Chinese students are reportedly paying at much as $12,000 for mentoring services or internal referrals to enter global financial firms as demand for top jobs surges in the midst of a market slump.
Chinese students are paying for mentoring services and internal referrals into global financial firms, according to a «Bloomberg» report citing multiple mainland agencies.
The report claims that global firms targeted for jobs include Goldman Sachs, Citi, Citi Securities, hedge fund Citadel, consultant McKinsey & Co., and more.
Agency Costs
One agency was Chengdu-based DreambigCareer which was founded by ex-Credit Suisse banker Joseph Guo. It offers more than 100 hours of training and four to five mentors for each student which pay between a few hundred dollars to over $10,000.
Another agency is Breadoffer which charges $12,000 and $9,000 for an opportunity to be hired by Goldman Sachs and Citi Securities, respectively, according to its marketing materials.
The report calls Wall Street Tequilla – founded by ex-J.P. Morgan analyst Jerry Sun – the most expensive agency and the provider itself claims that it trained more than half of the Chinese that made it to the top nine global banks from 2015 to 2017.
Pay for Referrals
In addition to training areas like networking or writing cover letters, onlookers claim that the industry includes some questionable practices such as payment for internal referrals.
While this may not guarantee employment, it creates an advantage for applicants to more easily secure first round job interviews.
The report notes that most global firms named denied having any relationships with the mainland agencies.
Tight Job Market
Such agencies could see more headwinds as 9.1 million mainland fresh grads will compete in a tougher job market which includes a 12 percent drop in financial sector openings, according to recruitment website Zhaopin.com.
The website highlights a large increase in returnees heading home due to increased tensions with the west and the coronavirus pandemic.
