A career bridge in a recessed world

For foreign students like African-American Tristan Hampton, working as an expo volunteer provides the perfect platform to network for jobs in a fiercely competitive environment, while also giving him behind-the-scenes access to hidden facets of Chinese society.
"For fresh graduates like me, it's still hard to find jobs. I'm hoping to meet some businessmen and look for potential opportunities," said Hampton, a Chinese major at Shanghai University who speaks fluent Mandarin.
"To be honest, there are much more opportunities in Shanghai than there are in America," he said. "I'm not that worried about finding a job since I'm still young. What I'm planning to do during the expo is send business cards to foreign businessmen, do tours, and schedule trips for them, kind of like a travel agency."