Breaking into China just isn’t as easy as it used to be. With new government regulations on foreign visas and increasingly competent Mainland China college graduates, hiring foreign graduates seems to be getting a lot less trendy than it has been in previous years.
This is just one of the things I learned this summer during my internship at China Market Research Group, a market research and consulting firm based in Shanghai. When many college students think about moving after graduation, it is hard to identify anything concrete about the country other than its cuisine. Study abroad is an option advocated by Princeton U. for summers and semesters. There are also various options for postgrad fellowships around the globe.
Critics of study abroad say it isolates you from the American business network while advocates argue that it expands your network beyond America and opens your eyes to “new cultures.” “Understanding foreign cultures” is a hot topic that is often found highlighted in study abroad applications. Often times, however, it is just an oblique way of saying, “I want to take cool pictures and look like a more interesting person.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m an advocate for study abroad. But I would argue that a study abroad experience that doesn’t include an active research component that engages you with the people of the country is a waste of time.
The market of every country captures the culture in some way or another. Over the summer, I conducted consumer interviews to gather insights for an iconic motorcycle brand that wanted to develop its China strategy. I also conducted interviews for a Fortune 500 company that wanted to do due diligence on its investments in a Chinese company. This was all done in part by approaching strangers and asking questions.
Going abroad also gives you access to opinions from business analysts with a reliable background in the country. This source of information is much more credible than reading newspaper articles written by journalists who have been in the country for a month or two and often have a predetermined angle.
My boss, Shaun Rein, has been living in China for over 12 years and has strong and supported opinions about the current state of China and its future. I find this topic fascinating, as China is incredibly relevant right now, with news about its 2011 GDP and position in the exports market making top headlines daily. I am not the only one who finds this interesting, it seems, as Shaun just landed a contract with a major publishing house and will be publishing a book in March titled “The End of China Cheap: Economic and Cultural Trends That Will Disrupt the World.”
The other day, Shaun and I got to talking about how to land a job in China after graduation. His greatest piece of advice was, “‘Understand that no matter where you wind up going in the future, and whatever relation to China, the rise of China is unstoppable and will affect how everyday Princetonians live.” He cited the rising Chinese yuan and its impact on higher export prices that are driving up cost of consumer goods in America as a key area of change.
He continued, “What worked five years ago won’t work now.” He pointed to e-commerce, noting that only a few years back everyone said that it wouldn’t work, but now it is growing at 60 percent per year. The key to success, he said, is to understand the indisputably large role China will play in shaping the future of the world and to build your career around this understanding.
No one knows where they’ll end up after graduation. My supervisor at work, Ben Cavender, graduated from Cornell, did Princeton in Asia and, instead of returning to the States as planned, wound up working with Shaun at CMR in its formative days. Ben’s now in his 20s and a well-established analyst and media presence — in my two months in China, I saw how well-known he had become there.
What Ben said to me about breaking into China was: “There is huge opportunity in China. But you need to be willing to work for it. It’s hard to get a job here. You need to come to China to get functional experience. Either do this by traveling or by internship. It’s a messy process and requires a lot of effort, but it’s the way to go.”
In my opinion, the best way to jump-start your career in China, or anywhere, is to stop discussing the country in broad strokes. At Princeton, use the Office of International Programs as much as possible. Make an informed decision about your future in another country by going there, getting the experience and forcing yourself to talk to the people. If you don’t, it’s like trying to become manager of a toy store in America without knowing what Christmas is.