Budget for gross salary, employer social insurance and housing fund, recruitment fees, Employer of Record (EOR) fees, yo...
By Out2China Team | Reviewed by Janey Fan Write the role brief before the search starts, name the interviewers and the final decision-maker, and agree interview times and feedback deadlines. Write down the language requirement as well: whether the person must speak English in meetings or only read and write it in email may affect the candidate pool and the salary, so check it against feedback on the role. For hiring structures and the overall process, see our guide to hiring China employees from Australia. This article covers the practical preparation. For scope, fees and how a search runs, see our China recruitment service. The brief lets your provider and your interviewers judge candidates against the same standard. You can copy this template. Illustrative role scenario. "Fluent English" is hard to screen for, because candidates and interviewers read it differently. If the person will run or join English meetings every week, test speaking in the interview. If the work is mainly email, spreadsheets and documents, test reading and writing. Describe the situation rather than a level, such as "weekly meeting with the Melbourne team, able to report progress and answer questions in English" or "replies to supplier emails in English, with no English meetings". If you need both, say which matters more. The city affects the candidate pool, social insurance enrolment and employer cost, so state it even for a home-based role. Our article on China remote employee costs covers the budget. Be specific about office days and any hours aligned with Australia. Keep requirements related to the work. PRC law says job seekers should not face discrimination based on ethnicity, race, gender or religious belief, among other grounds. Apart from work the state has designated as unsuitable for women, employers may not refuse to hire women because of gender or raise the hiring standard for them[1]. List only what the job truly needs. China uses Beijing Time (UTC+8) all year, with no daylight saving. Brisbane is 2 hours ahead all year. Melbourne and Sydney are 2 hours ahead on standard time and 3 hours ahead during daylight saving. This table uses the daylight saving period from 4 October 2026 to 4 April 2027, so check the calendar for other years. If Melbourne and Brisbane colleagues interview together, they are an hour apart during daylight saving, so show Beijing Time and each local time in the invitation. Many candidates are still employed and may need a slot before work, at lunch or after work, so offer two or three options. Confirm that both sides can reliably use the same meeting tool, and avoid China's public holidays. Agree this before the first interview: who gives feedback for each round, by when, and what it covers. At a minimum, state whether the candidate moves forward, the main reasons, and what still needs testing. For a rejection, say whether the reason was ability, experience, language or salary so the provider can adjust the search. Slow feedback is a common risk, because employed candidates are often weighing other options. If the decision-maker will be unavailable, name a deputy in advance. On-site interpreting, skills tests and situational exercises can be arranged at your request, with your support on questions, scoring criteria or other input. Track these six stages separately. Do not merge offer accepted and actual start, because a resignation handover can still change the outcome between them. Under PRC law, the employment relationship begins on the date work starts, and where no written contract was signed at that point, one should be signed within one month of that date[2]. Sending a China candidate's résumé to your Australian team may count as providing personal information outside China. Before transferring personal information overseas, confirm the lawful basis and applicable transfer route, and meet the relevant notice, consent and impact-assessment obligations. Assess whether a security assessment, standard contract or certification is required, or an exemption applies[3][4]. A Q&A published by the Cyberspace Administration of China in July 2026 says necessity should be assessed in recruitment, with the number of people and the data limited to what overseas decision-making requires[4]. That Q&A addresses overseas headquarters and affiliates, so ask a legal adviser about the route for your company. In practice, send only the details of candidates under decision to the people truly taking part, and remove what is not needed, such as ID numbers, private phone numbers and bank details. Removing unnecessary fields does not amount to anonymisation and does not by itself satisfy the transfer rules. A provider can offer market information and advice, but these usually stay with you: whether to change the salary range, which requirements to relax, who to interview, whether to hire and on what terms, the start date and probation. Probation length must stay within the legal limit set by contract term[2]. During an Out2China search, each role has a progress record, we send a weekly summary, and anything that needs your decision comes with our suggestion. Pre-start training is usually led by you with our support. We can provide an employee self-assessment form during probation on request, and you confirm whether the person passes. If you are still comparing providers, see our guide to choosing a China hiring agency. Describe how it will be used. Say whether the person must speak English in meetings and whether they must read and write it in email and documents, instead of writing "fluent English". They are the same during standard time. During daylight saving, Melbourne is an hour ahead of Brisbane, so the same Beijing Time slot shows later in Melbourne. It is better not to count it that way, because the candidate still has to complete a resignation handover. Record offer accepted and actual start separately. Recruitment commonly takes 4 to 6 weeks from the start of the search. Actual time depends on the role, salary, candidates and how quickly decisions are made. Once your brief is ready, look at Out2China's recruitment services or send it to us. If a candidate we recruited leaves within 90 days of starting, we can search once more for the same role at no charge, subject to conditions. If you need an EOR after hiring, under our standard arrangement, our licensed Chinese company is the contract employer; some projects use a local partner, and the actual employer is confirmed before onboarding. See our EOR services. Contact Out2China or call our Australian number, 1300 741 668. More at out2china.com. This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Please consult a qualified professional about your situation.
Quick Answer
What should a role brief for China include?
Field What to write This role Job title and reporting line Chinese and English titles, and who the person reports to Main responsibilities Three to five items, with weekly output and who reviews it City City of work; rank them if several are acceptable Work arrangement Home-based, fixed office or hybrid, and any travel Salary range Gross monthly, sample ¥X to ¥Y, plus bonus and allowances Spoken English Meetings in English? How often? Facing Australian customers? Written English Email, reports or documents in English? Must-haves and can be relaxed What is essential, and what could change if the search is difficult Target start date Preferred date and latest acceptable date Interviewers and decision-maker Who joins each round and who makes the final call Employment route EOR or your own China entity; say so if undecided Filled example: Melbourne e-commerce content coordinator
Why separate spoken English from written English?
How do city, work arrangement and job requirements affect the search?
How do you schedule remote interviews across time zones?
Beijing (UTC+8) Melbourne, Sydney (standard time, UTC+10) Melbourne, Sydney (daylight saving time, UTC+11) Brisbane (all year, UTC+10) Good for 08:00 10:00 11:00 10:00 Employed candidates before work 09:30 11:30 12:30 11:30 Standard first round 12:30 14:30 15:30 14:30 Candidate's lunch break 15:00 17:00 18:00 17:00 Close to the end of your day 18:30 20:30 21:30 20:30 Candidate after work; late for you When should interview feedback be given?
What stages does a candidate go through?
Stage What it means What you usually do Initial screening Experience, interest, language and salary expectations checked against the brief Confirm criteria and adjust if needed Recommended Candidate details and match notes sent to you Decide who to interview First interview Your first conversation with the candidate Give feedback by the agreed date and decide on next steps Offer sent Terms provided to the candidate Confirm salary, start date and probation Offer accepted Candidate confirms the terms Prepare onboarding details, equipment and accounts Actual start Employee begins work Arrange induction and first-week tasks What should you check before résumés go to your Australian team?
Which decisions stay with you as the client?
FAQ
How should I write the English requirement? Are interview times the same in Melbourne and Brisbane? Is the hire finished when a candidate accepts an offer? How long does hiring in China usually take? Next step
Sources
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