Delayed Employment: Chinese young adult challenges social norm through job hunt

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A job offer upon graduation is one of the best outcomes of education. But now more and more college graduates are deciding not to turn the next page in such a hurry. There are many reasons behind it. CGTN's Zhao Yunfei finds out some of them.

Working part time in a gallery is what Liu Siyuan enjoys most.

Her parents feel though that she's just passing time before a more serious and lucrative career opportunity comes along.

A year removed from college, Liu just started working at this museum a few months ago.

She says this is a hard-earned opportunity that allows her to meet different people everyday.

LIU SIYUAN JOB HUNTER "If your job traps you in a routine, you will lose passion. Many of my college friends go to work on weekdays and have lost their creativity. I just don't want a life like that."

Liu says she treats her time here as a process of learning by communicating with visitors and artists and participating in multiple projects.

She says her education background couldn't prepare her for a full-time position.

Delayed employment has become a trend.

The latest Chinese College Graduates' Employment Report shows last year's delayed employment rate of bachelors' degree students at four point two percent.

That means about 350 thousand people stayed at home after getting their degrees.

MA RUIHUA EMPLOYER, HAIDILAO FOOD CHAIN "Many job seekers we worked with show little knowledge about the job market. Some of them are nervous about going to work for the first time. They are not sure what they can do. That's why many decide not to look for a job at all."

This is the small apartment that Liu Siyuan fled to, after several squabbles with her parents about her future.

Liu says she had to move away from home at least to experience society for herself.

LIU SIYUAN JOB HUNTER "Different generations think differently. For those born in the 1970s, like my parents, they were assigned a job when they graduated. Those who were born after the 1980s, they like to follow the routine. But for our generation, I think that my life has so many possibilities."

Liu has just explored a new path, studying abroad in South Korea, a country she never thought much about before.

She says it's not an escape from delayed employment, but to make herself more marketable and competitive.

ZHAO YUNFEI ZHENGZHOU, HENAN "Settling down with a job upon graduation seemed to be a routine that many would follow. Now some young Chinese are breaking the mould. The employer side still has the upper hand due to the large labor supply. Many though doubt that the delayed employment trend, a reflection of the unbalanced job market, is just a drop in the bucket. Zhao Yunfei, CGTN, Zhengzhou."