Chinese jobseekers would still rather work for international companies

Chinese jobseekers would still rather work for international companies

A recent survey of Chinese managers and professionals has shown that the majority of Chinese managers would rather work for international businesses than for Chinese companies.

The ‘Most Desirable Employer in China’ survey, carried out by specialist recruiter, Antal International, asked 2949 Chinese professionals and managers what they thought was the ideal company to work for in China. This was conducted as an open poll and no suggestions were made as to which companies the respondents could select from.

The three most popular companies overall were General Electric, Proctor and Gamble and Pfizer. Just two local businesses, State Grid and King and Wood - PRC Lawyers, made the overall list.

Topping the list of reasons for choosing the companies was reputation, the second was management style and salary came in third.

Just 3% listed training opportunities as a reason for choosing an employer.

A country in transition

James Darlington, Head of China at Antal International, says: “China is a country very much in transition. With its economy developing so fast, it’s now generating its own substantial and successful companies. However, in terms of aspiration, Chinese managers and professionals are still interested in the preceding generation of companies, and they tend to be international. In my view, this is definitely going to change in the near future.”

He adds: “Reputation topped the list of reasons for choosing a company, while salary came third, which says to me that professionals in China are willing to put off salary benefits in favour of building an impressive CV.”

Results by sector

The most popular companies by sector were:

• Automotive: Volkswagen (16.0%)
• Finance: Goldman Sachs (10.5%)
• Legal: Baker & Mckenzie (15.8%)
• Professional Services: McKinsey & Company (14.5%)
• Energy: General Electric at 12.3%
• FMCG: Proctor & Gamble (23.1
• IT/Technology: IBM (16.2%)
• Luxury: LVMH (18.6%)
• Machinery and Manufacturing: General Electric (11.5%)
• Chemical: BASF (17.3%)
• Medical and Healthcare: Pfizer (22.0%)