But this requires her to find satisfactory work. "Our maturation and studying are all a production process. Only in finding work, in putting oneself out there, can one complete the leap from an unfinished product to a finished one. If you sell yourself short, the original investment won't be made back," she says.
Xiao Lin carries an interview schedule dating from last September to February 2007. She knew a month ago about one interview scheduled for today.
At 10 a.m., Xiao Lin discovers an investment consulting company is interviewing for an position. After waiting an hour on a packed line she is finally able to sit down at the desk.
The human affairs manager stops what she is doing to formally introduce themself. They seem very interested in her at first, but when salary is mentioned the atmosphere suddenly becomes tense.
"What are your requirements?" they ask. "As long as I can maintain a basic lifestyle and save a little. Hopefully, not lower than 1500 a month," she responds. This is a number that she has come up with after being rejected countless times in the past. Suddenly a girl behind Xiao Lin exclaims, "I'll do it for 800!"
Xiao Lin cannot understand how someone could survive in Beijing with a salary of 800 yuan a month. How could so many recent graduates be willing to work for so little? She calculated it for us quickly: 500 yuan a month for rent, 400 for food, 100 for transportation, 100 for a cell phone, and 200 for incidentals... no matter how she counted it, it simply wasn't enough.
In order to avoid the spike in unemployment when she first graduated, Xiao chose to remain at school and earn a graduate degree, thus having to spend two more years worth of tuition and living expenses. But two years later the unemployment situation seems even worse.
As the recently published Beijing Graduating Student Employment Center's 2006 Survey points out, almost two-thirds of recent college graduates make less than 2,000 yuan a month. They can barely cover their basic living expenses.
- Weighed Down by Schoolbags | 2007-11-05
