Realistic expectation needed

People shouldn't laugh at a university graduate applying to a nanny, it shows some university graduates have become more rational about the job market, says an article on gmw.cn. Excerpts:

Being a nanny used to be a job predominantly for women from the countryside who possessed few other skills. However, a Chongqing-based labor agency recently received an application from a university graduate.

Since China's universities began to extend enrollment in the late 1990s, even graduates with higher degrees have been facing an increasingly competitive job market. It's impossible for every graduate to become a civil servant, so graduates have to be realistic.

This year the total number of university graduates will reach about 6.8 million, and these young people's employment prospects are sure to be a major concern for both universities and society.

Besides the supply-demand mismatch between the huge number of university graduates and the limited positions offered by employers, another outstanding problem is graduates' unrealistic expectations about their first jobs.

So those graduates with expectation-reality gaps should take the time to reflect on their competitive advantages before seeking a job. The graduate who applied to be a nanny did just that. She realized her love for children was one of her advantages, and matched it with the realization that parents want people with higher skill-sets to raise their children nowadays.

(China Daily 07/05/2012 page9)