Top 11 Most Wanted roles for an Internship in China by Host Companies

The most wanted intern positions are constantly hiring, offer long-term internships, and will often offer full time positions at the end of the internship. From an intern’s perspective, the best positions will correlate with their future career goals; will offer a handsome allowance (stipend) or other benefits, such as free accommodation and meals. What is important to you in an internship is subjective, but here we outline which internships in China are most commonly offered by employers! The trend was obvious in Deloitte’s Global Capital Treneds and Michael Page’s Salary and Employment Outlook for greater China. Internally, CIP’s Program Cordinators noticed similar observation from over 4000 interns placed and increasing demand of interns from Host Companies.

1. Web Developer, IT Programmer

Web developers and programmers are, after all, desired everywhere, and China is no exception. First tier cities or higher tier cities with new technology zones will have more opportunities, and in general the tech industry offers higher salaries than other industries. An IT position will always provide interns with useful experience, a possible portfolio, and either a full time position post-internship, or the network necessary for freelance opportunities. All you need is a related educational background (e.g. computer science, programming) and a couple of junior level IT skills to qualify for a web development internship in China. Some of the obvious roles are C++ Engineers, Software Engineers, UX Designers,

2. Hotel and Hospitality Internships

Hotel Internships in China is the least expensive to run among other sectors. Usually, Interns have Accommodation, 3x meals daily and Salaries provided by the Hotels. This reduces program fees and burden of upfront commitment. You are sure to get placed into Multinational Hotels and resorts such as Marriott, Hilton, Golden Tulip, Holiday Inn so much more. If you study Hotel Management, I will recommend you consider joining an Internship in China: the opportunities are endless.

3. Designers

The third most popular talent wanted in China are designers in general, whether a graphic designer, product designer, or even interior or fashion designer. Foreign designers are highly sought after for an international perspective and foreign training and educational background. Not only are designers often offered full time positions post-internship, but the portfolio additions and network can open doors for freelance opportunities. To intern, you do need to have a degree in the right field, trained skills, and it doesn’t hurt to have a design portfolio. Architectural Internships in China are gaining popularity over the years and it is not common to see famous German and Italian Designers demanding good Interns fo 6 to 12 months.

4. Customer Service Relation Officer, Receptionist

Receptionists are usually hired short-term with age, height, and even hair color requirements to best represent their company to potential clients. For customer service representatives who mostly communicate remotely, via telephone or email, the requirements are more focused on clear communication skills (no accent), self-sufficiency, and pleasantness. Both types of positions can convert to full time with decent salary and benefits.

5. Marketing Strategist, PR Representative

Since many Chinese companies market their products overseas (rather than locally), they prefer hiring foreign talent to handle the English or other foreign language parts of the job. Marketing and PR is about creating dialogue with customers in a natural, sometimes colloquial sense, and often larger companies will hire natives of a country for each department. Such internships will require the ability to provide customer service, conduct digital marketing, and acquire customers via marketing and sales. In order to secure a Marketing Internship in China, you need to have a bachelor’s degree or should have completed Second year of in university, some Chinese language ability, and good writing and social media skills

6. Writer and Editor

Writing and editing positions tend to be more geared towards native English speakers, but occasionally there will be vacancies for proofreading and similar positions for other language native speakers, such as German. Said positions are meant to check and correct translations from Chinese, written by local staff, and as such do prefer some Chinese proficiency. To intern, you’ll need to have a bachelor’s degree and a writing portfolio. All editing and proofreading positions will require applicants to complete a test. As China takes the global lead in software development and other tech spheres, there is a growing need for localization services which requires the translation of User Mannuals into various languages. Given the demand, most institutions have specialized in this services and require a large number of Interns in order to serve their local clients

7. Social Media Specialist

As online presence becomes more and more important, both foreign and Chinese companies are looking for millennials to manage their social media identity. Millenials are known to have grown up breathing social media, and should be comfortable with the applications and websites that are normally blocked in China by the Great Fire Wall. To intern, you would have to have a bachelor’s degree or be enrolled in university, be social media savvy in the basics, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin. It helps to also be familiar with WhatsApp, Snapchat, WeChat, and Weibo. Taking a social media internship in China, you will get maximum exposure to how Chinese social marketing works and also gain knowledge about platforms in China that most of your colleagues do not possess

8. Research and Consultancy

Many companies in China are in the research and consultancy industry, especially in helping foreign companies enter the Chinese market. The majority of available roles relate to market research, strategy formulation, legal advisory, etc. Interns looking to enter this sector are required to understand business practices. Interns may be called upon to interpret data to help senior management make decisions. Interns may also be called upon to analyze business cases of clients during review segments pending diagnosis. Many organizations also expect interns to attend client meetings and conduct preliminary questioning, or prospecting and business development. To intern, you would need a bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as finance for financial analysis, or business for market analysis.

9. Finance and Accounting

The Chinese Financial system is now gathering momentum after having just recovered from a major shock. This presents a lot of opportunities for young graduates looking to enhance their careers. Finance internships in China presents an alternative opportunity to get the experience you may need to jumpstart your career in the west. China’s economy is still developing with opportunities that needed lots of funding and investment.

Areas interns could be placed in include: Equity and Forex Trading, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Funds, Investment Banking, Corporate Finance including Mergers and Acquisitions, Infrastructure trading, Financial Engineering.

10. International Trade and Logistics

Trade has supported Chinese GDP, resulting in China becoming the largest trader in the world, surpassing the US a few years ago. There are several ports, shipping, and logistic companies to support this demand as most manufacturing companies that had moved into China in the name of cutting costs had to ship their products to other countries. China has a fantastic logistic and transport system to support the booming e-commerce. Interns in this industry would handle exports, shipments, customs clearing, trade documentation, accounting, product chains, and quality control.

11. Business Development and Sales

Every business, no matter its sector, requires sales and business development personnel. There is a significant demand for intern in this area. To intern, you must be smart, a critical thinker and able to work with little or no support. Most companies look for well-organized thinkers to assist them with customer generation. Interns work on platforms such as SaaS, B2B, B2C etc. Intern tasks range from cold calling to closing deals.

If your employment outlook falls within any of these sectors, then follow these simple steps to launching your career in China. You should consider why you have to Intern in China then you need a China Styled CV/ Resume to kick start the process.