Out2China helps overseas companies recruit and build teams across China without first creating an in-house local recruitment function.
Our local RPO team manages role scoping, sourcing, bilingual screening, interview coordination and offer support, with clear per-role pricing and a typical 4–6 week hiring cycle.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a hiring model where an outsourced HR partner like Out2China manages all or part of the recruitment activities on behalf of a company.
Our RPO service covers the full recruitment lifecycle, from job description development and candidate sourcing, to screening, interviews, offer negotiation, and final placement. We manage the entire hiring process end-to-end, so you can focus on running your business.
Without an RPO in China, overseas businesses often face fragmented recruitment processes, inefficiencies, and compliance risks in unfamiliar markets. RPO enables companies to focus on their core operations while experts efficiently build and manage talent pipelines.
Here are 3 reasons why recruitment process outsourcing with Out2China is a smart move when entering the Chinese market.
China has over 200 major cities, each with its own unique labour rules and market practices. Expert RPO providers like Out2China understand and manage compliance and local regulations, allowing you to expand into and throughout China without incurring legal or administrative headaches.
Instead of building separate HR teams city by city, RPO allows you to recruit nationwide at speed. This accelerates market entry and ensures you always find the right talent in the right city.
Hiring in China often requires navigating different costs by city and industry. RPO provides one-stop, scalable recruitment solutions, reducing overhead and keeping expansion flexible and cost-efficient.
Out2China’s RPO recruitment service is a comprehensive solution that handles every stage of offshore team building—from candidate sourcing and hiring to onboarding and ongoing team management—helping you become operational and competitive in China fast.
Businesses entering the Chinese market can benefit hugely from recruitment process outsourcing.
Out2China stands out compared to other RPO services because we can help match the right roles with the right talent pools. Our on-the-ground knowledge sets you up for success; we know which cities and industries are likely to have the biggest talent pools for the specialist skills you need.
Our expertise means that we will be able to advise on realistic salary ranges for the roles, experience levels and locations so you can attract the right candidates.
We also manage the full recruitment process with ease thanks to our local hiring knowledge, strong networks and cultural understanding.
And you’ll have peace of mind thanks to our ability to navigate local labor regulations to ensure your hiring and HR processes are compliant from day one.
If you’re planning on launching your business in the Chinese market and need a local team, here’s how to know if RPO with Out2China might be a good choice for you
If you answered yes to these questions, then Out2China’s RPO services are a great choice for your business when launching in China.
Out2China is the expert at end-to-end recruitment support including
Essentially Out2China becomes a local Chinese extension of your team through the recruitment process, so you can focus on day to day work.
Before you post a role
China's network recruitment rules require platforms to check the employer's business licence or other establishment document, the recruiter's identity and the employer's authorisation. Platform workflows differ, but the practical question is the same: who is authorised to recruit in China, and under which company name?
Sources checked 7 September 2026: Network Recruitment Service Regulations, Article 17; BOSS Zhipin user rules; 51job user agreement.
Channel choice follows the role
We do not post every vacancy everywhere. A finance manager, a factory-facing merchandiser and a software engineer rarely respond to the same channel mix. We choose the platform after the city, salary band and candidate profile are clear.
Useful when direct, fast conversation with active candidates matters.
A broad corporate job-board channel for office, operational and specialist roles.
A general recruitment channel with wide role and city coverage.
Often considered for experienced, managerial and specialist talent.
Platform features and verification flows change. We confirm the current account, posting and authorisation requirements before each search.
The dividing line is not a job title alone. Salary, scarcity, location, confidentiality and the amount of proactive search all matter. We confirm the service lane in writing before the search starts.
US$980 when the search starts + US$500 when the candidate starts.
US$980 to start; the balance is due when the candidate starts.
Paid advertising, background checks, assessments and travel are quoted separately if needed. The signed proposal controls the final scope and fee.
First we get clear on who the role needs to hire — responsibilities, reporting line, salary range, city and candidate profile. Wherever the JD is unclear, we refine it together until candidates can understand it.
Based on the role, we choose suitable local Chinese recruitment channels and publish the listing so candidates can see it and want to apply.
We collect résumés, assess fit, filter out clearly unsuitable applicants, and organize the more promising candidates for you.
We first confirm a candidate's interest, availability, salary expectations, basic skills and stability, so you don't waste time interviewing the wrong people.
We coordinate timing between client and candidate, send meeting invites and remind both sides before interviews to keep the process smooth.
If second or third interviews are needed, we keep following up on candidate status, collect feedback and push the next step so the process doesn't stall.
When candidate and client salary expectations don't match, we help communicate, explain the market, and try to bring both sides into a workable range.
We help send the offer, confirm acceptance, lock the start date and pre-onboarding prep, reducing the risk of last-minute candidate changes.
The final hiring decision always rests with the client. Out2China handles recruitment execution, candidate communication, process coordination and offer support.
Suitable if you already have China recruiting experience, know which channels to use, and have someone to keep following up with candidates. It gives more direct control but takes a lot of internal time.
Good for overseas teams without a China recruiting team, or who want someone to get the process running. We know the local channels, candidate communication and salary expectations better.
After the candidate starts
If a candidate placed by Out2China leaves during the first 90 calendar days, we will reopen the same search once without another professional search fee, provided the original invoice has been paid and the role, salary range, location and reporting line have not materially changed.
The promise covers a reopened search for the same role. It is not a refund and does not cover new advertising, assessments, background checks or travel. It does not apply when the role is removed, materially changed or relocated; when pay or working conditions change after acceptance; or when the departure follows redundancy, restructuring, business closure, an unlawful instruction or conduct by the client that materially changes the agreed role. The signed proposal contains the final terms.
Industries we currently recruit for in China. Client identities stay confidential — the patterns below are what the work actually looks like.
An Australian migration-services company needed a Chinese-speaking back office in mainland China to handle client intake, document preparation and follow-up across time zones. We mapped the roles against local salary bands, ran the search in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, and delivered a shortlist the client interviewed directly.
A UK trading business wanted people close to its suppliers instead of managing everything from Britain. We recruited sourcing and merchandising staff with factory-facing experience, screening for English working proficiency and supplier-negotiation background.
A Hong Kong software company hiring its first mainland China engineers needed help reading local CVs and salary expectations. We clarified the JD against the local market, filtered the applicant pool, and coordinated technical interviews across time zones.
RPO and headhunting solve the same problem differently. EOR is not an alternative — it is the step after you have chosen someone.
| Headhunting | Out2China RPO | |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | One placement, one role | The whole recruitment process, repeatable across roles |
| Fee model | Usually a percentage of annual salary | Standard recruitment: fixed US$1,480 per role; specialist search: 1.5–2 months of salary |
| Scope | Sourcing and introduction | 8 modules: JD, posting, screening, outreach, interviews, follow-up, salary talks, offer |
| Best for | One senior or hard-to-fill role | Building or scaling a team, several roles, ongoing hiring |
RPO ends when your chosen candidate accepts the offer. If you have no legal entity in mainland China, that person still needs a compliant employer: that is what our EOR / PEO service does — labour contract, payroll, social insurance and tax, all under our Chinese entity. Many clients run the two together: we recruit, then we employ on your behalf. You can also estimate the real employment cost before you commit, or look at a headhunting search if you only need one senior hire.
Send us the role, city and salary range — we will come back with a plan and timeline.
Your Local Partner for Global Expansion in China Out2China helps international companies register entities, build compliant HR teams, and manage payroll and operations in China — all in one platform.
Get in touch with our consultants today to simplify your China entry and business growth.
It covers role and JD clarification, channel selection and job posting, résumé collection and screening, initial candidate outreach, interview scheduling and follow-up, salary discussion, and offer and pre-onboarding support. The client keeps the final hiring decision.
Yes. Recruitment is the search for a candidate, so it can start before you have a China entity. Once the candidate accepts, that person still needs a local employer. You may employ through your own China entity or connect the hire to a separately agreed EOR service.
We choose channels after confirming the role, city, salary band and candidate profile. BOSS Zhipin can support fast direct conversations; 51job and Zhaopin are broad corporate recruitment channels; Liepin is often considered for experienced, managerial and specialist talent. Platform features and verification rules change, so we confirm current access before each search.
Standard recruitment is US$1,480 per role: US$980 when the search starts and US$500 when the candidate starts. It is generally for roles with monthly salary below RMB 28,000 and no high-scarcity, high-confidentiality or unusually difficult search factors. Paid advertising, assessments, background checks and travel are quoted separately if needed.
Roles with monthly salary from RMB 28,000 to RMB 40,000 are normally charged 1.5 months of the agreed monthly salary; roles above RMB 40,000 are normally charged 2 months. A niche, highly confidential or unusually difficult role may enter this lane below the guide threshold. US$980 is paid when the search starts and the balance when the candidate starts. The signed proposal controls the final lane, calculation basis and fee.
Most roles are filled in 4–6 weeks. We commit to a result within 60 days, but timing still depends on the role, salary, candidate availability and how quickly interviews and decisions move.
If a candidate placed by Out2China leaves within 90 calendar days after starting, we will reopen the same search once without another professional search fee, provided the original invoice is paid and the role, salary range, location and reporting line have not materially changed. This is not a refund and does not include new advertising, assessments, background checks or travel. It does not apply when the role is cancelled, materially changed or relocated; when pay or working conditions change after acceptance; or when the departure follows redundancy, restructuring, business closure, an unlawful instruction or client conduct that materially changes the agreed role. The signed proposal contains the final terms.
Standard recruitment is designed for repeatable hiring and full process support. Headhunting or specialist search is better suited to senior, scarce, confidential or unusually difficult roles that need proactive market mapping and direct approaches. The service lane and fee are agreed before the search starts.
