My Experience Interning in China

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>So I worked in China this past summer for a real estate company (before the big recession hit home) and I just want to share some general advice and tips for you guys. These are my personal experiences ONLY. Here are 11 tips that may be helpful to you all. </p>

<p>1) Realize that finding a non-English teaching work in that country = very very hard. </p>

<p>2) You grade does not matter, I was phone interviewed by several high powering regional firms, my GPA was never asked and my course load was never mentioned or discussed. Some companies care more about your major than GPA. </p>

<p>3) There is no such thing as dress code. You have no idea how "different" Chinese men dress up for work. </p>

<p>4) You better speak Chinese, fluently. </p>

<p>5) Interns are even lower on the work place hierarchy in China so your pay = nothing. Your parents or whoever your money provider is will likely have to give you additional spending money. And the rent in some cities= killer. </p>

<p>6) I had no family in the biz field and I cold called a lot of places, so buy a phone card to reduce cost. And when cold calling, do some research and find the ext for the right person and unless they are foreign, speak FLUENT Chinese and practice. I called like half of China. </p>

<p>7) I traveled a lot for my work so watch out for your bags. I had one stolen...boooo</p>

<p>8) Make sure you highlight a special skill or something of value you can bring to the company. Otherwise who in their right mind would hire a overpriced American intern to work? </p>

<p>9) Unless your school is Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UNC(Basketball) or Duke, chances are, they will not have heard of it and they will automatically group your school as a generic American college with everyone else. </p>

<p>10) Your school alum network will likely be useless. </p>

<p>11) Last tip and the most important of them all, you absolutely have to really want a internship to go through the search process. It took me 4 months to find a good fit. </p>

<p>And remember again, do not expect to even get the American min wage working in China.</p>

2

<p>
[quote]
3) There is no such thing as dress code. You have no idea how "different" Chinese men dress up for work.

[/quote]

Elaborate? o.O</p>

3

<p>With all the problems you mentioned, why wouldn't we just get an internship in the United States?</p>

4

<p>^ cuz th amurika is suxxorz</p>

5

<p>I think some of this is overstated. If perfectly fluent Mandarin was necessary, than virtually no white people would get hired. There are many organizations in Shanghai and Beijing that are run by expats where office business is conducted in English. Check out the American Chamber of Commerce-China website.</p>

6

<p>My friend interned in China and yeah the wage is not much, but she said in terms of Chinese currency, it was a lot. yes?</p>

7

<p>^ Not currency so much as purchasing power.</p>

8

<p>I am Chinese and want to work in China after I graduate. So might as well start now I suppose. I did check the chamber of commerce site way back, their internships are just not right for me and there are not that many to start with. And my school's career site had nothing. </p>

<p>I was paid okay, I suppose. I did not have any money left over after my work.</p>

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<p>Well, I recall her saying she was paid a good amount in terms of purchasing power in China. Now if she brought that over here, she was paid very little, haha );</p>

10

<p>Hello Motto,</p>

<p>Sounds exciting! Overall, did you have a good experience? How did you end up finding/settling on your internship?</p>

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<p>Glad to find this thread. Job market isn't looking good in the US. I applied to dozens of internships, got 6 interviews, no luck so far. Now I'm looking for an internship in Guangzhou. I have some questions for those with experience working in China:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>I've seen some Chinese resume templates. They generally include different info that we wouldn't include in the US (gender, health...). How do you translate your English resume into Chinese? Direct translation or start from scratch and make a typical Chinese resume? What about cover letter?</p></li>
<li><p>Should I ever mention my US citizenship (especially when asked)? Or should I pretend to be an international student studying in the US?</p></li>
<li><p>I speak fluent Cantonese and English but mediocre Mandarin. Will this affect my chances greatly, even in Guangzhou? </p></li>
<li><p>I know you mentioned wage is low. How low exactly? Less than $1000 USD/month?</p></li>
<li><p>How did companies interview you? Obviously I'm not in China now.</p></li>
<li><p>Is UMich considered a generic American college? It didn't make your list. :(</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks in advance for clarifying!</p>

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<p>Resume- </p>

<p>I used an American template found off Google. I did not include any of the weird questions that appear on a Chinese resume, like gender/photos, etc. </p>

<p>Citizenship- </p>

<p>Not really sure, but I have a green card so that was not an issue. I wouldn't lie about U.S. Citizenship. </p>

<p>Chinese-</p>

<p>I don't think so. I been to GuangZhou and Cantonese seem like the way to go in most places. </p>

<ul>
<li>I know you mentioned wage is low. How low exactly? Less than $1000 USD/month?</li>
</ul>

<p>I worked out of Beijing and was paid around 1,000-1,5000 USD per month with a travel stipend. I worked for an American company. I spent all of it in China, did not have any leftover. </p>

<ul>
<li>How did companies interview you? Obviously I'm not in China now.</li>
</ul>

<p>Over the phone. </p>

<ul>
<li>Is UMich considered a generic American college? It didn't make your list.
For the average Chinese, maybe. I do know that there is a large network of UMich Alums in China. </li>
</ul>

<p>Feel free to post any other additional questions and I will try to answer them as best as I can.</p>

13

<p>Is it worth all the hassle to get a job in China or would it be easier to get one in America that has some tie to China.</p>

14

<p>You make some pretty funny but definitely true points here. I am from Michigan- Ann Arbor (international student form China) and I wanna transfer to Wharton next year. And Chinese friends were really confused and asked me :"Why do not you go to harvard? I have never heard of Wharton~~"</p>

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<p>Couple of questions:
Are you Chinese?
Why did you choose to intern in China?</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>I am not American. I was born in China but spent a vast majority of my life in the United States. I have a green card. </p></li>
<li><p>I want to work in China after I graduate, that is basically it. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I spent approximately 3 months in China working, that 3 months changed my life. I have done internships in the United States but nothing prepares you for the dynamic business environment of China. It is absolutely a pressure cooker and I came out a better man. I grew a lot more mature and more able to handled responsibilities.</p>

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<p>wow…that’s amazing that you were able to get that experience :slight_smile: how would i go about getting one, do you have any tips?</p>

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<p>I’m also a Chinese who grew up abroad (but not the US) and just like hello_motto, I have been seeking every opportunity that would help me with my goal to eventually settle down in China. I haven’t been as lucky as her in finding a paid internship in Beijing (and I’m still looking). However I did do some temp jobs when I was studing there for a semseter and also lots of volunteering including for the Olympics last year.</p>

<p>Well first off I totally agree with hello_motto … well maybe I would have added that while speaking Chinese fluently is a huge bonus, there are still a lot of non-teaching jobs that hire non-Chinese speakers. In fact, one of my Chinese friend has interned for an American company where she was the only one who spoke Chinese. Most of the companies staff was made up of interns and recent grads from the US and Australia.</p>

<p>A few other things that could be useful:</p>

<p>1) Guanxi (Relationship) - As I’ve mentioned, I got my Olympics volunteer position through a friend who appearantly got some powerful relatives. Officially to my understanding, volunteer positions are exclusively reserved to university students (except for the foreign volunteers at the Media center). However, not so surprisingly, I have met a group of other volunteers which includes a small number of Chinese from abroad that were taken in through the backdoor. However, I found that the ABCs that barely spoke Chinese are getting a lower (less interesting) position than the ones that speak fluent Chinese so yes, you will be better off if you speak the language. Anyway, back to the topic, try to get to know as many Chinese people as you can, and don’t be afraid to ask them if they know any opportunities. Probably even more than in the West, there are a lot of hidden doors that will only open through referral or knowing the right people. On the side note, I almost got a paid internship (that would likely turn into permanent) thanks to some people I met when I was volunteering for the Olympics but I wasn’t qualified because it was with a certain government agency that require Chinese citizenship which I don’t have. Also from what I’ve heard, almost all Chinese students that are able to find a job in the current recession found it through Guanxi, and not job fairs.</p>

<p>2) Citizenship (this is only based on what I’ve heard) - China doesn’t have any non-discrimination laws like in the US. I am frequently asked after I submit my resume for my citizenship and sometimes even a copy of my passport. From what I’ve heard, a potential employer will more likely hire someone with US citizenship than lets say Peruvian citizenship. I know it ain’t fair as an American is no more smarter than a Peruvian however for the company, having Americans in the company looks better on the paper. In fact, I was interviewed for a non-teaching job where I was basically told that they would have hired me if I were a US citizen.</p>

<p>3) I have been including a photo to my resume if they request so. A Chinese friend told me that it will improve my chance for an interview as long as you don’t look like a weirdo.</p>

<p>4) Different cities in China well have different price tags. Beijing is not the most expensive city in China. Go down to Shenzhen and compare… $1000 a month is more than enough to have a good life in Beijing (in my opinion if you don’t go party every night) but it’s probably barely enough for Shenzhen.</p>

<p>5) Start your job hunt in China if you can. I got a lot of responses from companies that they are only looking locally because they want to fill the position quick. Unfortunantly, for many, this isn’t an option.</p>

<p>@tonytwo22
Yes, it might be easier to find something in the US that’s related to China but staying in the US won’t give you the China experience. In my opinion, it’s definitiv worth the hassle but you should try out with a study abroad or at least a vacation first.</p>

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<p>“9) Unless your school is Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UNC(Basketball) or Duke, chances are, they will not have heard of it and they will automatically group your school as a generic American college with everyone else.”</p>

<p>This is not true. If you go to any Ivy League school, Stanford, MIT, Duke, UChicago, Berkeley, etc., the companies you apply to intern for, which tend to be big multi-national corporations, in China will know about your school. If you go to these schools, chances are you will not even apply to intern at small local/regional companies that are ignorant of elite American colleges.</p>

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<p>Personally I think #13tonytwo22 made a really good point, and it’s probably the best thing to do for those who want to pursue some experiences in China. It’s gonna be really hard to get along with all the “Chinese atmosphere”.</p>