Millennials lead way in rapid job advancement

The millennial generation - people born from 1980 to 1995 - is showing some distinctive features as it takes over workplaces.

For one thing, millennials are moving faster along their career ladder, according to a report released by social network LinkedIn on Tuesday in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

The report, based on a surveys of 5,000 millennials around the globe, said the workers need 8.6 years, on average, to climb from company newcomer to director or similar level, but it took people born in the 1970s about twice that amount of time - 17.4 years.

Wang Di, vice-president of LinkedIn China, said young people in China have more opportunities to be promoted because of the rapid development of the economy and new industries over the past decade.

"They are more active in career selection, and the rate of changing jobs is higher, Wang said, adding that 21 percent of millennials leave a company because they want to try another industry. And that usually means a cutting-edge new industry, such as big data, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

Because of its generally strong spirit of innovation, Shenzhen, a southern city known for encouragement of entrepreneurship, is especially attractive for the millennial generation, Wang said.

Shenzhen's attraction index - the ratio of employees flowing in and out of the city in the same year - was 1.56 in 2016, second in the nation behind Shanghai's 1.74.

The city also ranks third in growing its millennial population, after Shanghai and Beijing.

Shenzhen also provides the most promising career development outlook, Wang said.

The LinkedIn report said that millennials with manager or director titles account for 36 percent of the city's millennial population - the highest of all first-tier cities in China.

Shenzhen-based Tencent and Huawei are also among the five most popular companies for millennials, the report said.

Pan Hao, founder of Chaihuo Maker Space, the first maker space in Shenzhen, and Seeed Studio, China's largest open-source manufacturer, believes Shenzhen is a prime place for young innovators to start their careers.

Pan, who is from Sichuan province, started his career in Beijing. But after a trip to Shenzhen, he soon decided to move there.

"I was attracted by the hardware resources," he said.

The Huaqiang North Electronic Market in Shenzhen is well-known for its wide variety of electronic components and devices. After visiting a few shops in the market, Pan asked his colleagues to deliver his luggage to the city - he didn't even bother to go back Beijing.

Pan was awarded the honor of being one of five top representatives of the millennial generation by LinkedIn China, based on page views, name recognition, the site's recommendation index, popularity and activeness.

grace@chinadailyhk.com

(China Daily 09/21/2016 page5)