This is the second time I've taken the national entrance test for MA/MS candidates. Although I have received offers from several companies, I would rather spend a little more time in school than choose a just so-so job.?

Zhu Xuanyi, who graduated from Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) as an English major in 2004, has found himself in a dilemma over choosing a job: "More and more employers want experienced employees or students with higher degrees. I think maybe a higher degree could change my situation.?

Zhu's concern is common among graduates. According to data provided by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, the number of students graduating this year from all the colleges and universities in Shanghai will reach 120,000,

10,000 more than in 2004. The relative increase in post-graduate students completing their higher education will be even steeper. Because of the priority given to post-graduate students by employers, the employment rate of post-graduate students in past years has been higher than 95 per cent. This seems to paint an optimistic outlook for post-graduate students.

Thirsty for experience

Zhu Guanshan, a post-graduate student who is still carrying on his study in SISU, also feels the pressure of job-hunting. He will graduate in April 2006, but he has already worked as a probationer in an auditing company for more than a year.

After receiving his bachelor's degree in 2001, Zhu worked for a year before looking around for other job opportunities. He found that ever more companies were requiring higher degrees.

"I thought if I could get a master's degree, maybe I could get a better and more promising job. So two years after I graduated, I went back to Shanghai International Studies University again and became a post-graduate student in corporate administration.?

When he became a student again, he was bothered by the increasing pressures imposed by worries about future job-hunting.

"As students of my major graduated in previous years have said, many companies only employ those who had at least two years of work experience. Those people often got better chances and higher salaries than those who just graduated from school. I had to take a part-time job to increase my work experience. Most of my classmates do the same thing.?

Some employers have confirmed their desire for experienced employees. According to spokespersons for China Human Resource Market Company (CHRMC) (Shanghai), many of their job fairs are geared toward experienced employees.

"Most companies are looking for experienced employees in our job fairs, because they are looking for the efficiency of experienced employees. Experienced workers can save a great deal of money and time for a company through their higher skills,?said one spokesperson with CHRMC (Shanghai).

The experts at the human resources company also said that the areas in which employers require the most experience are the IT and semiconductor industries, sales and administration.

Fierce competition

"These fields and industries have high work experience and knowledge requirements, and the graduates who meet these requirements are very rare. We have opened many talents fairs to serve employees and employers in these industries.?

Shen, who is the Party Secretary of the College of International Education in SISU, commented on the pressures graduates face in job-hunting: "More and more people come to Shanghai and try to find jobs here, some of them are post-graduates and some of them are experienced workers. Students who graduated from Shanghai universities and colleges have been confronted with the challenges from those people in job-hunting. It's understandable that companies would like to choose experienced employees because these people can acclimatize themselves to the work environment quickly. So, this year it will be more difficult for graduates to find ideal jobs.?

Shen pointed out that even if job hunting is more difficult for graduates, good opportunities appear now and then if students understand the job market.

"Students who graduate from our university are always popular when they are trying to find jobs. What the current students should do is to adjust their attitudes and expectations appropriately. Students should not hold overly high expectation when they are looking for jobs. The first step for them should be to evaluate what they can learn from their first job, not other things. And some companies are still hiring graduates because they do not need employees who have unrelated work experience. In those cases, sufficient learning ability will be strongly considered by employers.?

To be prepared

According to CHRMC (Shanghai), although experienced employees have the advantage in job-hunting, some employers prefer graduate students because "they have more initiative and are more industrious than experienced employees, sometimes,?said one spokesperson. She said that the CHRMC (Shanghai) tries to help graduate students.

"In the coming March and April, we will launch some general job fairs for graduate students, and we will publish advertisements in the newspaper to attract graduates to these fairs.?

Suggestions from large companies may be helpful for graduates.

"It's true that we think a lot about employees?work experience, but we also employ recent graduates,?said a staff member of the HR department at Unilever, identified by surname Miao. "Graduates should pay more attention to part-time work experience when they are still in schools. We take it into account greatly. And personal abilities such as learning and language abilities are also crucial for graduates if they want to find good jobs.?

Universities and colleges also realize the importance of part-time working experience. Shen said that the College of International Education often invites teachers and other college representatives to lecture students on how to go about job-hunting. They also arrange part-time work for students when possible.

"Generally speaking, the employment rate of our college and our university is very high, every year almost every student finds jobs before June comes.?

Adjusting strategies and attitudes to the pressures of job-hunting will be the greatest challenge for graduates in the future, said Shen.