“Two years ago, I wasn’t surprised when a production manager told me he was looking for opportunity after staying in an OEM for 5 years,” says Anny Jiang, division manager of auto team, “but things are very different now, more and more talents chose to hop away only when they have been in the last position for 2-3 years, or even less.” Then we can’t help but asking: What cause the brain drain? And what are the latest recruiting trends in auto industry?
We can’t deny the brands attraction for candidate 3 years ago, especially when they hear big names like BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, General Motor, Volvo, etc. But that belongs to the past. With more and more joint venture and private owned companies set up in China, brand is no longer big buzz anymore: joint venture and private brands have been more and more recognized by not only the general public, but also auto industrial experts, names including Cherry, Chang an Mazda, BMW brilliance, BBDC, etc. Big brands are not as “big” when candidates think about their personal career path.
Secondly, as more and more new cars are lunched, the competition is getting intense no longer in the quantity sales, but in the after-sale services section, which is now the crucial attraction for customers, accordingly, after sales person with sophisticated technology background are in great demand and become the competition driving force between auto giants.
Thirdly, as more and more auto-components suppliers are setting up offices and manufacture branches in China, skilled and experienced engineers and designers from other OEMs has never been more popular, especially the research and development engineers who not only have the necessary auto knowledge but also knows the industry market and trends, “those who can skillfully apply their expertise in the researching work are extremely hot,” says Anny, “and with many of the expansion plan in China, big names like TRW, Jonson Control, Bosch and Visteon are speeding up their recruitment as fast as possible. “
As compared to international auto industries, where self development related experts take at least 30% headcounts, China have only few years experience in auto research and development section, and thus relevant engineers and designers are in great shortage. Even though more and more expats are coming to China, there are still many vacancies to fill.
Anny Jiang runs Antal International’s auto team based in Beijing and Shanghai. This division recruits high-performance profiles for automotive sales & marketing, supply chain, R&D, Engineering and other general functions, as well as in machinery and Aerospace. Auto team has proven track record in recruiting positions of managers, directors in plants, sourcing centre, R&D centre, representative office both in tier one city and tier two city.
For further information please contact automotive@antal.com.cn or telephone +86 10 6410 8866.