Tough job market teaches China´s graduates a lesson in life

Most of the measures, including a three-year internship program for 1 million graduates, encourage students to lower their expectations to jobs in rural areas or in smaller firms, for example.

The first batch of the “internship bases” is mostly little-known private companies and some give the graduates an experience far from their imagined career.

"I tried almost everything except cooking in the hotel, such as room service, waitress and office work as well," Yan says.

It failed to lower her expectations, and Yan is still looking for any possible vacancy at a state-owned enterprise, which she believes may provide her with better career prospects.

"All my roommates have the same idea. We may accept lower salaries, but not mismatching or less decent jobs," she says.

Her words will disappoint officials and experts who have been telling graduates they must be more pragmatic.

The government has expanded higher education over the past decade. The number of students on campus has quadrupled since 1998, but the job market has failed to keep pace.