For almost a month He Rui, who holds a master's degree, has been seeking employment in Shenzhen. 

"I'll keep trying because I know there's one for me," he said yesterday. "The city is full of energy and opportunities. Who knows? I could even be a big shot here."

He's just one of the many university graduates in the country who rank Shenzhen as the best city to find work and find it fast. .

A recent study conducted by China's leading online recruiter CJOL.COM showed that this south China city remained first choice with the highest number of university graduates.

Twenty-five percent of respondents to the study said Shenzhen was their first choice for employment, followed by Shanghai (21 percent), Beijing (16 percent) and Guangzhou (14 percent), CJOL.COM consultant Zhang Huaping explained. 

About 51 percent of the respondents were baccalaureates with 17 percent holding master's degrees. The remainder didn't hold a college or university degree.

A lot of graduates choose Shenzhen because the city doesn't seem far away from home, Tang Tingfen, a professor at Shenzhen Academy of Social Science said. "They often find themselves becoming part of any number of social or cultural groups here because the city doesn't want to know about your previous status as long as you do a good job."

Shenzhen Labor Bureau vice-inspector Chen Jifu said the city's specialty was that it "provides talent with the space to develop."

Chen observed, "Generally most university graduates become important players in their fields in three to five years after joining a firm in Shenzhen. 

"Many management personnel working in the city's government departments and enterprises are university graduates from across the country," said Chen. "Some of them have even become renowned entrepreneurs."

Some scholars, however, have urged fresh graduates to choose their location for work rationally. "It's understandable that many university graduates decide on a city without knowing about them in depth. But before they really go to these cities they should ask themselves if they can really find a suitable job or enterprise there," said Yang Yao, a senior lecturer in Science and Technology of Kunming University.

"Some of my students went and returned two years later with nothing. That is an avoidable waste of money, time and energy. They should set their target based on their career development and not just the cities," said Yang. .  

"Even if a company in an ordinary city has the potential that suits a graduate's requirements and would help him/her develop. I will strongly suggest that he/she give it a try," Yang added.

A recent report showed that the rise in the number of university graduates looking for jobs in Shenzhen has already outpaced the creation of employment in the city.

"Some years ago 100 graduates were competing for 50 jobs in Shenzhen but today double that figure are fighting for the same number of jobs," Chen said.

(China Daily January 12, 2007)