Recent surveys show the hiring prospects are bleak for this year's college graduates. In China's financial hub - Shanghai, and the country's export base - Guangdong province, most students are still waiting for job offers.

Seven out of ten here still haven't found a job, and most of them are desperate.

On average, these students in Shanghai have sent out thirty to fifty applications each. And in extreme cases, some have posted copies of their resumes six hundred times.

Surveys show students' minimum salary expectations are between two to three thousand yuan a month. Foreign or multi-national companies top the list in applications, while small private companies are the least favored, because of fears they could go bust the next day.

Many students say they're willing to work as interns in the hope that excellent performance during their probation period might win them a contract. However, only a very small proportion of companies are actually willing to take on interns. And even if they do, that often means low-value positions like answering phone calls at reception.

The situation is even worse in Guangdong, where only 8.4% of final year students have signed labor contracts.