What it does: Information and telecommunication services (eg data communications, internet, mobile and fixed-line broadband).
Best known for: China Unicom is (Hong Kong) ranked 273rd among the Fortune Global 500 companies in 2018.
Staff stats: More than 10,000 employees.
The good bits: A generous compensation package that includes festival allowances, free shuttle bus, group medical coverage, performance bonuses and lunch allowances.
The not so good bits: A tedious recruitment process for the graduate trainee program that usually takes five months. China Unicom also requires applicants to have a good command of Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
China Unicom began to operate in Hong Kong in 2000 as an indirect subsidiary of China United Network Communications Group. The telecommunications company became a publicly listed entity on the Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges in the same year, followed by their inclusion to the Hang Seng Index in 2001 as a constituent stock. China Unicom was once part of the Fortune Global 500 in 2018. Institutional Investor also recognised them as ‘Asia’s No.1 Most Honored Telecom Company’ for three consecutive years.
China Unicom’s employees, including graduate trainees, are generally self-motivated to solve problems related to the telecommunications sector. Most employees in Hong Kong enjoy a healthy work-life balance with a five-day workweek between 9 am and 5.30 pm. New hires, however, need to expect a customer-oriented corporate culture. They’ll have an easier time to communicate with more clients if they are fluent in Chinese.
Otherwise, some employees said that a promotion will be difficult for non-Chinese speakers. There might be instances of workplace conflict arising from a person’s inability to speak and understand Chinese. An example involves feeling excluded from your team, as they try to communicate in Chinese with each other.
China Unicom’s biggest competitors include 21Vianet, China Mobile and HTHKH. 21Vianet is a Beijing-based company that started in 1999. The group’s business focuses on the data processing services industry. China Mobile is a publicly listed telecommunication company in Hong Kong that began in 1997. HTHKH is another telecommunications business in Hong Kong, but they are a more recent organisation that was founded in 2009.
China Unicom’s corporate social responsibility hinges on environmental, governance and social (ESG) initiatives. The company won awards in 2019 including The Asset’s Gold Award for corporate governance, social responsibility and investor relations; Institutional Investor’s top ESG rank for Asian telecoms; and Corporate Governance of Asia’s Best of Asia Award for corporate governance.
External donations in 2018 also amounted to RMB11.04 million. Most of the charitable contributions helped to alleviate poverty in targeted areas. The company also spent more than RMB100 million in the same year on sustainable initiatives, particularly for energy conservation and discharge reduction.
China Unicom prefers to hire individuals with in-depth knowledge and interest in the telecommunications industry. A relevant bachelor’s degree for a job opportunity may allow a graduate to get a foot in the door, but new hires must demonstrate a genuine desire to learn more about the industry to remain with the company. Fluency in the abovementioned languages will also be useful to advance one’s career at China Unicom.
China Unicom typically begins to accept applications for the graduate trainee program in February every year. Graduates may need to wait until June to know the results of their applications. The company may start with onboarding and training in September and job rotations in October. Graduate trainee applicants must have a good command of written and spoken Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
Graduates can apply online for the program, which doesn’t require a specific number of years in professional experience. The company doesn’t seem to have plenty of internship opportunities. Aspiring interns may need to pass a one-hour test with most questions about mathematics. They would then have to attend an on-site assessment. China Unicom could take one week to process candidates for internships.
Interns at China Unicom earn an average of HKD7,000 per month. The average monthly salaries of IT engineers range from HKD22,000 to HKD24,000, while developers earn between HKD19,000 and HKD20,000 per month on average. Some employees are happy with their double pay and overtime pay, but these indicate long working hours at the company. Other benefits include festival allowances, free shuttle bus, group medical coverage, performance bonuses and lunch allowances depending on the role.
The graduate trainee program’s highlights include job rotations, mentorship and training. China Unicom divided the responsibilities of trainees into four areas: job exposure to the telecommunications industry, mentor’s guidance, job rotations in several departments and different learning opportunities throughout the program.
Recent graduates with degrees in computer science, IT, information engineering or telecommunications will stand out among their peers. Entry-level roles at the company such as HR executives require at least one year of relevant work experience. China Unicom also considers fresh graduates for an HR executive role, but individuals with one to three years of work experience will have the advantage