E Fund Management, a well-known fund management company based in Guangzhou, is using a surprising approach in its campus recruitment at Tsinghua University, and it turns out that it is not alone.

According to Mr. Liao, the company's human resources (HR) manager, they only want to employ graduates majoring in science and technology as industry analyzers.

Many would think that the posts, which come with high incomes and great potential for career development, would be filled by those with backgrounds in finance or economics, but Liao explains: "An industry analyzer needs to have a sense of the overall development of the industry... science and technology graduates can grasp trends faster than those with other majors, even if they haven't studied fund management."

According to the HR department at Yinhua Fund Management, analyzers and researchers need to use mathematical and computing skills in their daily work, particularly in analyzing financial statements, and science and technology backgrounds provide both.

As a booming industry, fund management companies need lots of talent for investment research, marketing and product design.

Boshi Fund Management HR manager Yin Qingjun said: "My company needs science and technology majors to serve industries like biopharmacy, telecommunications and computing which require high-level background information when doing analysis. We prefer graduates with both industry and financial knowledge."

Other qualities like diligence and accurate thinking, both nurtured in scientific study, are also important in recruiting.

As for customs agents, logistics and transportation majors used to be the best choices. But the want ads of Beijing Pacific Logistics ask for new hands with potential, making no mention of a particular major.

Transferable skills and an ability to adapt to new environments are increasingly valued in the workplace, and candidates will need to keep up with changing requirements in order to attract employers' attention.

(China.org.cn December 5, 2004)