et’s be honest, with 6.99 million college graduates in China swarming into a dim job market, it’s going to be tough. Figures from the Beijing Municipal Education Commission indicate that the employment rate of graduates in Beijing is now 33.6 percent, much less than the 89.7 percent 10 years ago. English majors, who are looking for jobs based on their language skills, face pressure from all sides.
坦白講，由于今年全國(guó)將有699萬(wàn)畢業(yè)生涌入前景黯淡的就業(yè)市場(chǎng)，求職真是難上加難。北京市教委提供的一系列數(shù)字表明，今年北京市畢業(yè)生就業(yè)率為33.6%，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于10年前的89.7%。憑借語(yǔ)言技能來(lái)找工作的英語(yǔ)專業(yè)畢業(yè)生更是面對(duì)著來(lái)自各方的壓力。
In order to help students get the big picture of this year’s job market, 21st Century talked to three HR managers from leading companies to offer students inside information on what employers want. In addition, faculty members and experts provide an analysis of the prospects for English majors.
為了幫助畢業(yè)生來(lái)了解今年就業(yè)市場(chǎng)的整體形勢(shì)，《二十一世紀(jì)英文報(bào)》采訪了三位來(lái)自知名企業(yè)的人力資源經(jīng)理，為畢業(yè)生“探聽(tīng)”內(nèi)情，看看用人單位最看重哪些方面。除此之外，大學(xué)教師和有關(guān)專家也對(duì)英語(yǔ)專業(yè)畢業(yè)生的就業(yè)前景給出了一系列分析。
Consumer products company
消費(fèi)品公司
Chen Yankun in Shanghai
陳漢坤(音譯) 上海
HR manager, P&G
寶潔公司人力資源經(jīng)理
As a foreign-invested company, English is one of the most essential skills for employees. We started requesting TOEFL and IELTS scores from applicants in 2012.
對(duì)于一家外企而言，英語(yǔ)是員工必備技能之一。我們自2012年起，便開(kāi)始要求應(yīng)聘者提供托福和雅思成績(jī)。
But despite our emphasis on English skills, we don’t have a preference for English majors. We consider applicants from all academic backgrounds and assess their creativity, analysis, teamwork and communications skills.
盡管我們強(qiáng)調(diào)英語(yǔ)能力，但并不會(huì)偏好于英語(yǔ)專業(yè)的畢業(yè)生。我們考察應(yīng)聘者的綜合學(xué)歷背景，評(píng)估他們的創(chuàng)造、分析能力，團(tuán)隊(duì)精神以及溝通能力。
It’s worth mentioning that with the overall English level rising in recent years, English majors are losing their edge. That’s one of the reasons why we’ve been hiring less English majors in recent years.
值得一提的是，近年來(lái)，學(xué)生整體的英語(yǔ)水平不斷提高，英語(yǔ)專業(yè)畢業(yè)生正在失去他們的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。這也是近年來(lái)我們職員中來(lái)自英語(yǔ)專業(yè)的人數(shù)有所減少的原因之一。
Financial services
金融服務(wù)業(yè)
Li Ximing in Shanghai
李錫銘(音譯) 上海
senior HR manager, PwC (China)
高級(jí)人事經(jīng)理 普華永道(中國(guó))
PwC, one of the world’s largest professional service firms, hires 1,500 to 2,000 graduates nationwide and, based on last year’s figures, 7 to 8 percent of them will be English majors.
作為全球最大的專業(yè)服務(wù)公司之一，普華永道每年會(huì)面向全國(guó)招收1500到2000名畢業(yè)生，根據(jù)去年的相關(guān)數(shù)據(jù)顯示，其中7%到8%的雇員來(lái)自英語(yǔ)專業(yè)。
The upside of English majors is they have good English communication skills. The downside is that they often lack business analytical skills, mathematical skills and other specialized knowledge.
英語(yǔ)專業(yè)畢業(yè)生的優(yōu)勢(shì)在于，他們具有良好的英文溝通能力。而劣勢(shì)則在于，他們通常缺乏業(yè)務(wù)分析能力、數(shù)學(xué)功底以及其他的專業(yè)知識(shí)。
At PwC we have no specific degree requirements. Intern experience is beneficial, but it doesn’t have to be with a major enterprise. What’s important is that students understand how a company works, reflect on their experience and acquire good learning skills.
在普華永道，我們沒(méi)有特定的學(xué)位要求。盡管實(shí)習(xí)經(jīng)驗(yàn)對(duì)求職有利，但不一定非要是一些大型企業(yè)實(shí)習(xí)。重點(diǎn)是畢業(yè)生要能夠了解公司的運(yùn)作情況，反思自身的工作經(jīng)歷進(jìn)而提高學(xué)習(xí)能力。
Job hunters are suggested to have precise career planning. Employees who know what they want in their professional life are more committed to the job, which means the company can offer them more opportunities. A double major would be ideal for English majors to exploit their edge.
建議求職者要設(shè)立一個(gè)明確的職業(yè)規(guī)劃。那些職業(yè)目標(biāo)清晰的員工工作時(shí)會(huì)更加投入，這就意味著公司可以為他們提供更多的機(jī)會(huì)。對(duì)于英語(yǔ)專業(yè)畢業(yè)生而言，考取“雙學(xué)位”是增加求職優(yōu)勢(shì)的理想選擇。
Tourism
旅游行業(yè)
Jia Dongmei in Beijing
賈冬梅(音譯) 北京
HR supervisor, BTG Hotels Group
人力資源總監(jiān) 首旅酒店集團(tuán)
The tourism industry used to be a hub for English majors, due to frequently contacting foreign agencies and other organizations. But despite growing demand, the number of student applicants has declined in recent years. The reasons are twofold. First, the fierce competition among travel agencies and hotels is squeezing the industry, so entry-level employees cannot expect a competitive salary. Second, tourism is a labor-intensive industry, but most students nowadays prefer jobs in the office rather than bustling around outdoors. Most tour guides do the job out of a passion for traveling rather than money.
由于需要經(jīng)常接觸國(guó)外機(jī)構(gòu)及其他組織，旅游行業(yè)曾是英語(yǔ)專業(yè)畢業(yè)生的聚集地。但近年來(lái)，盡管需求不斷增長(zhǎng)，英語(yǔ)專業(yè)求職者的數(shù)量卻在逐年減少。究其背后有兩重原因。首先，旅行社之間的激烈競(jìng)爭(zhēng)再加上酒店對(duì)這一行業(yè)的擠壓，剛剛?cè)肼毜膯T工不可能得到優(yōu)厚的薪資待遇。其次，旅游業(yè)是一個(gè)勞動(dòng)密集型行業(yè)，而如今更多的學(xué)生會(huì)選擇白領(lǐng)工作而不是在外面東奔西跑。很多導(dǎo)游做這一行完全是出于熱愛(ài)旅游而并非看中收入。
International trade
國(guó)際貿(mào)易
Deng (first name withheld) in Guangzhou
鄧同學(xué) 廣州
English department at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
廣東外語(yǔ)外貿(mào)大學(xué)英語(yǔ)專業(yè)
The economy this year isn’t that strong, so it’s been tough for students to find jobs, especially with international trade companies.
今年經(jīng)濟(jì)不景氣，這對(duì)畢業(yè)生求職很不利，尤其是那些國(guó)際貿(mào)易公司。
According to Nanfang Daily, international trade companies, one of the major employers for English majors, have lost their aura with the global recession hitting exports. At a job fair for export companies in Guangdong last year there were 30 percent less vacancies than usual.
《南方日?qǐng)?bào)》報(bào)道稱，全球經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退使得出口貿(mào)易遭受重創(chuàng)，作為英語(yǔ)專業(yè)人才的主要雇主之一，國(guó)際貿(mào)易公司已經(jīng)失去了他們的吸引力。去年，在一次廣東省出口企業(yè)招聘會(huì)上，用人單位所提供的職位數(shù)量較以往縮水30%。