2022 Autumn Recruitment Journey
I'm a graduate of the class of '23, so I have to take part in the autumn recruitment in '22 and sign a tripartite agreement before graduation, and then I can go directly with my diploma. This year's autumn recruitment is truly excruciating. The visible economic depression has led all companies to swiftly lower their expectations for the future. It seems that the result is that all companies are unwilling to continue expansion and are mostly contracting their businesses, which is manifested in widespread layoffs. This situation is the same for big companies, not to mention small companies. For the class of '23, it's a nightmare. Of course, many students from the class of '22 have also been affected. They experienced the best autumn recruitment and the largest wave of new graduates, as well as the wave of tripartite contract breaches. Speaking of tripartite agreements, for companies, the breach penalty is about 5,000 yuan, but for fresh graduates, it could mean missing out on job opportunities for quite some time due to skipping the spring recruitment. As for students from the class of '23, they are experiencing the worst autumn recruitment in recent years. Regarding the tripartite contract breaches, it's hard to say, as barely any offers were made, and even if there were breaches, they can't be considered on a large scale.
What was the actual human capital (HC) situation during this autumn recruitment? Comparing the data, we can see that at ByteDance, the number of recruits dropped from 8,000 in '22 to 3,000 in '23, a reduction of over 60%. At Meituan, it dropped from 10,000 in '22 to 5,000 in '23, a halving. Baidu reduced its HC from 80,000 in '22 to 2,000 in '23, a 75% reduction. Similarly, Honor saw a decrease from 4,000 in '22 to 2,000 in '23, a 50% cut. Tencent only recruited 500 people in '23, a staggering 93% decrease from the 7,000 recruits in '22. The actual situation may be even more dire, as these numbers are nominal HC and the actual recruitment numbers remain unknown. If the above data wasn't striking enough, let's take a look at a retrospective report on the blind box position at Lilith Games. Lilith is a reputable medium-sized company known for games like "Sword and Expedition."
The images show that there were a total of 10,811 resumes for the blind box position, 68 students made it to the final interview, and 3 students were ultimately offered a position. While not all positions are like this, it provides a glimpse of the situation. For instance, there were rumors that after NetEase opened its backend campus recruitment, it received 20,000 resumes in a day, and then it removed the position. While some may not pay much attention to these larger companies, believing that they have intense competition, the reality is that the situation is cascading from the big companies to the medium-sized ones, and from there to the small companies. This cascading effect is impacting the vast majority of ordinary people. Of course, there are companies that are doing well this year, like BYD, which added a touch of brightness to this bleak autumn recruitment.
I previously summarized the situation for spring internships, stating, "If the situation continues to be this dire, this year will be the worst in the past decade, but also the best in the future." This statement may no longer be a mere joke. This autumn recruitment, I heard a very impactful statement: "The only trick for taking the postgraduate exam is: start early." Now, this statement seems to apply to many situations – from job hunting to taking exams for graduate school or civil service, and so on. For those considering grad school, I think it's best to have a backup plan. Be prepared for any eventuality, or else you might find yourself in a predicament.
As for my own experience, the autumn recruitment was extremely tough for me as well. I applied to 32 companies, plus the confirmation at ByteDance which makes it 33 in total. I received interview opportunities from 10 companies, while the others either rejected my resume or I failed the written exam. I made it to the final interview stage for 6 companies, eventually receiving 5 offers. This year's situation is truly challenging. Compared to finding internships, last year I applied to three companies and got an offer from Tencent, while this year I applied to three companies and got an offer from ByteDance, SF Express, Ctrip, Pinduoduo, and 360.
Looking at my entire autumn recruitment journey, it was quite the long haul, from July to November. In July and August, only Baidu provided an interview opportunity, which I then failed. This meant that I spent those two months frantically submitting resumes and taking written exams, with almost no interview opportunities. The situation somewhat improved in September. Due to the lack of interview opportunities, I particularly cherished the chance for confirmation defense, so I was well-prepared. Additionally, due to the lack of interview opportunities, I felt like I was about to face unemployment. I vented to the teachers at the Network Center, and unexpectedly, they offered to help me apply to stay at school. This was something I hadn't expected and I am truly grateful for the unexpected opportunity.
The first offer I received was from ByteDance, which I only managed after a very difficult confirmation process. Thinking about the defense, facing 1v11 was truly heart-pounding. I prepared for a long time, and I can still recall my presentation slide and script. I even prepared many questions in advance for the questions that the successful candidates might ask. I practiced every day in a meeting room. The pressure was really intense. When it comes to confirmation, last year there were no students who didn't confirm, but this year it was a different story. Many students I know didn't manage to confirm.
The second offer I received was from SF Express, and the interviewer from SF Express made a deep impression on me during the second round. It was my first interview where I didn't even need to introduce myself. The interviewer immediately asked to see some DEMOs of the projects I had recently worked on, so I showed him my Github directly. It was quite exhilarating. In the end, I successfully secured the offer from SF Express and I'm very grateful to them.
The third offer I received was from Ctrip, and the second round with them left the deepest impression on me. The interviewer was really easy-going, no airs at all, basically just two people chatting casually. This offer from Ctrip really caught my attention. I heard it's not too intense and tiring, plus there are two days of WFH every week. Just thinking about it feels great.
The fourth offer I received was from Pinduoduo, and the first round with them left the deepest impression on me. The interviewer was a beautiful young lady. I'm really grateful that she put up with my unstable internet connection, probably due to the typhoon at the time. Pinduoduo is really doing well in overseas markets recently, especially in the low-end market where they have no rivals, and there is still plenty of room for development. It's pretty good.
The fifth offer I received was from 360, and the second round with them left the deepest impression on me. I met someone who really knew their stuff. They dug deep into the rich text related content with me. At that time, I hadn't had much exposure to it and was still a novice, so I struggled to answer the expert's questions. It was quite awkward, haha. I heard 360 also has a good work-life balance, so I feel it's worth considering.
Looking back on my 2022 internship and spring recruitment journey, I hope that the autumn recruitment process will be smoother. Unfortunately, this beautiful expectation didn't materialize, and the situation has worsened. The difficulty level is simply beyond comparison. However, relatively speaking, I am fortunate. At least I found a job and received some good offers. But what will happen next is uncertain. Once you start getting caught up in the hustle, it's difficult to stop. Considering the current situation, it's quite risky for a recent graduate. So, it's still necessary to remain vigilant and aware of the crisis, and continue to work on self-improvement.