Governmental departments, universities and companies are making team efforts to help college graduates find jobs.

About 3.38 million college students will graduate this summer - 580,000 more than last year, statistics from the Ministry of Education show.

Starting from March till now, the ministry and other ministry-level departments have been holding Internet-based job-seeking fairs, such as the national talent fair for small and medium-sized firms sponsored by State Development and Reform Commission.

These give information about students' resumes and career preferences as well as job vacancies at companies or institutions.

The online national talent fair for small and medium-sized firms, first held in 2003, has registers millions of clicks everyday since it was opened on March 1, said Hu Yanghui, an official of the Policy Department for Small and Medium-Sized Firms of State Development and Reform Commission.

"Online talent fairs can offer some information for reference, but not all students can finally find jobs through online fairs," said Li Zhihua, a girl at the University of International Business and Economics.

"I've found a job at China Merchants Bank in Shenzhen, but not through online information. It is the bank that came to our campus for recruitment," she said.

Li, who comes from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, will graduate from the university on July 2. She studied accounting subject in the university. Her six roommates have also found jobs with companies.

But not all college graduates are as lucky as Li and her roommates.

College graduates face fierce competition more so in recent years, since the country began to widen the recruitment of college students in 1999, China Youth Daily quoted Liu Dawei, an official of the Ministry of Education, as saying.

"Students' expectations are too high. Most of them want to stay in big cities and get a job with higher salary. The already crowded big cities cannot offer that many jobs, thus students face difficulties," said Hu.

On the other hand, remote areas or small work units are in shortage of higher-level staff, but college students are reluctant to go there.

"It is not that difficult for college students to find jobs, but it is hard to find 'good jobs' as they imagine," said Hu. "Students should adjust their ideas in today's fierce job markets."

Liu Zhongxing, a teacher in the Central China College of Teacher Training in Wuhan, said in today's competitive climate, the employment of college students is no longer the issue of one or two universities, but a question for all.

(China Daily June 3, 2005)