1 Graduates Face Many Barriers in Job Hunting It is graduation time again. Whether joining the social workforce or pursuing advanced studies, about four million Chinese graduates will soon turn a new page in their lives. Still, no matter what, campus life will remain deeply etched on the minds of China's former students. What lies ahead for the country's graduates? Statistics released by relevant departments of China show that in 2006, graduates from all Chinese colleges and universities numbered 4.13 million, up 750,000 from 2005 with a growth rate of roughly 22%. Statistics released by relevant departments of China show that the growth rate of graduates from 2005 to 2006 is roughly 22%. Hence, the employment tension further intensifies. Meanwhile, various intangible barriers exist in social relations, regional restriction, permanent residency and university's reputation have made the graduates' job-hunting process tougher. Some analyze that against the backdrop of intensified employment tension for university graduates, needy students from rural and urban areas usually find themselves in relatively inferior positions. Some graduates realize that in order to get a job, they have to sign some "unfair treaties" that promise not to take the postgraduate exam or leave the company within several years, or they have to pay 5,000 Yuan for breaching the contract. Some recruiters even declare openly that they only need students from famous universities, so graduates from other schools are not even entitled to apply. Currently the contradiction in China's higher education has transferred from entering to leaving a university and from the difficulty in enrollment to employment after graduation. It has become a com...
