Chinese students at New York University organize an annual career forum to help graduates find jobs (GAO YU)

The annual career forum presented by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association of New York University (NYU) was held on October 30 on campus. Titled "The Way to Success," the forum aimed to analyze the current economic situation, provide valuable information about the job market, and share personal career paths as well as help Chinese students find a job with useful tips.

Several practicing professionals from top financial groups including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were invited to give keynote speeches at this year's forum, making a clear read of the economic situation and, more importantly, emphasizing that the labor supply still exceeds market demand.

"I am worried about finding a job after graduation," said Tao Yuan, a second-year graduate student in finance engineering who will graduate from NYU by the end of this year. "I want to get more information about the job market and learn about others' experiences in job hunting. That's why I am here."

"The big banks have continued making big profits, and hedge funds recovered rapidly in 2009, which indicates that the economic situation is definitely better than last year," said Tom Gan, Vice President of Options Group. "However, new graduates, especially Chinese students, still face tremendous difficulties in job hunting because of their disadvantage in language and social networking."

Indicating the importance of strong preparation by giving several practical tips on interviews and resumes, the professionals at the forum encouraged students to keep trying to do abundant research in the field they would like to get involved in, and fully understand what jobs are available in the wake of the economic recession.

According to the United States Department of Labor, the country's unemployment rate in September this year was 9.8 percent.

"The unemployment rate is still at a high level, which means that job opportunities are limited. The economy is so low that I cannot help worrying about it. The better I prepare, the better chances I have," said Hong Jiaqi, who works at a department store in New York City. Having graduated from State University of New York last year, he attended the forum to seek new opportunities.

"Try your best to learn more when you are in school, and carefully think about the requirements for the job you want," said Huang Ting, a language lecturer at NYU. Huang graduated from Iowa University in July with a degree in TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) and received several offers in February and March this year. "For my major, experience is extremely important. So when I studied in college, I spent a lot of time expanding my teaching experience. It absolutely works."

(Reporting from New York)