Tough job market for Chinese college graduates

"It's my first choice to seek employment in a large state-owned enterprise or foreign company, because they usually have a better promotion system and motivation mechanism," said college graduate Gao Xinwei, adding it might be better to work at small firms after gaining enough experience at larger companies.

It is common for many young graduates to want to get their dream job straight away, but career planning is a long-term process and needs constant adjustment and improvement, said Yang Lin, adding that young people should not shy away from working at grassroots level.

"College students should have appropriate self-examination and be ambitious as well as down-to-earth in their job search," said Zhang Libin, with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.