Michael Evans (pseudonym), a British social media writer at a Chinese media network company in Beijing, was recently approached by a headhunter on LinkedIn. He was offered a social media job in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
"I have seen some interesting jobs in the social media field: social media manager, chief marketing officer, digital marketing officer. There is a large number of jobs that require social media experience," said Evans.
Although the job prospects for Westerners in China have been in decline for many years, he said there are still many great opportunities here for non-Chinese with key skills in fields like social media.
The 2017 Asia Salary and Employment Outlook survey released by international recruitment consultancy Michael Page in December states that nearly half or 48 percent of the surveyed companies on the Chinese mainland plan to increase their staff in 2017, and 45 percent expect to offer a 6 to 10 percent salary increase in the next 12 months. The survey interviewed around 1,000 employers from different industries on the mainland.
Andy Bentote, senior managing director at Michael Page in charge of the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, told Metropolitan that despite the rebalancing of the Chinese economy, he is optimistic that hiring trends will remain positive in 2017.
"We see steady levels of recruitment, and China will remain a candidate-driven market where strong candidates are in demand and often receive multiple job offers," said Bentote.
"The industries anticipated for growth in 2017 align with those that currently have global appeal: renewable energy, financial technology, social media, and consumer electronics."
A January 17 global salary survey published by Robert Walters, another international recruitment consultancy, also showed a positive employment outlook brought by the Chinese government's transition to a leading high-tech economy and the resulting accelerated hiring of skilled e-commerce and technology workers.
With more job opportunities in some appealing industries, foreigners interviewed by Metropolitan are also optimistic about employment prospects this year. At the same time, they are also concerned about the potential influence of new policies in China, such as the new work permit policy and the recently loosened policy on work visas for foreign students.
A stable outlook
Evans has been working in social media in China for over 10 years and has witnessed the rapid development of the sector. In his current job, he edits online videos and does social media management. The headhunter offered him a job as a social media manager at a Chinese drone company in Shenzhen.
According to him, he regularly comes across Chinese companies that are desperate to increase their reach overseas, and social media is an important marketing tool for them.
"Social media is all about connecting people. Having English as a native language and an understanding of customer tastes and demands as well as cultural differences in key global markets are highly valuable skills for us," he said.
In the past several years, the slowdown of the Chinese economy has made it difficult for some foreigners to land a job in some industries. Still, some areas have increasing needs and salaries.
As the fruit of the Chinese economy's relative maturity and transformation into a value-added and consumption-led market and the government's "Internet Plus" strategy, the new technology and e-commerce sectors have emerged as the new drivers of growth, according to the Robert Walters survey.
Brett Rose, head of the Shanghai Office of Robert Walters China, told Metropolitan that e-commerce, digital, and financial technology continue to have a high demand for skilled professionals.
"There is a great shortage of experienced people in those areas, particularly those with Internet, digital, e-commerce and online marketing operation skills, and we will still see salary increases in those areas," said Rose.
Bilingual professionals with strong communication skills and commercial acumen will be the strategic focus in hiring in 2017, Matthew Bennett, the managing director of Robert Walters Greater China said.
