At the end of each year, thousands of Chinese graduates compete for their first jobs. This year, with some companies reducing the number of new recruits they take on, and others even reducing the size of their workforce, the competition has become even fiercer.

In order to get a position, the majority of graduates have lowered their salary expectations and even avoid negotiating when it comes to salaries.

"China Youth Daily" published an article criticizing this phenomenon, calling it an "irrational action."

First, the article argues that knowing and negotiating the salary is a basic right for job hunters, and enterprises are also obligated to inform applicants of the salary range. This will minimize salary disputes in the future.

Second, employees regard salaries as a development target at work and use it to measure their success in building better careers.

However, many companies in China have recently begun to squeeze salaries for fresh graduates, and many prospective employees dare not ask about the salary when applying for a job. The article criticizes this arrangement and says the value of graduates has depreciated as a result.

The article suggests that enterprises shoulder the burden to help these graduates pull through the hard times. Meanwhile, graduates themselves should hunt for jobs with more confidence and be neither conceited nor excessively humble.