Guide in SHENZHEN
Hand in hand in deep entrepreneurship
/ Live at Shenzhen / Startup at Shenzhen /
Hand in hand in deep entrepreneurship
/ Live at Shenzhen / Startup at Shenzhen /
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Hand in hand in deep entrepreneurship
Recruitment
Foreword
Having chosen your office location, the next step would be to recruit the members of your team. Professional start-up consultant EG from StartUp Guide explains to David that in addition to the common online job platforms and career fairs, there are also other channels such as WeChat friend groups, offline public events, or entrepreneurs’ communities that provide opportunities for recruiting talents in China.
Reading Guide
•Online job platforms and career fairs
•Flexible recruitment approaches
Online job platforms and career fairs
The most common recruitment method is through online job platforms. These offer the benefits of high data volume and a large candidate pool, with no time and spatial restrictions, and the costs of job postings are also relatively low. But for companies, online recruitment requires more manpower as they would need to select the right candidate from a sea of applications. There is also the likelihood that job seekers may exaggerate in their CVs, which could reduce the percentage of candidates shortlisted for interviews.
Common online recruitment channels include:
1. Jobsite China: www.jobsitechina.com
2. eChinacities: www.echinacities.com
3. HiredChina: www.hiredchina.com
4. Chinajobstreet: www.chinajobstreet.com
5. SinoJobs: www.sinojobs.com
6. anesl: www.anesl.com
7. Shenzhen Party: www.shenzhenparty.com
8. JobTube: jobtube.cn
The other common method is through career fairs. This is where you can interact with potential candidates face-to-face and enhance the quantity and quality of CVs received at an affordable cost. However, as onsite interviews are done fairly quickly, the candidates may not be able to learn enough about each recruiting company, and this could result in companies missing out on bright talents. Furthermore, it may be hard to ensure the quantity and quality of candidates as the recruitment outcome may depend on the publicity efforts of the event organizer.
A number of university career fairs are held in Shenzhen every year:
1. Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange of the Ministry of Education: Online Recruitment Fair for Oversea Returnees
2. Shenzhen Job Fair: Comprehensive Recruitment Fair of Shenzhen New Way Human Resources Market
3. Shenzhen Public Employment Service Center: On-campus Job Fair and Online Recruitment Fair
Flexible recruitment approaches
However, foreign entrepreneurs in Shenzhen may be unfamiliar with some of the established job platforms such as Lagou or 51job, or they may not have the funds to hire recruitment agencies. Therefore, it may help to be flexible with your recruitment methods:
John Rood, founder of digital marketing company Somos Digital, also added himself into a number of WeChat groups for digital marketers. As he'd been in China for many years and had made many friends through these groups, he would create images with recruitment details and share them in the groups. From there he'd receive replies and recommendations from his WeChat friends. For foreigners who have just arrived in Shenzhen, finding these WeChat groups and asking a friend to add them in can be an efficient and affordable way to recruit for their companies.
1. WeChat groups and moments
Ever since the emergence of WeChat in China, WeChat groups with their powerful functionalities have become the preferred medium for foreigners in Shenzhen to hire their first employees.
Take Jeff J. Brown for example. He opened a tuition school in Shenzhen in August 2018 called "Professor Brown", and added many teachers' groups on WeChat he'd known from his teaching years, such as Shenzhen Teachers. Each group numbered about 500 people. With this setup, he was able to share updates in these groups conveniently whenever he had need for teachers for his school or any related questions
John Rood, founder of digital marketing company Somos Digital, also added himself into a number of WeChat groups for digital marketers. As he'd been in China for many years and had made many friends through these groups, he would create images with recruitment details and share them in the groups. From there he'd receive replies and recommendations from his WeChat friends. For foreigners who have just arrived in Shenzhen, finding these WeChat groups and asking a friend to add them in can be an efficient and affordable way to recruit for their companies.
2. Direct invitation in person
Nuno Batista, who has been in Shenzhen for four years, found his first employee at a cafe when he'd just started his company - a local Chinese assistant who spoke excellent English. Over breakfast with his new friend, Nuno was impressed by her good English and her ability to get work done. So he invited her straight away to his company to talk about employment possibilities. Nuno's advice:
Truthfully, a direct and personal invitation is not really something that happens by chance. Brian Hirsh, founder of smart home equipment company BrightWood, was based in TechTemple, and through the community at the co-working space he met a friend from China who he thought could be the right person to help him in his business, and so he invited them to join his company. Foreigners who are new to Shenzhen and have not fully assimilated into the local community network may initially start with environments that they trust, such as makerspaces and co-working spaces. If a suitable candidate is found, you can then extend a personal invitation, which can turn out to be a direct and effective strategy.
3. Platforms and communities
Truthfully, a direct and personal invitation is not really something that happens by chance. Brian Hirsh, founder of smart home equipment company BrightWood, was based in TechTemple, and through the community at the co-working space he met a friend from China who he thought could be the right person to help him in his business, and so he invited them to join his company. Foreigners who are new to Shenzhen and have not fully assimilated into the local community network may initially start with environments that they trust, such as makerspaces and co-working spaces. If a suitable candidate is found, you can then extend a personal invitation, which can turn out to be a direct and effective strategy.
3. Platforms and communities
Platforms are a consolidation of all the information and people from a particular field. Certain online platforms like WeChat carry a huge volume of information and can be distracting. Employers do not usually have the luxury of time to do background checks on a large number of candidates, so the filtering process can take up a lot of time. The platforms referred to here are of a more focused nature.
One type of such platforms is the mass innovation spaces. These places have huge flows of people and are hubs for sharing Start-up information and for entrepreneurs. Jason Stine, founder of map services app Lost LaoWai, said that he'd used the internal web network of a makerspace to recruit for his company. As a makerspace, Trouble Maker regularly receives visits from various business organizations, schools and companies. While introducing themselves, the hosts at Trouble Maker would also get visitors to recommend any potential employees that would fit into any of the start-ups based there. Information platforms such as ShenzhenParty, ShenzhenEat, Guide In China and HiredChina have a large number of users who are foreigners, so it may be worthwhile to pay a fee to post jobs on one of these sites or their public account.
4. Public events
Nausheen Ishtiaq-Chen used to study film production and media in New York. When she first arrived in Shenzhen, she wanted to start her own film and television production company, and to blend into the local film community. With her passion for community events, she started a series of workshops related to film-making, where she attracted a lot of attention and established a professional image for herself in the industry. These human resource networks that she built would help her tremendously in her search later on for filmmaking talent. Ricky Cortes and Kwesi Hammond, founders of consultancy Start-up Gifted, were active in giving public talks in the early days of their venture, to share their methodology and beliefs in education. This attracted the attention and interest of some like-minded people, who then went on to join their company and become their partners.
For this recruitment approach, the first thing a foreigner new to the place can do is to and identify a topic that they're well-versed in and that brings value to a niche area of the market. The entrepreneur can then ramp up the publicity and execution of their events by working with existing communities with established connections.
4. Public events
Nausheen Ishtiaq-Chen used to study film production and media in New York. When she first arrived in Shenzhen, she wanted to start her own film and television production company, and to blend into the local film community. With her passion for community events, she started a series of workshops related to film-making, where she attracted a lot of attention and established a professional image for herself in the industry. These human resource networks that she built would help her tremendously in her search later on for filmmaking talent. Ricky Cortes and Kwesi Hammond, founders of consultancy Start-up Gifted, were active in giving public talks in the early days of their venture, to share their methodology and beliefs in education. This attracted the attention and interest of some like-minded people, who then went on to join their company and become their partners.
For this recruitment approach, the first thing a foreigner new to the place can do is to and identify a topic that they're well-versed in and that brings value to a niche area of the market. The entrepreneur can then ramp up the publicity and execution of their events by working with existing communities with established connections.
5. Alumni networks
Alumni networks can be widespread globally and are often reliable as members share similar background and experiences. Marine Mallinson, founder of MedAnt, graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studie. She hired her first full-time employee, Kira, through the institute's China alumni network. After that, she continued to hire more people through the alumni networks of her employees.
Chris Butt , founder of ShenzhenEat, had an employee who graduated from Shenzhen University who was able to access and share recruitment information on the internal web pages and forums of the University, and received many applications.
In the end, professional consultant EG from Start-Up Guide says that recruitment is not something David should be overly worried about. There are a myriad of ways to do it, and as long as a location has a flow of people, the possibility of sharing and circulating your information is there. Besides thinking about recruitment channels, the founder of a company should also be clear about their recruitment requirements and be specific about the quality and standards expected of a candidate, to facilitate a more targeted search for their desired employees.
Chris Butt , founder of ShenzhenEat, had an employee who graduated from Shenzhen University who was able to access and share recruitment information on the internal web pages and forums of the University, and received many applications.
In the end, professional consultant EG from Start-Up Guide says that recruitment is not something David should be overly worried about. There are a myriad of ways to do it, and as long as a location has a flow of people, the possibility of sharing and circulating your information is there. Besides thinking about recruitment channels, the founder of a company should also be clear about their recruitment requirements and be specific about the quality and standards expected of a candidate, to facilitate a more targeted search for their desired employees.
Recruitment
Foreword
Having chosen your office location, the next step would be to recruit the members of your team. Professional start-up consultant EG from StartUp Guide explains to David that in addition to the common online job platforms and career fairs, there are also other channels such as WeChat friend groups, offline public events, or entrepreneurs’ communities that provide opportunities for recruiting talents in China.
Reading Guide
•Online job platforms and career fairs
•Flexible recruitment approaches
Online job platforms and career fairs
The most common recruitment method is through online job platforms. These offer the benefits of high data volume and a large candidate pool, with no time and spatial restrictions, and the costs of job postings are also relatively low. But for companies, online recruitment requires more manpower as they would need to select the right candidate from a sea of applications. There is also the likelihood that job seekers may exaggerate in their CVs, which could reduce the percentage of candidates shortlisted for interviews.
Common online recruitment channels include:
1. Jobsite China: www.jobsitechina.com
2. eChinacities: www.echinacities.com
3. HiredChina: www.hiredchina.com
4. Chinajobstreet: www.chinajobstreet.com
5. SinoJobs: www.sinojobs.com
6. anesl: www.anesl.com
7. Shenzhen Party: www.shenzhenparty.com
8. JobTube: jobtube.cn
The other common method is through career fairs. This is where you can interact with potential candidates face-to-face and enhance the quantity and quality of CVs received at an affordable cost. However, as onsite interviews are done fairly quickly, the candidates may not be able to learn enough about each recruiting company, and this could result in companies missing out on bright talents. Furthermore, it may be hard to ensure the quantity and quality of candidates as the recruitment outcome may depend on the publicity efforts of the event organizer.
A number of university career fairs are held in Shenzhen every year:
1. Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange of the Ministry of Education: Online Recruitment Fair for Oversea Returnees
2. Shenzhen Job Fair: Comprehensive Recruitment Fair of Shenzhen New Way Human Resources Market
3. Shenzhen Public Employment Service Center: On-campus Job Fair and Online Recruitment Fair
Flexible recruitment approaches
However, foreign entrepreneurs in Shenzhen may be unfamiliar with some of the established job platforms such as Lagou or 51job, or they may not have the funds to hire recruitment agencies. Therefore, it may help to be flexible with your recruitment methods:
John Rood, founder of digital marketing company Somos Digital, also added himself into a number of WeChat groups for digital marketers. As he'd been in China for many years and had made many friends through these groups, he would create images with recruitment details and share them in the groups. From there he'd receive replies and recommendations from his WeChat friends. For foreigners who have just arrived in Shenzhen, finding these WeChat groups and asking a friend to add them in can be an efficient and affordable way to recruit for their companies.
1. WeChat groups and moments
Ever since the emergence of WeChat in China, WeChat groups with their powerful functionalities have become the preferred medium for foreigners in Shenzhen to hire their first employees.
Take Jeff J. Brown for example. He opened a tuition school in Shenzhen in August 2018 called "Professor Brown", and added many teachers' groups on WeChat he'd known from his teaching years, such as Shenzhen Teachers. Each group numbered about 500 people. With this setup, he was able to share updates in these groups conveniently whenever he had need for teachers for his school or any related questions
John Rood, founder of digital marketing company Somos Digital, also added himself into a number of WeChat groups for digital marketers. As he'd been in China for many years and had made many friends through these groups, he would create images with recruitment details and share them in the groups. From there he'd receive replies and recommendations from his WeChat friends. For foreigners who have just arrived in Shenzhen, finding these WeChat groups and asking a friend to add them in can be an efficient and affordable way to recruit for their companies.
2. Direct invitation in person
Nuno Batista, who has been in Shenzhen for four years, found his first employee at a cafe when he'd just started his company - a local Chinese assistant who spoke excellent English. Over breakfast with his new friend, Nuno was impressed by her good English and her ability to get work done. So he invited her straight away to his company to talk about employment possibilities. Nuno's advice:
Truthfully, a direct and personal invitation is not really something that happens by chance. Brian Hirsh, founder of smart home equipment company BrightWood, was based in TechTemple, and through the community at the co-working space he met a friend from China who he thought could be the right person to help him in his business, and so he invited them to join his company. Foreigners who are new to Shenzhen and have not fully assimilated into the local community network may initially start with environments that they trust, such as makerspaces and co-working spaces. If a suitable candidate is found, you can then extend a personal invitation, which can turn out to be a direct and effective strategy.
3. Platforms and communities
Truthfully, a direct and personal invitation is not really something that happens by chance. Brian Hirsh, founder of smart home equipment company BrightWood, was based in TechTemple, and through the community at the co-working space he met a friend from China who he thought could be the right person to help him in his business, and so he invited them to join his company. Foreigners who are new to Shenzhen and have not fully assimilated into the local community network may initially start with environments that they trust, such as makerspaces and co-working spaces. If a suitable candidate is found, you can then extend a personal invitation, which can turn out to be a direct and effective strategy.
3. Platforms and communities
Platforms are a consolidation of all the information and people from a particular field. Certain online platforms like WeChat carry a huge volume of information and can be distracting. Employers do not usually have the luxury of time to do background checks on a large number of candidates, so the filtering process can take up a lot of time. The platforms referred to here are of a more focused nature.
One type of such platforms is the mass innovation spaces. These places have huge flows of people and are hubs for sharing Start-up information and for entrepreneurs. Jason Stine, founder of map services app Lost LaoWai, said that he'd used the internal web network of a makerspace to recruit for his company. As a makerspace, Trouble Maker regularly receives visits from various business organizations, schools and companies. While introducing themselves, the hosts at Trouble Maker would also get visitors to recommend any potential employees that would fit into any of the start-ups based there. Information platforms such as ShenzhenParty, ShenzhenEat, Guide In China and HiredChina have a large number of users who are foreigners, so it may be worthwhile to pay a fee to post jobs on one of these sites or their public account.
4. Public events
Nausheen Ishtiaq-Chen used to study film production and media in New York. When she first arrived in Shenzhen, she wanted to start her own film and television production company, and to blend into the local film community. With her passion for community events, she started a series of workshops related to film-making, where she attracted a lot of attention and established a professional image for herself in the industry. These human resource networks that she built would help her tremendously in her search later on for filmmaking talent. Ricky Cortes and Kwesi Hammond, founders of consultancy Start-up Gifted, were active in giving public talks in the early days of their venture, to share their methodology and beliefs in education. This attracted the attention and interest of some like-minded people, who then went on to join their company and become their partners.
For this recruitment approach, the first thing a foreigner new to the place can do is to and identify a topic that they're well-versed in and that brings value to a niche area of the market. The entrepreneur can then ramp up the publicity and execution of their events by working with existing communities with established connections.
4. Public events
Nausheen Ishtiaq-Chen used to study film production and media in New York. When she first arrived in Shenzhen, she wanted to start her own film and television production company, and to blend into the local film community. With her passion for community events, she started a series of workshops related to film-making, where she attracted a lot of attention and established a professional image for herself in the industry. These human resource networks that she built would help her tremendously in her search later on for filmmaking talent. Ricky Cortes and Kwesi Hammond, founders of consultancy Start-up Gifted, were active in giving public talks in the early days of their venture, to share their methodology and beliefs in education. This attracted the attention and interest of some like-minded people, who then went on to join their company and become their partners.
For this recruitment approach, the first thing a foreigner new to the place can do is to and identify a topic that they're well-versed in and that brings value to a niche area of the market. The entrepreneur can then ramp up the publicity and execution of their events by working with existing communities with established connections.
5. Alumni networks
Alumni networks can be widespread globally and are often reliable as members share similar background and experiences. Marine Mallinson, founder of MedAnt, graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studie. She hired her first full-time employee, Kira, through the institute's China alumni network. After that, she continued to hire more people through the alumni networks of her employees.
Chris Butt , founder of ShenzhenEat, had an employee who graduated from Shenzhen University who was able to access and share recruitment information on the internal web pages and forums of the University, and received many applications.
In the end, professional consultant EG from Start-Up Guide says that recruitment is not something David should be overly worried about. There are a myriad of ways to do it, and as long as a location has a flow of people, the possibility of sharing and circulating your information is there. Besides thinking about recruitment channels, the founder of a company should also be clear about their recruitment requirements and be specific about the quality and standards expected of a candidate, to facilitate a more targeted search for their desired employees.
Chris Butt , founder of ShenzhenEat, had an employee who graduated from Shenzhen University who was able to access and share recruitment information on the internal web pages and forums of the University, and received many applications.
In the end, professional consultant EG from Start-Up Guide says that recruitment is not something David should be overly worried about. There are a myriad of ways to do it, and as long as a location has a flow of people, the possibility of sharing and circulating your information is there. Besides thinking about recruitment channels, the founder of a company should also be clear about their recruitment requirements and be specific about the quality and standards expected of a candidate, to facilitate a more targeted search for their desired employees.
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