Lagou (拉勾): The Jobs Portal Focused on China’s Tech Talent

Lagou (拉勾) is a prominent Chinese HR service that has become a key player in the country’s talent acquisition and recruitment landscape. Its functionality and advantages make it a valuable resource for both job seekers and employers. Here’s a comprehensive overview of what Lagou offers:

Functionality:

1. Industry-Specific Job Boards: Lagou provides specialized job boards for different industries, ensuring that job seekers and employers can connect within their respective sectors. Unlike many competitors, Lagou has very specific categories and specializations when it comes to STEM-related fields. This specialization makes it easier for job seekers to find targeted positions relevant to their expertise.

2. Company Profiles: Employers can create detailed company profiles, showcasing their corporate culture, values, and available job opportunities. In addition to financial figures, Lagou encourages companies to emphasize their qualitative aspects: Mission, founding team, values, etc. These profiles serve as a valuable resource for job seekers looking to understand the organizations they might join.

3. Job Search: Lagou offers a robust job search feature. Job seekers can filter job listings based on various criteria, including job title, location, industry, and company size. This makes it easier for professionals to find job opportunities that match their preferences. Lagou stands out here due to it’s refined and specific search for technical skills and qualifications.

4. Personalized Job Recommendations: Lagou employs advanced algorithms to offer personalized job recommendations to users. These recommendations take into account the user’s qualifications, experience, and preferences, making the job search process more efficient and targeted.

5. Community and Networking: The platform has a community and networking aspect, allowing professionals to connect, share knowledge, and engage in discussions related to their fields of interest. This feature promotes interaction and collaboration among users. While Lagou isn’t billed as a networking site, it has amassed a great community for tech-related discussions and a set of resources for STEM-related content. 

6. Offline Career Events: Lagou hosts numerous offline career events and job fairs across China. These events facilitate in-person networking opportunities and can be especially beneficial for job seekers and employers looking for face-to-face interactions. As mentioned above, many of these events boast EXCELLENT results, such as the 2022 Chinese New Year promotional event when 100 new jobs were posted every minute, and someone received an offer every 6 seconds!

Competitive Advantages:

1. Industry Specialization: One of Lagou’s primary advantages is its industry specialization. The company has said from the start that it will be a tech-first and deep-focus technology needs. By doing this, Lagou has become the go to spot for certain types of positions including software, hardware, aerospace, automotive/NEV, blockchain, and AI. By focusing on these specific sectors, the platform helps job seekers and employers within those industries find the most relevant and tailored opportunities. 

2. Company Insights: Job seekers can gain valuable insights into companies by exploring detailed company profiles. Lagou differentiates a bit here – the company profiles are organized more like Crunchbase than Indeed, suiting a tech-centric environment. This part of the site promotes companies in a way similar to Silicon Valley – founders, story, mission, and funding are all presented proudly. 

3. Personalization: Lagou’s use of advanced algorithms for personalized job recommendations streamlines the job search process. This feature saves time and effort for job seekers by presenting them with job opportunities that closely match their qualifications and preferences. On the other side of the equation, the advanced matching and recommendations here have certainly saved our team a lot of time connecting to the right types of candidates. 

4. Networking and Collaboration: Lagou provides an environment for professionals to network, share knowledge, and engage in discussions related to their fields of expertise. Again, this is a very tech-centric vibe here with many discussions centering around what life is like working in big tech, strories in tech and funding, and like like! 

5. Offline Events: Offline events have proved to be a big part of Tech culture in both the East and West. The platform’s organization of offline career events enhances opportunities for in-person networking and connections. These events complement the digital experience and create a more comprehensive ecosystem for job seekers and employers.

6. Strategic Acquisition: The acquisition of a controlling stake in Lagou by 51job (one of the big 4 job sites in China) in 2017 has strengthened the platform’s position in the competitive Chinese HR market, contributing to its growth and potential for future development.