January 2024

Special Working Days! If you’re new to Chinese work culture, I’m sorry to break this news to you – China has nationally scheduled make-up days around holidays… on the weekends. That’s right, every year there are a handful of Saturdays and Sundays, right around bigger national holidays, that convert over to workdays. There are 8 special working days scheduled in 2024, a number that can vary slightly year by year and is announced right from Beijing. Check out our super simple 2024 China Public Holidays & Special Working Days Calendar: 1999: The Beginning of Special Work Days in China In an effort to boost domestic travel and consumer spending, the supervising government agency passed an extension of some holidays: The three-day Spring Festival holiday remained the same. Labor Day holiday extended from one day to three days. National Day holiday extended from one day to three days. Essentially the plan was to give workers two extra weekdays off for two major holidays and thus, with one weekend included, a full seven-day stretch of time off. To balance the extra days, the policy makers added ‘special working days’ on weekend days before and after the holidays. The plan to boost spending and travel has generally worked out well, and this trend has continued through 2023.  2007: More Public Holidays Added to the Calendar 2007 further expanded public holidays, adding The Qing Ming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival to the list. Here’s the list of changes made with the policy update: The Qing Ming Festival added as a one-day holiday. The Dragon Boat Festival added as a one-day holiday. Mid-Autumn Festival added as a one-day holiday. Labor Day holiday reduced from three days to one day. A note to add here is that the three new holidays added are all traditional festivals and are celebrated according to the lunar calendar.  2019: May 1st Labor Day Holiday Scheduling Update In 2019, Beijing once again extended the May 1st holiday back to 3 days. The target schedule is 4-5 days off in a row, with 2 make-up working days. To be clear, 3 days off with 2 make-up workdays actually nets in 1 day off. Special Working Day Scheduling Rules Scheduling gets interesting! When it comes to deciding how the holidays are scheduled and which days will be special ‘make-up’ work days, there is a general system… One-Day Holidays For the one days holidays, that is – Qing Ming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival. Below is a breakdown of how things are [usually] scheduled the lunar calendar holiday falls on each day of the week: Monday: The holiday naturally becomes a 3-day weekend. (In our mind) A nice, simple scenario – a long weekend with no weekend work!  Tuesday: If the holiday falls on a Tuesday, the preceding Monday and Sunday are off, forming 3 consecutive days off. This creates a special workday on one weekend day. It is often (but not always) the Saturday right before the 3-day holiday. Wednesday: One day off in the middle of the week. No make up work days. Not bad all. Thursday: Much like Tuesday, if the holiday falls on a Thursday, the following Friday and Saturday are off, forming 3 consecutive days off. This creates a special workday on one weekend day. It is often (but not always) the Sunday right after the 3-day holiday. Friday: Like Monday, the holiday naturally becomes a 3-day weekend. A long weekend with no weekend work!  Saturday: A Friday or Monday is given off. No extra workdays, with a 3 days weekend. Sunday: A Friday or Monday is given off. No extra workdays, with a 3 days weekend. Week-Long Holidays Chinese New Year: When scheduling holiday leave for Chinese New Year, administrators look for at least seven consecutive days off. Two special working days are added before and/or after the holiday. Here’s the schedule for CNY 2024 as a reference, with holidays in teal and special workdays in red: Example of Chinese New Year schedule in 2024:8 days off in a row, with 2 special working days creating 6 day work-weeks on either side of this. National Day: Always October 1st-7th (not lunar based). Two make up special working days added before and/or after the holiday. Again, here’s the 2024 calendar as an example. Notice the special working days split before (September 24th) and after (October 12th) the holiday week: May 1st Labor Day Holiday The Labor Day holiday schedule is somewhat unique. The scheduling optimizes 4-5 days off in a row to encourage travel and spending. The downside is that 2 make-up days come in tow with this. Here’s the 2024 schedule as an example of this in action: Example of Labor Day schedule in 2024:5 days off in a row, with 2 special working days on either side of this stretch (April 28th and May 11th). Should Managers Enforce Special Working Days? As someone responsible, such as the HR manager, business manager, or business owner – you don’t have to make your staff work, but it’s understood and expected. Moreover, these days are paid regardless. In our experience hiring in China, most companies are fully operational on these special days. Within your business, this especially relates to outside-facing roles such as logistics or sourcing, as well as client-facing roles. Both will likely still be receiving inbound communication on special working days.  In the end, it’s he individual organization’s decision on how to specifically treat special working days, if not just like a normal workday. Hiring in China? We can help, and stay within your budget!  The TeamedUp China Recruiting Pros are on the scene!  Our China Recruiter Pro service helps companies utilize leading Chinese job platforms such as Maimai, Zhaopin, 51job, BOSS Zhipin, Lagou, 58, Ganji, and Liepin. Contact Us for a free consultation to discuss hiring goals, salary & compensation budgets in China, and if TeamedUp China is the right fit to support your organization. Book A Call Get in Touch Let’s find your next

The Chinese Resume! While it shares a lot with the international resume, it has a decidedly different set of standards as well. Today we dive into 11 unique differences that you’ll find on most Chinese CVs. If you happen to be the chosen one on your team combing through these CVs, check out our related coverage on tips for chosing the most reliable candidates in China. The Chinese CV – loaded with everything you need! 1) Professional Photo The vast majority of Chinese CVs contain a professional photo. This photo is most often on the top line of the CV – on the left or right, and sometimes center position.  When possible, this photo is taken in a more professional manner, with the candidate dressed up in business attire and the photo taken by a pro photographer. Job hopefuls in China across industries and career paths have professional photos taken every several years, at most career stages. In every step of a China-based career, from new College graduates to the CEO level, professionals have this photo ready to go. A Shanghai professional, professionally holding her professional-photo adorned Resume! 2) Gender CVs in China most often contain a line for gender. The Chinese word for ‘gender’ is: 性别 (xìngbié).  Male: 男 (nán) Female: 女 (nǚ) Note: While this field is seen a lot, it is not required and is just as often seen left out. 3) Relationship/Marital Status Another line commonly seen on a Resume in China is ‘Marital Status’. In Mandarin, Marital Status: 婚姻状况 (Hūnyīn zhuàngkuàng)Married: 已婚 (yǐ hūn)Single: 单身 (dānshēn)Divorced: 离婚 (líhūn) Again, this field is also optional. If the candidate feels comfortable displaying this information, they do so.  4) Height Interesting one! This writer is making a note to do a poll on why height is included on Chinese CVs. I’ll be back with some (hopefully) interesting feedback on the why. In the meantime – here’s how it’s displayed in Mandarin: Height: 身高 (Shēngāo) The listing is traditionally written out in centimeters. For example: ‘175cm’. 5) Identification Number (Shēnfèn zhèng) The ‘ol national ID number, every country has them! This number is displayed most commonly in government-related industries. In China, this category also includes State-owned Enterprises across most sectors and public-facing positions.  Identification Number: 身份证号 (Shēnfèn zhèng hào) For non-Chinese citizens, a passport number will do fine! Passport Number: 护照号 (Hùzhào hào) …in this case, one may also include – Nationality: 国籍 (Guójí) 6) Age Another personal item to add to the list, and one that commonly uses the Chinese date format we just looked at (see #7!). Many candidates choose to list their age on their CV in China. The line is usually as so in Mandarin: Date of birth: 出生日期 (Chūshēng rìqí) Followed by that lovely date format ~ YYYY年MM月DD日   or   YYYY年MM月.  7) Target Salary Chinese CVs can be quite direct! Many candidates choose to include a target salary range to set expectations upfront. This writer is personally a proponent of both employers and candidates setting a clear salary range in Job Descriptions and CVs, respectively.  We have seen firsthand how much time this simple line can save.  Expected Salary: 期望薪资 (qīwàng xīnzī) The salary can be listed as a monthly or annual amount. Wade quickly through the sea of candidates with target salary expectations! 8) Wechat ID We saved a big one for number 8, the king of all numbers in China. Wechat!  We’ve taken a look at the importance of Wechat in the professional spaces of China. Wechat is so prominent in modern professional exchanges that it has practically replaced email, even in the recruiting process! Even our own recruiting pros accept CVs via Wechat on a daily basis, as it is such a primary form of communication for life in China. Armed with nothing but an empty briefcase and a crisp Wechat QR code,the new graduate bravely faces the job market! 9) Date Format yyyy/mm/dd The most common date format in China is the yyyy/mm/dd  or yyyy/mm format. Dates listed on a Chinese CV are most likely going to be in this format. In the Chinese language, this format can be written quite clearly by only adding 2-3 characters: YYYY年MM月DD日   or   YYYY年MM月.  Which is kind of like doing this in English: YYYYyear MMmonth DDday   or   YYYYyear MMmonth.  While it may not be what all international parties are used to, the date format is admittedly clean and logical. Fair warning – once you begin to use it, it may be tough to go back! 10) Beefed up Education Section Education is one of the cornerstones of modern Chinese society. The Chinese CV often reflects this by being a section that is emphasized greatly. Degrees and certifications are highly valued in this society, so why not emphasize them on an application Resume? Education sections can be placed above Work Experience on many Resumes. The industry and career path do matter here. Some careers in China, much like that of anywhere else, have expected educational paths to take and hurdles to surpass.  Great educational accomplishments, furthermore, are simply a great way for candidates to stand out amongst peers.  11) Underlying Humble Presentation and Language Save this as bonus one when revisiting. 11) Statement of Intention or Objective Statement (Instead of Cover Letter) While investigating Cover Letters in China, we concluded that this Statement of Intention or Objective Statement basically serves as a substitute for the traditional Cover Letter.  Our recruiting staff reflected on this in the Cover Letters article: “We more often see that they’ll write a short sentence, based around their motivations.” – Ms Chen, Recruiting Pro “Instead of a [cover] letter, it’s a very simple why I think I’m suitable for this position in a couple of sentences.” – Ms Zhu, Recruiting Pro While this statement may sometimes be included in email text or via Wechat message, it is just as common to see it toward the top of a CV.   Just A Résumé? That’ll do in China! Hiring in China? We can