Graduates Face Many Barriers in Job Hunting %'X7T^uE
It is graduation time again. Whether joining the social workforce or pursuing Uhn3usK
advanced studies, about four million Chinese graduates will soon turn a new page in m'
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their lives. Still, no matter what, campus life will remain deeply etched on the minds R S>qP;V*-
of China's former students. What lies ahead for the country's graduates? xd"+ &YT
Statistics released by relevant departments of China show that in 2006, graduates W|sU[dxZ
from all Chinese colleges and universities numbered 4.13 million, up 750,000 from f4f)9n
2005 with a growth rate of roughly 22%. Hence, the employment tension further 3=Uy t
intensifies. Meanwhile, various intangible barriers exist in social relations, regional *.1#+h/]3
restriction, permanent residency and university's reputation have made the graduates' $|[N3
job-hunting process tougher. =CdrhP_
Some analyze that against the backdrop of intensified employment tension for 3U!=R-
university graduates, needy students from rural and urban areas usually find zR/mz) 6_
themselves in relatively inferior positions. G-:7,9
Some graduates realize that in order to get a job, they have to sign some "unfair i]@k'2N
treaties" that promise not to take the postgraduate exam or leave the company within DqmKDU
several years, or they have to pay 5,000 Yuan for breaching the contract. Some 'w<^4/L Q
recruiters even declare openly that they only need students from famous universities, p"H/N_b4
so graduates from other schools are not even entitled to apply. 2\#$::B9
Currently the contradiction in China's higher education has transferred from entering >@-.rkd(
to leaving a university and from the difficulty in enrollment to employment after WyM2h
graduation. It has become a common phenomenon that "graduates become jobless". t56PzT'M
Should this problem not be tackled rightly, the employment issue would turn into a S<i.O
new factor that causes social instability. zF? 6"
College—A New Experience Lm1JiPs d
Living at college, first of all, gives me a sense of responsibility, of being on my V pY,@qh
own. My parents aren’t around to say, ―No, you’re not going out tonight‖ or ―Did you 4N3O<)C)@
finish your homework?‖ Everything I do has to be my decision, and that gives me the e5;YY
responsibility of handling my own life. During the second week I was at college, I had b+f
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to go out and look for a bank where I could open an account. Before that I looked in g
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the phone book since I had no clue about any banks around here or where they were 0&\71txrzg
located. I went to the bank and made decisions for myself—whether to have a h\~!!F
checking or savings account and whether or not to get a MASTER card. Zz'g&ew