Office clashes

For many foreign interns, Chinese office culture presents another challenge. The first day when American 24-year-old Matthew Bleiman started an internship at The Energy Foundation here in Beijing, he wore a suit and tie, making him look out of place.

"The dress code in the US is more formal, you don't want to go in and look like you don't care," Bleiman told the Global Times.

During the first two weeks of the internship, Bleiman said he was not given too much work to do. He asked his boss who seemed too busy to get back to him.

"I guess they didn't really know what to do with me," Bleiman said.

Now Bleiman is helping the Foundation in setting up a guidebook for local cities to start thinking about how to establish an air quality plan. He hopes his internship experience will lead to a job in China.

"People often assume at first that an intern is not capable of doing anything important, so just give them some menial research tasks. Once they see that an intern can outperform some of their employees, they will give them some responsibility. Once they pass that test, they can be worked to the bone," Adams explained.

Wang Zhengzhi, senior partner at Globe-Law, told the Global Times that they have learned how to deal with foreign interns since the firm started recruiting them in 2006.

He was once told by two foreign interns that their agency had arranged some other activities for them and that they would not be in the office for a few days. He later discovered they lied and went travelling. Since then, the firm has started interviewing interns recommended by the agencies.

In another case, he was very upset with an Australian intern who was often late at work. But he did not tell her till the end of the internship. She told him they should have given her a warning letter earlier, a tactic that he had not known before. Since then, the company has started using warning letters.

Global advantage

For many Chinese companies who want to go global, foreign interns are seen as an asset.

"They are young and creative," said Wang. "They bring new ideas, new ways of thinking and can be a breath of fresh air for the office."

Now the law firm is about to open its office in New York, cooperating with former interns who are now working in the US.

"We never thought we would have the chance to interact with them again, they are welcome to join our firm overseas," Wang added.

Ivy Liu, chief representative of Forex Signs in Beijing that has about 15 interns, told the Global Times that foreign interns are more confident and passionate than Chinese interns.

"I think they come from varied backgrounds so they have more passion and curiosity for a new culture, they are just so much eager to learn new things," she said.

However, many State-owned companies show less interest in taking on foreign interns. Some require a detailed background check or a security check that takes about six months.

The fact that these giant corporations are not as quick to adapt to what foreign interns can offer as private firms is not surprising. However, the simple reality is that the benefits that interns keep bringing to Chinese companies, coupled with the obvious advantages it brings to them, means that more interns are likely to see China as their gold rush.