Dear Stephen,

I am a junior student majoring in English. Several days ago, I was talking with a friend of mine who is graduating from NIT this year about her experience of looking for a job. She told me that it isn’t easy to find a satisfactory job these days, and that the job market is increasingly competitive. She also expressed concern about having to adapt to a strenuous work environment after four years of college life. When our conversation ended, I was worried. I’m just an ordinary student, so how will I be able to find a good job after graduation? What can I do to prepare for job-hunting in the near future? What can I do to make myself more competitive? Could you please give me some advice? Thanks in advance for your reply.

Yours truly,

Bella

Dear Bella,

As an American, I’m quite familiar with the stresses of living in a competitive society. Many of my countrymen think that competition is a good thing because it puts steady pressure on everyone to ‘be the best they can be’ at whatever they do. Unfortunately, in competitions, there are always ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. In the common situation where hundreds of eager college graduates are applying for a coveted position, there will be only one winner. For the losers, it’s ‘try, try again’ until they find acceptable positions. In China’s increasingly competitive job market, there are no guarantees, and it may take months or even years to find the right job.

Don’t worry – worrying is just a waste of precious time. There are some things you can do right now to prepare yourself for a successful job search.

First of all, get rid of the notion once and for all that you are an “ordinary student”. In a competitive environment, if you are ordinary, you can expect to get an ordinary job or no job at all. This is the truth, unless your family is rich and well-connected, of course. So, you must look at yourself objectively, and carefully assess your strengths and weaknesses relative to your competitors. Then, you must emphasize your strengths and de-emphasize your weaknesses as you prepare to present yourself as ‘China’s best employee’. Yes, Bella, in your job search, you must present yourself as ‘extraordinary’ in order to distinguish yourself from your competitors. It’s all about self-marketing.

What employers need most are loyal employees with valuable skills and experience. As an English major, you are learning a valuable language skill, but one that many others also possess. If your English language skills are excellent, if your grades are high, and if you have a specialization such as translation or teaching, this will give you a competitive advantage. If your grades are ‘average’, then you should focus on gaining practical, work-related experience that will catch a prospective employer’s attention.

The first thing an employer will see when considering your job application is your résumé. It must tell them in a few seconds specifically how and why you are ‘extraordinary’ and how you will benefit them if they hire you. In a personal interview, it’s usually more about ‘chemistry’ than qualifications; the employer just wants to assess how well you would ‘fit in’ to the workplace.

Frankly, I see lots of nice students sleep-walking through their college years, full of vague hopes and dreams about their future. However, if you want to be proactive in making your dreams come true, you must ‘wake up’ and take concrete steps to prepare. By the time you are a senior, your résumé should be extraordinary in some way or another because when you go job hunting, it may be your only competitive advantage.

Sorry, Bella, if my reply to your question is rather direct, but you’re a junior and it’s high time to fact the facts. In China’s tough job market, you will also have to be tough – and smart. So, get to work on your résumé and begin your senior-year job search now. Most importantly, whenever you look in a mirror, say to yourself, “This person is extraordinary!” This is one way to gain the confidence you will need to be a winner and get the ‘dream job’ you seek.

In closing, I must also say, in all honesty, that it’s perfectly okay to be an ‘ordinary person’ and to live an ‘ordinary life’. Happiness can still be yours. Competition is not for everyone.

Sincerely,

Stephen