REGIONAL> Highlights
Volunteers relieve employment pressure
By Lu Hongyan and Ge Lin (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-17 09:31

XI'AN: The financial crisis that has been reverberating around the world makes it harder to increase employment. College students seem to share and understand this deeply.

In the Employment Service Center of Xi'an Jiaotong University in the capital of Shaanxi Province, however, there is a group that devotes its efforts to its undergraduates, bringing them confidence and warmth this winter and making the path of employment wider and wider.

"Finding a job is a bitter process. The pressure sometimes doesn't come from being refused but comparing yourself to others. Thanks to the help of employment volunteers, I captured self-direction in time and adjusted my attitudes so that I could dive into campus recruitment freely," said Wang Xiaofeng, a student who was the first person in his class to get a job. Now, in gratitude, he has also joined the group to help others.

There are 200 volunteers like Wang, including undergraduates and post-graduates from different majors and grades, who work for the Employment Service out of gratitude and devotion.

They stick to the principles of superb service, communication, improvement and provide employment information and confidence for the students in every field of academic studies. The group has won great honor at the university with their excellent management.

Cheng Ai-xia, the tutor of the group, said that it is beneficial for students to join the group because it can reveal the veil between college students and companies and create an effective way to solve potential problems with a job interview.

According to Cheng, many members in the group have found excellent positions and the employment rate of the volunteers is higher than that of ordinary students by 30 percent.

She added that in the face of employment pressure, we must be sure to control the students' panic psychology and prevent it from spreading.

The motto "letting more and more student volunteers be involved in employment service and exploring its long-term system to satisfy companies" helps students making the path of employment service a more successful one.

In the current tight employment conditions, making good use of the intensive employment service, with the large student involvement, will break new ground in exploring long-term systems of employment service.

The group of Xi'an Jiaotong University Employment volunteers was set up in 2006. It has formed a complete administrative system and taken over reception and everyday affairs of the Employment Service Center. The group has been recognized as an elite service group representing the image of the university, which is a bridge to communication between students and companies, while providing a platform for students to improve themselves.

China Daily Shaanxi Bureau