Guanxi in Recruiting- A New Look, Part I
So Chinese are known for doing business with their friends. The word Guanxi is being internationalized as networking did not seem to capture what was happening. I want to talk about Guanxi in recruiting.
Why do Chinese work with friends and relatives?
Trust. They hire a relative while thinking: “You may not have as much ability, but I know you will not steal it all.”
With no functioning better business bureau and many people seeing that anything goes, then the Chinese business people themselves feel uneasy and confused in a world that is not very safe or predictable. You may also like Chinese Culture in Business.
The Chinese want to know what is really in your heart before committing to you. They do this out of habit as they live in China. You should do the same.
For example, they do not hire on resume, and you should not either. I do not mean to throw out the resume. Rather, I hope you recognize that knowing what is inside a person is more important than what he says he did on his resume.
Guanxi in Recruiting Should Come After You Have Reason to Trust
Local Chinese companies do not trust resume and interviews. As outsiders, it is nonsense to think we are better than them at knowing who to hire. We get lucky a few times, and think we are smart. After getting burned a few times, I got smarter. Finally, I opened my own business to help other Westrn companies make Guanxi with the right candidates.
Our value added to companies is how we respond to this challenge by going the extra mile to check out candidates as you cannot just hire your relatives here. Then when you hire, your Guanxi will not be manipulated by the candidate. We first tell you who you can trust before you have to make the hire.