Civil service exam is a tough hurdle
- Source: Global Times
- [04:25 October 26 2009]
- Comments
The candidates enter the examination hall of the competition on the nation's civil service exam(file photo)
By Zhang Lei
Competition on the nation's civil service exam is so fierce this year that in some cases over 4,000 candidates are competing for one government job.
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 1.35 million candidates have passed the qualification evaluation and 1 million are expected to take the exam.
More than 130 central government departments and subordinate agencies will recruit 15,000 civil servants this year, the ministry said.
That means too many people chasing too few jobs.
The ministry said 230,000 people applied for positions directly under the Central Government and its institutions above the provincial level, and 800,000 applied for positions at the county level.
One job vacancy at the European Office of the International Department of the Ministry of Science and Technology attracted 4,080 applicants.
Jobs at railway public security and weather departments proved to be much less attractive. Thirty job vacancies were left open by the application deadline Saturday.
Huang Juan, 26, who works for a foreign company in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, sat for the exam a fifth time without any preparation. She said there was no point in cramming for the exam because it mainly required speed-reading and quick responses on a broad accumulation of knowledge.
"Several of my friends passed the government exam without preparation," she said. "The odds of passing the test are higher than the lottery. But I would like to take a chance anyway. Maybe I can win it with my relaxed and positive mind,"she added.
A graduate of Renmin University of China surnamed Xing said he crammed for the exam for an entire year and beat out 40 other candidates.
