Ying Jie ranks among a group of vloggers who have taken to social media to detail their daily lives working in China's civil service.

What makes the 29-year-old a little different from his colleagues is that he completed his studies overseas.

In a three-minute vlog he posted recently on Xiaohongshu, the smartly dressed Ying detailed his 30-minute drive to the office, breakfast in the canteen and the beginning of his working day.

In 2020, with a bachelor's degree in finance from Jinan University, a highly regarded college in Guangdong province, and a master's degree in business analysis from the University of Sydney, Ying decided to return to his hometown of Foshan to take the civil service exam.

Getting a job in the civil service has a long history in China, and passing the entrance exam and gaining a position effectively means a job for life, offering more stability than working in the private sector.

The number of applicants who passed vetting for the annual recruitment exams for central and State organs hit a record 3.03 million last year, up from 2.6 million the previous year, indicating how people are turning to the civil service in the often volatile and unpredictable job market.

Figures show 39,600 central government jobs are being offered this year, with there being one job per 77 applicants on average, slightly higher than the 1-70 ratio last year. The most sought-after position is at the National Bureau of Statistics where 3,572 vied for a single post.

Previously, highly educated overseas graduates were thought to be "above" taking the civil service exam, instead having eyes on the private sector. But recent high-profile cases have proved those thoughts wrong.

"Overseas graduates with similar higher education backgrounds usually chose to seek job opportunities in the internet industry, at consultancies or securities firms," Ying said.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenging job market with shrinking employment opportunities, "I thought international students were already at a disadvantage when seeking employment after returning to their home country," he said.

The internet industry was booming in China as Ying pursued further education overseas. "Actually, I missed out on a lot of related information and recruitment opportunities," Ying said, adding that he struggled to compete for jobs both at home and abroad.

With the outlook grim, and his parents' encouragement, Ying decided to give the service exam a go instead of carrying on down the private sector path.

"If I have interviews at 10 companies, for instance, I need to prepare different materials for each. With the civil service exams I could focus on just two main subjects," Ying said.

After taking four exams at different levels, including the national, provincial and city levels, Ying settled on an economics position at the local government of Foshan.

"I didn't expect there to be so much administrative work, and I'm still exploring the rules as a relative novice," he said.

"More importantly, interpersonal relationships are challenging and more sophisticated than in private enterprises, I've found," he said, adding that he is gradually building out his social networks.

Ying said he is satisfied with his job because of its relevance to his majors and reasonable, though not extortionate, remuneration.

"The duties match what I want to do and are in the field I want to engage in," he said.

His current income as a civil servant inevitably falls short of the amount that he thought he would earn in the past, but Ying has learned to live with his decisions and manage expectations.

"Learning to accept and appreciate this is essential for achieving a sense of stable happiness," he said.

Students who study overseas often have high expectations for themselves when returning to their home country, according to Ying.

"After taking up civil service positions, they might feel that the system does not require an overly assertive personality or exceptionally strong professional skills, which could lead to disappointment," he said.

It's more important to cultivate a sense of public duty and take on the responsibility of serving the country, he added.

However, some commented on Ying's posts that overseas graduates are only working in government organs or public institutions because of the current situation in the job market.

Wang Zihuan, a 25-year-old social science postgraduate from the University of Hong Kong, dreamed big when he returned to his hometown in Zhejiang province in June 2022.

"At that time, I had an obsession with technology and internet companies, where people work hard every day from early morning until 10 pm. They recruit graduates from top universities, and it's a highly competitive sector. I felt like that's where I need to be, so I must give it a try," Wang said.

Wang submitted resumes to at least 60 companies, most of them in top-tier cities, during the autumn recruitment season, including tech giants Tencent and Alibaba, as well as automobile and gaming enterprises.

Most of the recruitment processes ended at the examination stage while some proceeded to rounds of interviews, but he received no follow-up calls, he said.

According to Wang, he was in the top 2 percent of the approximately 300,000 candidates in Zhejiang for the gaokao, or college entrance examination, and a new media graduate from Communication University of China in Beijing.

Despite pursuing further education outside of the Chinese mainland, Wang didn't receive any offers after returning home.

"Throughout the process, my confidence and pride were repeatedly hit. I even got a small notebook to keep track of the companies and positions I have applied for. Eventually, I stopped recording because it felt like there was no progress," he said.

He started to seriously consider a backup plan amid the anxiety, which was taking the civil service exam at both the national and provincial levels at the end of 2022.

Wang said he found the exam questions for the civil service, in an administrative aptitude test and essay writing test, "quite interesting", and are favorable for liberal arts students like him.

"For the first time in my life, I found I was well-suited for an exam," he said.

Aiming for a post in the national tax system, Wang initially applied for the national exam.

Coincidentally, the exam in Zhejiang that year was held early while the national exam was postponed to January 2023 due to the pandemic.

To his great relief, Wang learned of his gaining a civil service position in his hometown just before the Chinese New Year.

He later found during orientation and training that he was the only non-mainland graduate among the 40 new employees the district government enrolled that year.

"Reflecting on my choices, it seems like my life has always been on a path of unintended yet relatively correct decisions," Wang said after being in his new post for a year.

"I no longer believe that a job must drain 100 percent of your abilities and energy to be considered valuable," he said.

Meanwhile, the pace and pay of his civil service work are more satisfying than he imagined before starting the job.

"Overtime is actually quite common, but the pace is not that relentless," Wang said, adding that the work is relatively more flexible and allows him to better manage his schedule.

Part of his duties, such as drafting speech materials, also match with his education background, he said.

"Finding ways to maximize your talents within a set framework is also a romantic endeavor," he said.

For Wang and many others who chose to study for a master's degree outside of the Chinese mainland, the shorter programs can bring them an age advantage, particularly in government positions that emphasize experience and seniority.

Wang said he is at least one or two years younger than his peers who entered the civil service at the same time.

Despite having a secure job and stable life, Wang said he has expectations for advancement and hopes to progress further based on his abilities.

"I made the choice that, while uncertain at the time, has turned out well so far," he said.

Both Ying and Wang have shared their experiences and provided tips through their Xiaohongshu posts for students wanting to sit in the civil service recruitment exams.

Some followers with similar education backgrounds left comments asking for advice on taking the exam, while some advised netizens to think twice before taking government positions.

"There is no one definite right path, only the one that suits you. Never glorify a road you have not yet traveled," Wang said.

zhaoyimeng@chinadaily.com.cn