Por Nannette Ripmeester

Nesta edição eu estou arriscando-me além das beiras européias a China, um marketplace em crescimento rápido. Mas começar operações em um mercado novo não é fácil. Você moverá seus próprios povos para a posição nova ou você começam empregar localmente? E se você empregar localmente, como você atrai os mais melhores candidatos e que estes recrutas novos esperam?

Recruitment do Campus

O Ng de Kevin, sócio no escritório de Beijing de Deloitte, está desobstruído sobre o tipo de alvos de Deloitte dos graduados. “Nós aproximaremos somente as universidades do primeiro-tier em China a ser assegurada de graduados da qualidade,” diz. “Nós conduzimos o recruitment do campus para introduzir nossa empresa e os atributos dos graduados que nós estamos procurando.”

O ranking da universidade é extremamente importante em China e é relacionado diretamente às expectativas do salário. Os graduados das universidades superiores podem comandar uns salários muito mais elevados na comparação ao descanso do mercado graduado. Um exame pelo departamento da segurança Labour e social de Shanghai conduzido em 2003 mostrou que a maioria de graduados frescos da universidade em Shanghai ganham um salário mensal de no meio 1.500 Yuan Renminbi (abr. Yuan) e 2.500 Yuan - a média da cidade é 1.100 Yuan.

Competência técnicas do `mais menos relevantes'

Entretanto, somente um por cento dos graduados ganha salários superiores - comandando entre quatro e seis vezes tanto quanto o descanso. Mesmo que haja uma diferença larga entre salários, e os graduados das universidades mais menos prestigiosas esperem um pagamento mais baixo, Deloitte alveja somente estudantes superiores. “We make use of various methods such as written tests, group discussion and one-to-one interviews to assess the quality of the graduates. For us technical competence is less important, we focus on their personality,” said Ng.

‘Explain the process’

ICI has taken a slightly different approach. “We have initially focussed our attention on Chinese nationals studying in Europe. Only now we are going to market oncampus in China as well,” says Esther Penketh, who is a member of the international recruitment team at ICI, based in the UK.“Our first experiences in China have made us realise that it works best if we give prospective candidates more information upfront on how to approach the selection process,” says Penketh. “We tell them what we are looking for with regard to the on-line application, the telephone interview and the competencies we seek. Being very clear about the package on offer is also essential.”

Market Intelligence

Ng agrees how crucial it is to invest time and energy before starting to recruit in China:“Market intelligence is essential, be patient and diligent in hiring the right candidate — it can be quite painful to dismiss a person in China!”

Recruiting in China – How to make it work

The application letter
For Chinese graduates an application letter, or cover letter, is not customary. They are more used to application forms.

The Curriculum Vitae
The Chinese do not use the term CV, but resume. Usually this document lists their education and experience in a very detailed manner. In China it is not unusual to see a resume of more than two pages. The resume is usually typed, but hand-written documents are still surprisingly common. Chinese resumes are usually set in a reverse-chronological order, listing the most recent first. Education plays a prominent role and references are not normally included.

The job interview
The Chinese are very modest people, and do not like to show off, or over-impress others. Be aware that it might not be easy to get through to a Chinese candidate at a certain level as they are educated to behave in a self-effacing manner.
  

Nannette Ripmeester, the author of ‘Looking for work in China’ (ISBN 90-5896-052-8), a guide which looks at how cultural differences affect the recruitment process in China as well as examining the differences in management culture. Ripmeester is managing director and founder of Expertise in Labour Mobility (ELM), a knowledge broker on issues related to mobility on the international labour market. ELM has recently helped many companies, among them ICI, to get to grips with the recruitment market in China.