China Career Pathways Program Helps Students Nab That Post-Degree Job

Before Harris School of Public Policy students even step onto the University of Chicago campus, the school’s Career Development Office (CDO) is urging them to think about another big leap: the one into a post-degree job.

“We encourage them to do a lot of career planning before they start their studies,” said Christina Xu, associate director, Employer Partnerships, at Harris. “So, there's a need to support them and engage them early on, which we do — we want to make sure they have a leg up.”

That early support and engagement comes through a robust array of CDO opportunities, including something new, the Harris China Career Pathways Program, a multi-city initiative centered in the UChicago Center in Beijing.

Over two weeks this past summer, the inaugural Pathways program exposed dozens of students to a Career Boot Camp, three career fairs, coaching sessions, send-off parties, meetups with Harris alumni, and treks to five companies, Kuaishou Technology, Sinolink Securities, AlphaSights, and L'Oréal. Many of the activities were held in Beijing, but Shanghai and Shenzhen were other stops, all aimed at giving students an early boost toward fulfilling their career ambitions. 

The initiative largely attracted incoming students fresh from undergraduate degree programs, said Marina Williams, associate director, Career & Leadership Readiness, at Harris. Not all the nearly 60 participants had committed to Harris at the outset of the program, but by the start of autumn quarter, 100% of them had.

The program’s goal was to give students unmatched career-planning experiences, building upon CDO’s existing category-leading offerings and resources. The in-person boot camp, for example, presented students with views of the hiring landscapes in the United States and China. Attendees did hands-on work, too, creating LinkedIn profiles that were employer-engagement ready and doing peer reviews of resumes.

Program sessions, as well as interactions with Harris alumni and Chinese business leaders, pushed attendees to think in new ways. That included students on a master’s-to-PhD path or those undecided about their next step.

That was the case for Kongdi Zheng, now a first year MPP student. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international economics and trade in June at Nanjing University of Finance & Economics and by July was immersed in the Pathways Program, attending events in Shanghai and Beijing.

“I wanted to meet incoming students before arriving in Chicago because making new friends is so important,” Zheng said. Uncertain about her future path, Zheng made many new acquaintances and added that the boot camp and meeting with Harris alumni were also valuable. 

“I really wanted to hear stories about their career paths, especially if they were Harris MPP alumni,” she said.

To maximize the range of career path options, Xu, Williams, and their CDO team colleagues booked two days of treks to employers. On July 24, for example, Guojin Securities in Shanghai hosted 17 Pathways Program attendees. Employees and interns from the human resources department, research institute, and investment bank spoke about ways to “move from the classroom to the company” and establish clearer career goals, the firm said. 

One of those interns was second year Harris MPP student Qirui Mao, who was an investment intern in the firm’s energy and automobile division. 

The treks also put Harris’ in-demand skill set on display, with students landing interviews for internships and management trainee programs as a direct result of the Pathways Program. 

“It’s very helpful for the student to be able to have firsthand experience, to be in a company, to really see in there, to see what it’s like,” Xu said. “And it’s also a plus for the employers to get to know these talented students, who very soon will possess world-class data and policy analysis skills.”

The professionals from Guojin Securities echoed that. “Through this company open day,” one of them said, “we got to know these promising young leaders and they deepened their understanding of the financial industry, gained an understanding of the actual work of relevant positions in securities companies, and hopefully became more confident about their future job search and career options.”

That confidence includes being open to new possibilities. “Some students went on the treks thinking one way, perhaps about careers in finance very broadly. But visiting other industries seemed to open their minds to different opportunities or more specific paths,” Xu said. “For instance, they saw that pursuing finance does not limit you to working at a traditional finance company. The treks showed them a fuller range of what is possible after they get their degree.” 

Zheng said she is ready to explore options: “I thought I needed to be committed to one specific area, like finance,” she said. “But when I arrived in Chicago, I realized that many of my new classmates were still undecided about their paths forward,” she said. “Their stories combined with the Pathways Program experience showed me that I need to be confident. I don't need to follow anyone else’s career path. I will plan step by step and have my own story.”