For overseas graduates who returned to China last year to find jobs, the computer, internet and telecommunications industries were among the most popular, while the energy, environmental and chemical fields surged to become the third-largest employment choices, according to a new report.

Jointly released by overseas consultancy EIC Education and recruitment portal 51Job on Sunday, the 2024 employment competitiveness survey report for overseas returnees aims to serve as an employment reference for students studying abroad.

Data from this year's campus recruitment survey showed that computer, internet, telecommunications and electronics industries remain the top choices of overseas returnees, followed by accounting, finance, banking and insurance.

Ban Fengzhao, campus recruitment director of 51Job, said the energy, environmental and chemical sectors surged last year, becoming the third-largest employment market for returnees, overtaking the manufacturing industry.

While first-tier cities remained top destinations for job seekers, there has been a decline in preferences for Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Ban said.

Emerging major cities such as Chengdu in Sichuan province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Nanjing in Jiangsu province and Wuhan in Hubei province have become significantly more popular for people looking for work, he added.

Guo Bei, chief operating officer of EIC Education, said half the employers in China are willing to offer overseas returnees better benefits than domestic graduates, including higher salaries and promotion opportunities.

Overseas graduates with master's degrees were highly prized by private enterprises, while government and research institutions showed a high demand for returnees with doctorates, Guo said.

For Chinese companies evaluating potential employees' backgrounds, the QS World University Rankings are highly valued, she added.

Vision Zha, who earned a master's degree in media and advertising from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, said she quickly received an offer from an internet startup in 2018 thanks to the advantage of being an overseas graduate from a prestigious communications university.

"Over the six years at the workplace, my strong English proficiency became an undeniable advantage," Zha said.

She added that her education background allowed her to secure a role in managing the company's overseas social media accounts, and she has been rewarded with promotions and salary raises.

According to the survey, research and development positions and management trainee roles were the most common jobs sought by the overseas graduates last year.

When seeking employment, returnees prioritized salary, career development opportunities and benefits. Workload and commute time were also given more consideration, it said.

Fan Yuanyuan graduated from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, a global Top 50 institute, with a master's in finance and returned to China in August last year. She submitted over 100 resumes and attended about 15 interviews before finally receiving offers from three companies.

The six internships Fan completed during her undergraduate and graduate studies were key to her job search success, she said.

"Most of the skills required for a professional task, including interpersonal connections and business techniques, are unrelated to what is taught in the classroom," Fan said, adding that giving up the student mindset is essential while job hunting.

More than 80 percent of returnees had internship experience before entering the job market, with over 60 percent having completed two or more internships, the report said.

Furthermore, returnees with STEM degrees earned significantly higher annual incomes within the first three years of graduation compared to those with business or humanities degrees.

Job stability was also high, with over 60 percent of the group remaining in their positions for one to three years, and nearly 30 percent staying for more than three years, the report added.