After successfully learning about Uniqlo's high-salary job openings, he immediately submitted his electronic resume online. Then, he brought his resume to the Uniqlo store at Beijing Longde Plaza. However, after he came out of the store, he made the opposite decision.
According to his introduction, joining Uniqlo involves 8 steps including online application evaluation, initial interview, second interview, final interview, offer, training, store operation practice, and formal employment. In each interview step, a large number of people are eliminated. Finally getting hired is not the end, but just the beginning.
"The HR assistant who interviewed me told me that although the daily working hours are specified as 8 hours, you definitely need to come an hour or two earlier for inventory and cleaning, and this part of the time is not counted within the working hours. After work, you also have to work overtime appropriately, so in total, the actual daily working time is basically around 12 hours. Additionally, vacation time needs to be arranged according to the store's operational situation, for example, if the store isn't busy on Tuesday afternoon, they'll give you half a day off, then another half day on Wednesday afternoon, which adds up to one day of vacation." Chenggong said this to the reporter.
But he also told the reporter that for the fast-moving consumer goods industry, such workload intensity was actually something he had mentally prepared for. What he couldn't bear were the "discounted" salary and "memorization."
"The person who interviewed me said, although the salary is 5400-6000, it is premised on meeting the company's requirements. All tasks in the store, big or small, have strict requirements from Uniqlo. For instance, neatly folding a certain number of clothes within a minute, if you can't meet the requirement, you get fined; additionally, you must always keep the store clean, often there will be supervisors sent by the company pretending to be customers to check the store, if they wipe dust off the shelves with white paper, you get fined. Some seniors told me that generally reserve cadres can earn a monthly salary of around 3500-4500."
What confused Chenggong the most was that the company required everyone to remember the contents of the employee manual. He gestured with his finger, roughly two centimeters thick. "Such a thick book, he will test you on it. If you want to pass, you can only memorize the whole thing."
Under these conditions, many people chose to leave. Chenggong told the reporter that the seniors in the store told him that last year, more than 20 reserve cadres joined, now only two remain, one of whom has already found another job, just waiting for the contract period to be over before leaving.
But Chenggong didn't complain. In his view, this was caused by cultural differences. "You can't say Uniqlo is deceiving people. Strict and standardized management standards, and ensuring their strict implementation, is very important for any company. Japanese people are meticulous and serious, and do things with great attention to detail. Such standards might be normal for Japanese people, but for me, I feel uncomfortable. I can't endure it."
Two birds with one stone
It is understood that Uniqlo has held campus recruitment events for many consecutive years, and the number of participants has been increasing annually. For instance, in 2009, Uniqlo recruited 180 reserve store managers, last year it rose to 300, and this year it reached 350. Behind this, lies its rapid expansion leading to a huge demand for management talent.
Such demand also exists in Chinese apparel enterprises. In fact, for a long time, China's apparel industry has only remained at the basic stage. There are many people in the apparel industry, but very few mid-to-high-end management talents that can meet current and future development requirements. Although domestic apparel enterprises have extended their reach to university students early on, university students haven't shown much interest.
"I studied in Quanzhou, graduated last year, at that time many sports brands were hiring reserve cadres, with salaries of only over 2000." Chenggong told the reporter, "In comparison, Uniqlo offers a salary of 6000, changing the perception of selling clothes, indeed quite attractive."
However, some people question whether Uniqlo's recruitment of top university students is just a gimmick, "If hiring store clerks or managers, vocational school or high school education would suffice, why recruit graduates from prestigious universities?"
In fact, from September 20th to November 10th, Uniqlo's recruitment team traversed 55 prestigious universities across China, especially the recruitment in Peking University, Tsinghua University, and other five schools, which attracted widespread media attention. In just over a month, Uniqlo sparked a trend among university students, and information about Uniqlo's campus recruitment filled Renren Network, various campus BBS, Weibo, and other online tools commonly used by university students. During this period, Uniqlo's fame and reputation also improved.
Despite various doubts, it is certain that Uniqlo achieved a double harvest in terms of talent and reputation. For domestic apparel enterprises, the inevitable acceleration of talent introduction costs is unavoidable. Are domestic apparel enterprises ready? Related theme articles: http://blog.chinabyte.com/a/2684930.html http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_9d021e5d01011ov1.html http://www.diglog.com/story/technology_internet_674495.html