# Salary Expectations



## IDDave (Aug 18, 2014)

Hello everyone. 
I have a question regarding salary expectations when applying for a position in China. I've looked at the cost of living, average salary for the region, and other related parameters, and came up with what I thought was a realistic salary expectation. But I came across a thread where a commenter mentioned that expats are paid a much higher salary than non-expats. Any truth to that? Perhaps there were some special conditions that warranted a much higher salary that weren't mentioned in the post. Not sure though since the commenter didn't elaborate.

Also, when HR is asking for salary expectations to be included with your resume, what do you use as a starting point? Obviously you want to be able to maintain a standard of living so I used related factors such as cost of living, etc. Don't want to scare them off, but want to put down something reasonable without giving up the farm. Appreciate all your help!


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

You fail to mention the position you are seeking, it makes a massive difference.


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## IDDave (Aug 18, 2014)

It's a Sales Assistant (English speaking) position.


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

IDDave said:


> It's a Sales Assistant (English speaking) position.


You are not giving me much to go on here Dave but this is a low position and as such you will not be able to get a work permit. Have you discussed this with them?


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## IDDave (Aug 18, 2014)

No, not yet. Good point though. Thanks.


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

IDDave said:


> No, not yet. Good point though. Thanks.


The ability to obtain a work permit is key to obtaining work in China and the government are coming down hard on this just lately. There are so many restrictions on this permit now. 

I have been here 20years and have had many work permits but now I am over 60 and this is the legal retirement age in china so I cannot get a work permit, I am also married to a chinese national. But am a shareholder in a large company here so I am allowed to visit the premises but not allowed to do any actual work.

You need to have very good qualifications and experience and the quals should show a uni degree at least or forget it. If you work without a permit you are liable to a large fine and deportation and the company that employs you is heading for a big headache, min 50k fine plus other punishment.

So please protect yourself and check out the labour laws as companies will use you and then at no notice drop you.


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## IDDave (Aug 18, 2014)

I have a University degree with lots of business/sales experience. The company I'm applying to appears to be a legitimate, multinational company. It never occurred to me that they might use me then drop me like a rock. Course it wouldn't be the first time its happened to me! 

Thank you so much for your help. I'll let you know what happens.


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

IDDave said:


> I have a University degree with lots of business/sales experience. The company I'm applying to appears to be a legitimate, multinational company. It never occurred to me that they might use me then drop me like a rock. Course it wouldn't be the first time its happened to me!
> 
> Thank you so much for your help. I'll let you know what happens.


Is it a Chinese company or? If it is not a Chinese company you should be OK but do your homework first. Salary is a very difficult subject,especially in sales. But as a rule of thumb anything less than 10k rmb is a none starter. Unless you are a first time worker in this job with no experience then under 10k is ok.


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## IDDave (Aug 18, 2014)

It's a western company. And to your point earlier about working without a Visa, I wouldn't do that. That's not me. I want to stay and be legal and contribute. I wouldn't jeopardize that for anything.


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## Zhongshan Billy (May 18, 2014)

It will also depend which part to the country you will be working in. The further you get from Beijing and Shanghai then the salary goes down accordingly.

English speaking sales staff are paid a little more than their non English speaking counterparts but the company I have an interest in, here in Zhongshan, does not pay anyone anything like 10,000 rmb a month.

Zhongshan Billy


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## TheGuardan (Jul 17, 2014)

yeah, the city makes a big difference. Shanghai and Suzhou, Hangzhou etc are not far from each other but there is quite a bit of difference in value for money between the latter two and Shanghai when it comes to rent.


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## badsector (May 23, 2014)

Eric in china said:


> The ability to obtain a work permit is key to obtaining work in China and the government are coming down hard on this just lately. There are so many restrictions on this permit now.


i think they are coming down hard on biz visa only. my colleagues were all force to apply work permit now and not all has a degree. they also reported very low salary(<3k rmb)
so far... none was rejected before. 

where as i'm station at the northern part of china, it's still relatively easy to obtain F visa. 
a company invitation letter, a invitation letter from the dept of commerce. u are good to go.


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

badsector said:


> i think they are coming down hard on biz visa only. my colleagues were all force to apply work permit now and not all has a degree. they also reported very low salary(<3k rmb)
> so far... none was rejected before.
> 
> where as i'm station at the northern part of china, it's still relatively easy to obtain F visa.
> a company invitation letter, a invitation letter from the dept of commerce. u are good to go.


F Visa is for doing business in China, Z visa is the work visa. But it all depends on which part of China you are in. I was refused a work permit for a company in Henan, so the company sent me to their Shanghai branch where I got a permit no problem.


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## Vincent China (Dec 27, 2012)

HI IDDave,

I'm working as "Sales" for a foreign company in China.
In my opinion, if you already have some sales background, I suggest you should ask around 15K RMB / month + some benefits like housing allowance (part of your rental fee), 1 air ticket/year to US, health insurance, ...

For visa, if it's multinational company and they already have foreign staff, don't worry too much. The company will handle this matter and will support you to apply for Z visa and then working/resident permit.

In which city is our job offer ?

Vincent.


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