Management and Internet major graduates as well as technicians were the most popular candidates at the first offline job fair for this year’s college graduates inPutuoDistrict yesterday.

More than 90Putuo-based firms were offering over 3,000 jobs in the commerce, technology, human resources and service sectors. They includedYuexingGroup, owner of the Global Harbor Mall,Carrefour, security company ShanghaiBaoan, Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry and online gamestartupBoke.

Some 760 people took part in the job fair atCaoyangGymnasium with companies receiving a total of 616 resumes and 258 candidates agreeing deals.

“We’ve lowered the threshold on educational background and are offering more internship opportunities to help graduates,” said a human resources official with aservice firm. She suggested graduates find a job first rather than keep looking for the most ideal posts.

Carrefourplanned to recruit 200 online store managers and fill 300 other posts at the job fair, said LouZhenyu, head of human resources for the company’sEast China region.

“The managers will receive training and become reserve cadres to meet the demand of online shopping trends,” Lou said. “We have not reduced the number of jobs this year because we are confident about China’s economic situation.”

Putuo has about 3,000 graduates this year and 906 have found jobs, according to the district’s human resources and social security bureau. Some 400 graduates said they needed assistance or guidance.

“My son should have been teaching students at a local school but for the pandemic,” said the mother of an applicantsurnamedZheng, who graduated from Shanghai Normal University in 2019.

Zhengsaid he couldn’t find a job as a teacher because the teacher’s certificate exam was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “I just need an interim job before the exam resumes.”

Shi Yue, an English major graduate from Shanghai Institute of Commerce and Foreign Languages, said he had scaled back the level of expected monthly salary to 5,000 yuan from 7,000 yuan due to the severe situation this year. “I just need a stable job,” said Shi, who was determined to become a television host earlier.

The fair is one of several events organized by the government to help graduates find jobs amid COVID-19. This year has been dubbed the most challenging for graduates due to the economic impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Putuo has launched a series of job fairs, startup contests and lectures. The employment and entrepreneurship service season will run through September, offering 5,000-plus jobs for college graduates.