confounding mismatch of labor oversupply and structural shortages. Skilled workers are in short supply, while general labor forces are at a surplus.
Yao Xianguo, director of the public policy institute at Zhejiang University, said more jobs will be created as China steps up industrial upgrading and change its development.
STARTUPS FOR STARTERS
In May last year, the State Council issued guidelines on an innovation and entrepreneurship education system at universities, aiming to improve the quality of talent and encourage more college students to start their own businesses by 2020.
Following the guidelines, several provincial governments have made policies to support entrepreneurship and allow students to take a gap year to explore business ideas.
Leng Wentao graduated in July from the Communication University of China this year. He tried wedding planning, and also ran an app which makes custom-designed clothes, electronics and accessories. None of his projects succeeded, and he is now trying his hand at marketing.
"There has been great support for entrepreneurship for graduates, but we must admit that only one in every 10,000 survive and thrive," Leng said. "Most graduates do not know how to draft a business plan, or talk to the investors. Entrepreneurship is not easy and universities should prepare them for such challenges."
Zhang Tianyi, 26, a law graduate of Peking University, is one of the successful entrepreneurs. His rice noodle chain, founded in 2014, has expanded to a dozen restaurants. Annual revenue will reach 80 million yuan this year, and it employs over 100 people, he said.
"Dining is a huge business, and I'm glad I chose the right field to explore," Zhang said. The rice noodles are made with a spicy flavor popular in his home province, Hunan.
Zhang wants to build his food chain into a multi-million dollar firm. "Chinese dining chains have a way to go to become as successful as McDonald's. We need young people with creative and open minds to see business and grab it," he said.
"College life is too cozy. They should go out and take risks and earn experience," he said.
