Interning in China can be a great way to get the contacts and experience you need to land a full-time job in China. If you want to live in China for several years and have a successful career, here are the top ten hottest jobs for expats in China. 1. Marketing Chinese companies are in a race to expand and sell to an international market. They need foreigners who speak multiple languages and understand the nuances of international business. To land a marketing job in China, you should be social media savvy and preferably good at design and ad creation. 2. Project or Product Management Do you know how to take an idea and plan and put it into action? Can you manage timelines, deadlines and budgets? Chinese companies doing business with foreign companies need someone on their side to help ensure that their project or product is successful. You...

Pablo Recio Gracia, Managing Director, EIBENS Beijing Consulting On Thursday, May 28th,  Gi2C Group and EIBENS Beijing Consulting  will welcome current foreign interns in China to join a business lecture at Gi2C HQ. The Gi2C guest speaker this upcoming Thursday will be Pablo Recio Gracia, an expert in the Food & Beverage industry, with a special focus on consulting for imports, distribution processes and trade barriers.  Pablo's background: A Bachelor in Business from the University of Granada and a Masters in Quality Management and Business Internationalization Pablo has been living and working in China since 2005, and in his career, he has successfully supervised more than 50 interns. His experience includes working for public agencies including ICEX (Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade) and Extenda (Trade Promotion Agency of Andalusia) as well as private companies such as GoldMillenium Group. Currently, he is Managing Director of a new enterprise called EIBENS Beijing Consulting. Pablo will be sharing his professional expertise and...

Regardless if you are just starting your career, beginning an internship  or still in university, now is the time to ponder what you want to do for the rest of your life in terms of a career. We recently sat down with an owner and CEO who has been running his company successfully for 15 years to get his advice on how to have a successful career. 1. Love what you do It might not always be possible to love your job but you should know early on what it is that you truly love to do and be moving towards that goal. If you are impatient, like I was, about achieving that goal only after years and years of working slowly up the ladder, then start your own company. Loving what you do will get you through the inevitable tough times that we all face in our career.  ...

Whether you’re just beginning your career, starting an internship  or still in school, now is the time to start thinking about what you can do to ensure a successful career. We recently interviewed a CFO to get her advice on the matter. Here are her top five tips: 1. Consistent, on-time arrival Being on time shows people that you respect their time and also reduces stress. If you are consistently on time, people will grow to depend on you and give you additional responsibilities. As you receive more and more responsibility, you will quickly rise to the top. 2. Daily written goals Without goals, you have no roadmap for how to accomplish the company’s strategy or your career objectives. You will get behind on projects and you will quickly lose sight of where you want to go with your career as you try to play catch up with your daily...

A referral through someone in your network is a highly effective way to land a job. Sometimes, it’s not just what you know, but who you know. You might think this is unfair, but you too could benefit from having a solid network or helping a friend out with your connections. Everyone is a connection, including you. Remember that. An endorsement from someone the hiring manager trusts is an extremely powerful means of influence. People in your network are also a great source of information about relevant job openings, and may be able to provide advice about how best to position yourself to the company. Sometimes, the best opportunities don’t reach job boards or recruiters because people within the network of the hiring company get to it first. Take the time to build a professional network. Below are five ways to meet new professional contacts.   Conferences And Events Attending...

Time and time again, job candidates make the critical error of behaving as if the interviewer is a trusted old friend. He or she is not. While you want to be relaxed during your interview, you don’t want to be too “chill” like you might be over a beer with some friends. This is true in the West or whether you’re interviewing for an internship in China .  Be aware of the following. This Isn’t A Two-Way Street The only thing the interviewer cares about is herself and her employer, not you. When asked about your life, your passions, your goals, your interests, she wants to know what you can do for the company and where you can fit in. Keep that in mind as you answer her interview questions. You Don’t Owe The Whole Truth Honesty is a good thing, and you should be honest during your interview. That...

There’s no doubt that taking a gap year is a brilliant idea. Doing so allows you to get out of the classroom and breathe and think for yourself. You can volunteer, work, study abroad, travel, or do anything else constructive during your gap year. Why Work? Firstly – money! Getting a paid position means you don’t need to worry about your finances, and can often lead to more exciting opportunities that you may have been unaware of before. Working abroad is a fantastic addition to any resume : whether you’re working on a cattle farm in rural Australia, helping children in a developing country or doing an  internship in China   will show your work ethic, as well as initiative to find work wherever you are! Working Abroad This is fine if you have savings to fund your trip, especially to purchase that sometimes costly airline ticket. You’ll also need some...

Employers are looking for those with  international experience  in today’s increasingly globalized world. Anita Bruzzese, author of " 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy ,” says international work experience is key to landing a number of jobs. “For many young people, the economic downturn has been especially difficult because they're often competing with seasoned professionals for jobs once reserved for the inexperienced.” These students “bring that experience back and use it as leverage for future internships and jobs,” Jacqueline Levine, assistant dean and director of the University of Rochester ’s study abroad center, tells USA Today . “What is particularly important is when students come back, we ask, ‘What did you learn?’ ‘What do you want to do next with that?’” Roughly 15% of students at the University of Rochester did an overseas internship during the 2011-2012 academic year. That number jumped to 30% during the summer. Internships,...

Unpaid internships have roused plenty of controversy. While plenty of folks refuse to do one, there are certainly benefits to doing an  unpaid internship .   For instance, you get an inside look at the world of your chosen career, and that practical experience is invaluable. Doing a good job also gives an employee a sense of pride by providing a product or service that’s meaningful and offers something to help others which comes with its own set of benefits and rewards. Not only that, but an internship looks great on your resume . Whether it be in a college classroom or interning for an employer, doing a good job results in increased opportunities for the future, especially when being evaluated directly against other students or employees. Whether they are paid or not, interns will get a first-hand look at what’s entailed in actually working for an employer in the...

If you’re fresh out of university, you likely never held down a full time job. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a resume. If you’re looking for your first job or if you’re looking to try something new, you need a resume that highlights your skills and speaks about your capabilities in a broad sense. How To Write A Skills-Based Resume The primary focus of your resume should not be about who you worked for and the types of responsibilities and projects you held, whether part time or over the summer. You need to hone in on particular experience and skills in a broader sense to show how it can apply to your first time or if you’re heading into a completely new field. For instance, say a candidate was a successful intellectual property lawyer and now wants to make the transition to public relations. The PR employer could care...

Social media, will all of its benefits to you as an individual, also has risks attached to it. Using social media without thinking about the consequences can have a disastrous impact on your career. If someone has a platform to share thoughts quickly, it can become a slippery slope. Social media can connect you to an audience at an impressive speed, but also gives you the chance to share inappropriate or questionable content. Also, if you’re looking for a job or internship in China , for example, don’t think you’re off the hook. Although Facebook and Twitter are blocked in the Middle Kingdom ( LinkedIn is not), employers can check your accounts easily by surpassing the Great Firewall through a virtual private network . Companies big and small in China even use western social media tools to reach out to global consumers, so don’t think you’re safe from inspection. There are...

Want to cause a recruiter to toss your resume aside? It’s easy! When an employer is faced with several –possibly hundreds– of applications, he or she will try to narrow this list down quickly. Making one of the following mistakes can get your resume tossed in just a matter of seconds. And this is true no matter where in the world you apply, whether for a job or internship . 1. You Didn’t Attach A Cover Letter This is not a good start to any job application. Failing to include a cover letter instantly means that you have failed to put in the extra minute it takes to attach a cover letter, and this is never a good thing. A lot of recruiters delete their first round of applicants simply because they have not included a cover letter. If you’re applying for an internship program in China , a cover...

Many interviews, whether they are for jobs in IT or jobs in admin, will contain surprise interview questions. Normally, they will be questions about experience and motivation, but that won’t always be the case. Unexpected questions will sometimes be asked to see how someone thinks on their feet, rather than having a prepared response for an expected question. Testing A Person’s Character For the prospective employer, your answers may reveal a lot about your experience and motivation, but not necessarily much about your character or how you will fit in with fellow employees. Expect a question about character. The unexpected question will often take an interviewee by surprise, especially when an interview begins in a stereotypical way. An interviewee will often seem confident when the questions asked are the expected ones, but when something unusual is thrown at him or her the confident exterior will sometimes vanish, and they may become flustered....

Tom James has landed, and he finds China “really exciting.” “ I think I have settled in well so far. I also feel very surprised at how different Chinese culture is to western culture. But that is a good thing! ” says Tom, adding that Gi2C has been “very welcoming” so far. “Also, I feel a little nervous for two reasons. One, for crossing the roads without getting run over! And two, because I want to impress my company.” Tom will do his China internship program at Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) in  Beijing   the nation’s capital. As Tom mentions in a previous post , he’ll live with a Chinese family, an excellent way to soak in the local culture. “My family is super friendly,” says Tom. He’s staying with a mother, father and their 11-year-old daughter. “The cousin has been translating so far, but...

You have a job, but you’re miserable. It’s time to get the job you want. Discard entry-level templates, shrug off your excuses, and follow these five tips to ensure the next time is the last time you disappear down the will-they/won’t-they employment rabbit hole. What Do Your Qualifications Say About You? The choices we make post university can either bolster or undermine our piece of paper. While a degree in engineering or planning may attract the attention of boutique recruitment companies, a lack of volunteer work or engaging extra-curricular activities may count against you. If you’ve got the extra-curriculars on there, talk about the outstanding experiences you had (which is why extra-curriculars should never simply be resume padding. If you sign up for one, throw yourself completely in to get the most experience out of it). Companies and agencies feel comfortable with hiring candidates who reflect their philosophy, embrace teamwork,...

Life can slap you in the face once you’ve left university. Suddenly, you’ve got real commitments to keep and deadlines to make, you can’t skip classes just because you partied too hard on Tuesday night, and spending every day in sweatpants? Fo’get about it. Sounds pretty dull, huh? But it doesn’t have to be! Here are some solutions for these common fears of recent grads. Fear #1: Being Tired All The Time It’s weird, isn’t it? You could stay up until the wee hours in the morning, sleep for two hours, and somehow still make it to class for your big presentation. After college, this seems like an unthinkable feat. Why? Because, chances are, you were able to come back after your presentation and snooze for a couple of hours before your next class. Unfortunately, most workplaces haven’t passed a nap time policy yet (unless you work at Google!). So, how...

In a study released by Evolv, over 100,000 call center employees were asked about their employment history and their current tenure. The results could change how recruiters look at your employment past. Recruiters try to screen out “ job hoppers ;” that is, employees who seem to perpetually change jobs. (If you’re wondering why you may be a job hopper, read this ). For companies, this type of employee is costly because it isn’t cheap to make a new hire given recruiting and training costs. Some say a job hopper who leaves before six months can cost an organization one and a half times the employee’s annual salary. The assumption is that if your resume shows a long list of companies, with some jobs lasting six months or less, then you are a job hopper and will, therefore, leave all of your future jobs at the same frequency. Evolv’s study...

So, you got the interview for the job of your dreams. You check in with the receptionist and you’re asked to have a seat. What you do in the next few minutes can be the deciding factor on your future with the company. There are interviewers who regularly ask their receptionists what the prospective employee was doing while waiting to be called in. According to CEO Andy Ory , first impressions are generally formed while the applicant is waiting in the lobby, and they become relevant to the hiring decision between 5% and 10% of the time. That’s no insignificant rate! Although first impressions can be wrong, candidates aren’t often given a second chance. First impressions matter greatly in all corners of the globe. Make your first impression last! Finally, if you're applying for an internship in China or anywhere else, the same rules apply as if it were a job interview....

Ever wonder what a potential boss wants to hear in an interview ? What exactly can you say that will increase your chances of receiving a job offer ? Here are five things to communicate during an interview that will convince the employer you’re a great hire. 1. You Will Never Have To Tell Me What To Do Twice Every employer wants to know they can give you instructions once—and you’ll get the job done. No employer wants to micromanage or ask an employee more than once to do something—no matter what it is. This is true no matter where in the world you work. 2. I Will Complete The Job/Assignment You Give Me With Excellence The employer wants to hear that, no matter what, you are going to make it happen—that you’re going to get the job done and do it to the best of your ability. 3. I Am...

Job seekers often struggle with a termination. Take this example: “I’ve been working in the construction industry. Since the housing bust, business has dramatically declined. Recently, I had a disagreement with a co-worker and got fired over this trivial thing I never would have gotten fired for five years ago. What do I say about this?” This client is not alone. We’ve all had positions that didn’t go as well as we had hoped. This is true for full time jobs or even work over the summer. It’s not unusual for students or interns to be fired from summer work. It could have been the company culture, maybe a lack of support made a job difficult, or it could have been something we did. The interviewer’s job is to get you to reveal errors in judgment or performance – things they can use to weed you out so they can move...