It's getting harder and harder for international students to find a job back home

2026-03-24 17:18

There were several reasons why it was increasingly difficult for international students to return to China to find a job: 1. ** Scale reduction of foreign enterprises **: Foreign enterprises used to be an important platform for international students to find jobs. They had good benefits, good treatment, and were relatively decent. In the past, foreign companies needed a large number of talents to expand in China, and they had a greater demand for international students. They did not have high requirements for schools and majors, so the status of international students had more advantages. But now, foreign companies had passed the period of rapid expansion, and many foreign companies had retreated or shrunk in size. It had become difficult to obtain internship opportunities, and the employment opportunities for international students had decreased. 2. ** Change in the mindset of private enterprises **: Private enterprises once sought after foreign students in an attempt to introduce technology and knowledge. However, around 2000 - 2010, due to the foreign students and private enterprises being unaccustomed to the environment, the advanced management system was difficult to operate, and the implementation level was prone to errors, resulting in the loss outweighing the gain. Since then, with the increase in the number of international students, and some international students were considered to have high standards, poor execution, arrogant attitude, and not hardworking enough, private enterprises no longer regarded international students as popular. 3. ** Competition for the public examination is intensifying **: The early international students are very popular when they return to China to take the public examination. They are regarded as reserve cadres with great development space and good benefits. However, the number of public and self-funded international students had increased, and competition had intensified. The advantage of international students in the public examination system was no longer as obvious as in the past. In addition, from the perspective of the employment environment, the employment situation in the past two years was grim. Even the 985 students had zero offers in the autumn recruitment. In such an environment, if international students did not have an internship, scientific research, or a clear career plan during their study abroad, they would easily become cannon fodder when they returned to China to find a job.