770,000 sit exams for government jobs

(chinadaily.com.cn/Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-01 09:58

It is quite a phenomenon that a colossal army of 775,000 people, mostly college educated, sat at a nationwide exam in 38 cities of China on Sunday, to contest for mere 13,500 government jobs.

A candidate shows her admit card for national civil service exam in Hefei, Anhui Province, November 30, 2008. About 775,000 people are competing for 13,566 government jobs this year. [Xinhua]

The mass rush and fierce competition to become civil servants among the country's young and educated is emblematic of Chinese people's increasing job-seeking tendency, that fielding a job in the government is once again esteemed by the society.

Some economists say the trend is also a manifestation that people consider civil servants are "iron-bowl" jobs, that won't succumb to sudden economic upheavals like the current global economic crisis, which has hardened the bottom lines of many businesses, and led to tens of hundreds of laid-offs.

Cong Cong, a postgraduate student of Nanjing University, said: "I didn't think of beating so many candidates for a job when I applied for a position offered in the Ministry of Education. But I have to because I've submitted my resume to about 60 firms and got only 10 replies, and no offers."

November and December are the best time for candidates to get a high-end job, and half the students from Cong's department should have got offers by now. But this year, only two or three of them have been able to find a job. "Big or small, the civil services exam gives us hope," she said.

To create a fair environment for the country's most intense exam, with 98 out of every 100 exam takers to have no chance for success, local educational departments, in cooperation with the police and radio frequency management officers, cracked down on exam cheaters, who would use wireless apparatus and the Internet technology, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Those who cheated in the exam would have "zero score" and would not be allowed to apply for similar exam in five years, the ministry said, adding relevant departments had paid great attention ensuring exam papers were not leaked before the exam.

The 2009 central government recruitment plan offered only 13,500 positions, roughly the same with previous years. The results for the written exam would be announced in January and those who passed it would enter into the interview round.

A government job was still considered a plum post for university graduates and other Chinese job-seekers as the global financial crisis prompted many private companies to cut the number of employees.

Some believe that the economic and social status, welfare insurance and prestige associated with a government position in China have attracted more and more applicants, many young and knowledged.

Statistics show more than 4,500 applicants would compete for a position with the China Disabled Persons' Federation, ranking the most popular government post among exam takers.

Positions with seismological bureaus across the country were also popular with this year's exam takers, according to the Modern Express, a newspaper based in southern Jiangsu Province, partly due to the devastating earthquake that struck southwestern Sichuanin May.

Almost 65 percent of the 5,000 people polled online recently said they would take the exam next year again if they fail this year. The survey also showed almost half of them had already written the exam once before.

"I would definitely try again if I don't get through this time," Qian said. "I'll keep on trying even if the success ratio is 1:100 or 1:1,000." Qian passed the written exam last year but could not get past the first round of interview for a job in the Ministry of Commerce.

This year, Hepatitis B virus carriers would be considered eligible candidates when they were ruled out to be Hepatitis B patients after medical examination, according to a new physical check-up standard for civil servant recruitment, which was aimed at removing employment discrimination.

The written test includes two sessions, the administrative aptitude test (AAT) in the morning and the essay test in the afternoon, before a more competitive interview at the beginning of 2009.

Even if candidates fail to clear the national civil services exam, they still have the chance of passing the provincial service tests.

Sun Han, a student of Zhejiang University's law department, said: "I know the chance is slim but I will still try. I have prepared for the test for six months, and in case I fail in the national level test, I still have a chance to take a test in my hometown in Hangzhou in January for a job."

China has been organizing civil servant recruitment examinations every year since 1994.