ArticleGet a job first, and then you choose (3)
Lessons From the Financial Crisis
The economic crisis is cutting deep into the job markets worldwide. In early February the US department of Labor released data showing the unemployment rate there soared to a 16-year high of 7 point 6 percent. In China the official unemployment rate fares slightly better near 4 point 5 percent. Some careers are surviving better than others as well as those employees who are trained to handle career changes.
A: Talking a little bit about other countries, according to some US figures that are recently released, a lot of careers in the health industry, governments; they’re really surviving the financial crisis. Is this something that the Chinese students should learn from, they’re just getting into college, maybe expand those skill sets to make themselves more valuable?
Z: This financial crisis not only gives the crisis for the students, but also gives a lot of lessons to the students. How to design your career, how to think about the money, how to choose your job, and what expectations you should have. So the students can learn a lot. Even a lot of university presidents, they give a lot of talks with the students, in old days, they will say this is the instruction, but now they consider differently, right? They will consider such kind of suggestions, guidelines. So this is for students, not only for them, but also for universities. Although we come to the universalization of high education, but all the university presidents in the old days, they still think about all universities are elites, but in fact it is different. Not only you should give them the knowledge, but also now you should think about the skills for the students.
A: Which careers are surviving better here? We talked about other countries, what careers are surviving better here in China that students say, if I want to survive maybe another financial crisis in 10 years, if it happens, I should concentrate on this career.
Z: This financial crisis will make them to think in the future, you cannot say in your life you can only take one job, but also you will change a lot of jobs, so it is very important, try to find your own aptitudes, or some thing like that, what kind of aptitudes you have, what kinds of jobs you can get used to or you will like, try to design yourself. So from last year, in Shanghai we opened a new innovation we called career education. Let the students try to recognize themselves.
A: If a student is getting into technology, maybe, should get a broad base education on technology, but maybe specialize in healthcare technology. Is that a smart thing for students to think of? Like a big major, but then some smaller specialties so that they can survive better?
Z: For Shanghai situation now, the students with engineering is much easier to find jobs, but in the last 4 or 5 years, people always think finance is the very best job, very best subject to learn, but you can have very high wages, you can have very good benefits, up to now, they suddenly know that, in the world, not only finance is the most important, there are others, you can have very multiple choices. In these days, the students who learned very narrow subjects, they will try to make it bigger. But some people, they really need very general, they will try to find some special. So different students, and different students in different colleges, they will have different choices. The government and educators, they try to show such kind of situation to them. Let the students have their own choice.
A: So once a student has a degree, they are looking for their first job. A lot of colleges, overseas in the US, they offer students career counselors and they do mock interviews to teach the students how to handle that. Would that be something that would be beneficial here just to put the students maybe ahead of rest of the pack?
Z: In every university and college, they already setup their job guidance office, or say the training centers. So our ideal picture is all the universities will give their students from their freshmen year. Now we can say, only their 4th year, they have already got some training.
A: For the students graduating in 09 and 2010, what are your suggestions, thoughts for them?
Z: Get a job first, and then you choose.
"Tough times don't last, but tough people do." a saying which can really ring true in these difficult financial times. Parents, students, and new graduates all need to remember to work hard, be patient, explore your options and your alternatives, and you will land that all important first job.