BECAUSE of SARS outbreak, university career counselors are worried that there might be a big drop in the employment rate for the Class of 2003.

Job-search activities are being hampered, which could also cause delays in graduating at some schools.

Companies cancelled all campus recruiting at Tsinghua University for April and May, according to Chen Jihe, the university's director of career services.

At Remin University, company job offerings are down 10 per cent from last year, a career officer said, adding that trade and travel companies and some foreign firms were recruiting fewer people at the school.

A Beijing trade company that had recruitment ads on a university Website in March also dropped plans to hire five graduates.

"Business is very slow at the moment and will probably be the same in the next half of this year, so we don't need new staff," said one company manager.

Universities and colleges are normally required to report the hirings of graduates to the Education Ministry by the end of May. But, so far the ministry has not asked for any figures. Chen, Tsinghua's career services director, said he expected the employment rate to be lower.

Jiang Xihe, deputy director of careers services at the Central University of Finance and Economics, says the same thing and that fewer than 50 per cent of her school's more than 1,000 graduates have found jobs.

The uncertainty of the situation could cause delays in graduating.

"Usually, most work can be taken care of before June. But the future now is unpredictable because of SARS," said Huo Zhanxian, director of career services at the University of International Business and Economics.

The job hunt has taken on a new look since face-to-face interviews have been cancelled.

Many people are sending applications online. The Yangtze Evening News has reported that a Nanjing human resources Website has been receiving over 20,000 hits a day, twice the normal rate for this time of year.

So, how good is the online approach? One answer is "not much."

"The problem is the steps that follow, the interviews and internships, can hardly be done online. For interviews, students have no choice but to wait," said Chen.

That's the case with one Nanjing University student, named Gu, who has had to put her job search on hold. She tried to schedule interviews with several companies in Nanjing, but that has been brought almost to a complete stop because of SARS. She said the chances of finding a job before July are slim.

In times of crisis, waiting is not the solution and career officers advise students to take active steps.

"Students need to make full use of the telephone, faxes, Internet, and regular mail to contact companies and keep the job search going," Chen said.

The career officer, Huo, thinks students need to lower their expectations. "Be practical. Don't hang on to dreams of high pay and work in a big city."

Jiang Xihe says that students who have returned home because of SARS could try to find a job in nearby cities or locally.

"Just get a job first, then you can decide to move back to the big city later on," Jiang said.

(21st Century Zhang Haigang 17-05-2003)