SJN: Where are you from?
France
SJN: When did you come to Shanghai and why?
Magali came with her husband and two children 3 years ago. Her husband had studied Chinese and wanted to come here to live and work. She was happy with her job in France and didn’t particularly want to relocate, but was willing to try for one to one and a half years. They both left their jobs in France and arrived here with their children, to look for work.
SJN: Did you speak/ English and/or Mandarin or any other languages when the work started?
Magali spoke English and French, her husband spoke English, French, Mandarin
SJN: What is your job description and title in Shanghai?
Magali’s first position in Shanghai was as Senior Business Consultant, for a company specializing in recruitment for international firms in Shanghai. This was working in the areas of business development and execution, managing a small team.
She was recently recruited by her former company (in France) to work as a Senior Manager, setting up their Shanghai division.
SJN: Was this a career change/or a career continued here in Shanghai?
Magali worked for Robert Half International in Paris, a recruitment company specialising in the finance and banking industries. Prior to that she worked for five years in the financial industry.
Both positions in Shanghai have followed on from her previous positions, within the same general industry of finance and recruitment.
SJN: What got you recruited, for example: a specific competence, the company you work for is focused on the expat market, the job is reserved for foreigners, the international profile of the job, any other reason?
For both positions, Magali was an ideal candidate, as she has a very specialized profile, and her experience in both the finance industry and the financial recruitment industry meant she was an excellent match. The positions require skills in English, rather than Chinese. Although the majority of potential recruits are Chinese, it is their English language skills that are important for this section of the industry. Chinese is a plus, but mainly for dealing with the daily interaction in the office and society. For her new position (with her former company), it helped to have kept in social contact with former colleagues, and to be able to offer them the added advantage of now knowing how the China market works, as well as knowing specifically how that company worked from her time in their employ in France.
SJN: Is the position full time/flexible fulltime or part time?
Both positions have been fulltime, however her first employer was flexible when necessary. She feels that it would not be possible to do such a job on a part time basis.
SJN: What is the size of the company/Country of origin of the company?
Both are international companies.
SJN: What strategy did you use to get the job, what worked or did not work?
Magali found it easy to find work, as she has specialised skills that are in demand in Shanghai. She had not yet prepared her resume when her husband forwarded her a job ad, and she then found a second ad. She followed up both positions, interviewed with both companies, and was able to choose between the two. As they are both local contracts they are not like expatriate packages and would not provide enough to support a family, however when the time came for her second position she had the benefit of local experience to add to her resume and was able to negotiate a much better package.
She has liked living and working in Shanghai much more than she initially expected, so much so that she and her husband are now in their third year, and happy to stay on.
SJN: What tips you would give to job searchers in Shanghai?
Chinese language skills help in basic office and work communication, but, depending on the industry, it is not necessarily an advantage to speak Chinese.
- It is useful if you have a very specific profile not available on the local market. If you don’t then it is more necessary to learn Chinese.
- Finance and accounting are two areas that currently have big shortages of qualified people.
- In the areas of marketing and sales you need to be willing to adapt to the local market in terms of working conditions and remuneration.
- Networking is extremely important. Try to use different channels such as recruitment companies (although their focus is on local staff), alumni associations, and people you meet through school and social networks if you have children. It can actually be an advantage when looking for work, as you find you can meet a lot of people easily through your children’s networks, and they are often expatriates very well established in their careers.
shanghai job network
Welcome to the shanghai job network.
This blog aims to
- profile successful job seekers and employers to see what worked for them
- take the stress out of finding a job using knowledge, effort, and support
- provide information on all aspects of the Shanghai job search
- create a supportive network of active job seekers
- share job search goals, expand your networking contacts and use them to successfully market yourself
It is not
- an employment service, although you can research our lists and links to job sites
- a counseling service. If you need professional career guidance there are qualified people available in Shanghai.
Please feel free to join and contribute. We aim to provide lots of useful links and tips.
We know that networking and guanxi are a huge part of the Shanghai job search. So get together with us to explore Shanghai’s work possibilities!