Job-hoppers look beyond big paychecks

Shirley Xu, a 29-year-old marketing manager, is considering shifting to her fifth company since her first job in 2007.

She graduated as a journalism major and had her first job as a reporter at a business magazine in 2007. She jumped into PR at a foreign-invested bank in 2009 for a much higher salary. Then she jumped again in 2011 to a privately owned solar energy company to get a higher position, and moved to a joint-venture investment bank in 2012 simply because the previous company had moved to a remote area far from her home.

She's looking to make another move as she doesn't like the slow work pace at this firm.

"Everybody here is just waiting to retire," says Xu. "I cannot get any sense of achievement here. It is not my place."

Though the annual recruitment season usually happens in late March, it has started early this year, according to an investigative report released last week by zhaoping.com, a leading online job-hunting firm. The report was based on 12,103 questionnaires collected in 28 cities around the country.

The report found that 10 percent of interviewees have already changed jobs after the Chinese New Year break, about 21 percent are renewing their resumes, about 33 percent intend to change their jobs, while 36 percent say they will not leave their current position.

About 70 percent of interviewees in Shanghai say they intend to leave their present position. About 74 percent of Beijing respondents say they want to change while the figure is 71 percent in Guangzhou, according to the report.

The post 1980s and 90s generations are still the most active groups in the job-hunting market. About 65 percent of the post 1990s group are either looking for a job, renewing their resume or intend to leave their position. The rate is 57 percent among the post 1980s group, the report said.

A tracking survey by BRecruit China of about 500 candidates who graduated in June 2013 backs up Zhaoping's report. About 40 percent of the graduates have already shifted to a new job as of the end of 2013, 30 percent are hunting for new jobs, while only 10 percent show no intention of job-hopping.

Employment brand valued

"Salary alone is no longer the most important criterion for job seekers when choosing an employer. Instead, the employer's brand and the development prospects of an enterprise are also taken into consideration," says Pete Chia, managing director of BRecruit China.

The company also conducted a survey involving 36,000 candidates — 80 percent at middle to senior level with more than three years work experience — from 1,176 companies in various industries. About 24 percent say that a strong employment brand is a must-have, 19 percent look for companies that have a competitive edge, while only 5 percent of candidates list salary as their primary concern.

All the three positions 25-year-old Linda Xia has worked at are within big foreign-invested companies with good reputations. She once worked as a specialist for the social network program at EF Education after graduating in 2011. She then shifted to the marketing department of the Coca-Cola Co in 2012 until EF Education offered her a manager position in 2013.

Personal interest, development prospects and salary are the three big factors Xia considers when seeking a job.

"I want to do what I am interested in, and I told myself that every job I take should be helpful in finding the next job," says Xia. "It should at least grant me either a bigger platform, higher level of view or connections to more helpful people."

Xia says she doesn't job hop as frequently as some of her friends.

"I have friends still at their first jobs, and also those who are looking for their sixth," she says. "I think it is just because of different personalities. Some likes changes and freshness, while others don't."

Xia plans to work at her present position until she is qualified to find another manager position in the market. "It is not that easy to find an employer who wants to hire a manager with less than three years of work experience," says Xia.

Meanwhile, Xu, like other post 1980s graduates, is weighing the pros and cons of the two options for her fifth job. She says she will not put so much emphasis on a salary increase this time. A friendly working environment, a good boss and sense of achievement are more important, she says. She also wants less overtime because she just got married and is planning to have a baby.

"Job-hopping helps me find the best suitable job," says Xu. "I always tell my friends that if they find it difficult to decide whether to change for a new boyfriend, then don't. If they find it difficult to decide whether to change for a new job, just do it.

"Too much romance experience will devalue a woman in the marriage market, while working experience will always add more value. Besides, there are always jobs out there for you."

Zhang Haidong, professor of the Sociology and Political Science School of Shanghai University, says: "With steady economic growth and an increasingly open job market, it is natural for the young to have the willingness to switch for a better job rather than stick to one single position. It also plays a positive role in refreshing the market."

Self-assessment

However, employment pressure, incorrect self-assessments and self-centered personalities may make job-hopping more prominent among the post 1980s and 90s, Zhang adds.

"With about 7 million university graduates searching for jobs every year, it is very likely that many of them will not find their ideal job right away," the professor says. "Those who have an overly high opinion of themselves may hold unrealistic expectations, while the self-centered personality types often have zero tolerance and will be dissatisfied with any job."

However, Chia from BRecruit China warns that employers often don't like job-hoppers. It doesn't help develop skills like leadership, time management, communication and team work.

Ellen Yang, human resources manager at a foreign-invested medicine company, says: "We will question a candidate's ability to adapt, cope with stress and deal with people if we see they are a frequent job-hopper."