China Campus Recruiting: 6.8M Graduates

In 2012, 6.8 million students graduated from universities in China, according to China's Education Ministry. In the U.S., only 1.8 million students are expected to earn a colleague degree in 2012-2013, according to National Center for Education Statistics. With so many grads, you might assume it is easy to recruit new grads in China. In reality, however, many companies find it a challenge to hire qualified new grads in China.
A recent report showed that 570,000 of 6.8 million college graduates remained jobless after graduation. Among them, 100,000+ neither go to school nor receive vocational skills and rely on financial support from their parents. These students are so-called NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) group.
Why do these students have trouble finding jobs? Some say that they lack of career planning and often search for jobs aimlessly. Others think the root of the problem is China’s current university education system. There is a disconnect between what the universities taught and what the market really need. For example, computer science majored students learn to program school, but few can design efficient algorithms to solve real-world problems or build software in a team.
According to China’s Education Ministry, there are 2,138 universities and colleges in China as of April 2012. However, not all Chinese universities and colleagues are created equal. China government launched two programs (coded “211” and “985”) to select a very small nubmer of top schools to accelerate into world-class universities. Those “chosen” schools represented a small percentage of China’s universities/colleges, but they received much more resources than other schools.
Schools should see their students as products. All successful companies build products that meet market needs. Universities should listen to market and adapt their curriculum. For example, mobile computing and cloud computing require new skillsets and experiences, and should be rapidly incorporated into the curriculum.
Despite the issues above, the top students out of 6.8M graudates and 1.3 billion people are indeed awesom! I was fortunate to have worked for some top companeis (Microsoft, Google, and now Innovation Works) to have the privilege of hiring some of these top students, who definitely exhibit:

1. Problem-solving skills (not just academic).
2. Ability to think on their feet (not just memorize answers).
3. Think out of the box (not just solve known problems).
4. Balanced IQ and EQ.
5. Excellent communication skills.
6. Team working skills.
7. Passionate.
8. Incredibly work ethic and dedication (a hallmark of Chinese students).