Charlotta Lagerdahl, Director, Corporate Communications, MSL China and Director Brand & Talent, MSLGROUP Asia
Today, we move on to our third archetype from MSL China’s latest whitepaper From Mao to More: Catching up with the next generation of talent in China – the Adventurist.
Me and the World
Adventurists never make long-term plans for the future. Instead they prefer to “go with the flow”, and “see what happens”. This group is the most changeable and unpredictable of the four types. Adventurists are much like Careerists due to their focus on learning and personal development, but whereas Careerists have a clear and consistent career focus, Adventurists are willing, or want, to try different professions. Of the four profiles, they are the most confused about their future careers.
Adventurists value passion – including fun and diversified work assignments – freedom, independence and international assignments above all other aspects. They dream about working in a dynamic and energetic workplace with a multinational workforce. Adventurists like change and get easily bored if they are not stimulated. Of the four types, Adventurists are the ones who talk about being the most engaged in their future job – but only if they really like it.
By highlighting “passion” and “people with passion” in recruitment ads, Google has become one of the most attractive employers in China – especially amongst Adventurists. Google stresses that “No matter what major you are in, if you have passion, Google is your home”. The Chinese e-commerce company DangDang.com communicates a similar message to its potential employees; they stress that they do not choose talent based on their major; instead, they look for people with passion. According to DangDang.com, a person with passion will learn fast and work better. While Careerists argue that it is not possible to combine a career with a hobby, Adventurists think that it is. For instance, several students interviewed pointed out that they want to combine their interests in sports with their job.
Want to be in Control
Adventurists want to create their own path in the work place, and they want their superiors to be supportive and not interfere too much. They want to be in command of their own work time and treasure flexible work hours and the ability to work from home whenever they want.
Where Ever the Wind Takes Me
Of the four profiles, Adventurists have the strongest desire to discover the world outside of China. Freedom is a key concept for Adventurists.
Eager to Interact with Multinationals
Adventurists typically feel that working for state owned enterprises implies too little excitement and too much stability; this life does not suit their adventurous aspirations. Thus, these students prefer to work for multinational companies or large Chinese companies with assignments abroad. Adventurists also have a desire to communicate with different nationalities and they are more comfortable than the other profiles in interacting with foreigners.
Next week will be the last in our series of posts taken from the whitepaper From Mao to More: Catching up with the next generation of talent in China. In the last blog, we’ll learn more about those who want to contribute to society – the Idealist.
