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The dash for cash

By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-04 09:37

The China Youth Daily also reported on a graduate named Du Juanjuan, who interned with a Hangzhou newspaper and whose performance won her the promise of a permanent position.

But in the end, she did not land the job, which was later filled by three finalists who were from schools of a lower standing.

Her supervisor whispered to her: "Those three are all local kids from well-to-do families. We'll need them to pull in some advertising revenue."

That's why job-seekers, who have made it despite their family hardships, balk at job interviews in which they'll face inquisition on their lowly roots.

Besides, the process of job hunting imposes a big strain on their precarious finance.

By one account, printing resumes costs 105 yuan ($15), mailing 25 yuan, a formal suit 450 yuan and communication 250 yuan.

If you include travel and accommodation for cross-country interviews, the cost can balloon to thousands of yuan.

And given the competitiveness of the job market, employers do not reimburse any of that cost yet they often invite a legion of hopefuls for face-to-face interviews out of which they pick only a handful.

The financial strain, coupled with psychological stress, makes job searching a painful experience.

Against this backdrop you throw a plethora of news stories about rich kids who flaunt their designer wear, race cars, or overseas stints and start-ups, let alone negative coverage such as the hit-and-run incidents, and you'll understand why the "I-hate-the-rich campaign" is running rampant like a wild fire.

This is a dangerous sign of the deepening rift that cuts across our society.

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