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February 23, 2016

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Wanted: modern IT whiz for ancient temple

By Wu Huixin | February 23, 2016, Tuesday | Print Edition

IN the annual job-hunting season that follows the end of Spring Festival, many graduates and job-hoppers look for work in information technology. That means strutting their credentials in front of employers such as labs, software developers and corporate computer departments.

But a temple?

Job-seekers were indeed surprised recently to find a recruitment ad on the official WeChat account of the Hangzhou Lingyin Temple offering two positions.

The ad caused quite a sensation across China because it was so unusual. Temples are usually veiled in mystery and their staffing decisions dutifully opaque. Most people assume one has to be male and Buddhist to work in a temple, meaning commitments to celibacy and a vegetarian diet.

The temple ad, however, said the two positions were open to people of either sex and being Buddhist was not a requirement. The job criteria listed skill in website design and planning, news operations, photography and video production.

Lingyin is one of China’s most noted temples, dating back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420) when Buddhism dominated the country. Over the centuries, it has attracted hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.

In modern times, many temples have adopted a more business-like approach to their daily operations. Lingyin Temple is no exception. It already has a media department handling public relations and news dissemination. Staff there work from 8:30am to 5pm, and the temple provides them a free lunch.

“Lingyin is an ancient temple, but we don’t reject modern trends,” a temple spokesperson was quoted as saying in the local Qianjing Evening News. “We opened official Weibo and WeChat accounts in 2013 to spread Buddhist doctrines. Now we are focused on developing new media, to move from word-oriented communications to video. This recruitment ad is part of that trend.”

The temple’s Weibo account has more than 30,000 followers and provides “tweets” almost every day, mainly concerned with Buddhist dharma. On WeChat, the temple offers Buddhist stories and pieces on vegetarian health.

The temple has more than 100 monks and employs about 100 ordinary staff to perform daily tasks. It is not only a place of worship but also a popular tourist attraction.

Lingyin is not the only temple in China reaching out to the lay world for employees.

Last year, Donghua Temple in the Guangdong Province city of Shaoguan mounted a campaign to recruit staff via the Internet. Its online recruitment page received 1.1 million hits, with more than 4,000 applicants from here and abroad competing for eight positions.

Some of the applicants held degrees from prestigious universities, and some had resumes boasting experience in top world companies.

However, after a series of examinations and interviews, only three people were successfully recruited.

Although the idea of working for a high-profile temple like Donghua or Lingyin might appeal to those looking for an out-of-the-ordinary workplace, there’s also the question of salary. According to hearsay making the rounds on social media, temples pay pretty high wages.

A netizen named Cui Kaicheng posted a question on Lingyin Temple’s official website, asking if it is true that the temple pays employees 8,000 yuan (US$1,228) a month, as rumored online.

The temple denied the rumor.

The average monthly pay in Hangzhou is 6,653 yuan, and salaries at the temple are, in fact, lower than in most companies. As a result, Lingyin prefers to hire people already living in Hangzhou rather than people from out-of-town because rents in the city are high and its wages can’t guarantee a comfortable lifestyle for in-comers.

The temple has not revealed what wages it pays, and only says salary will be decided upon job-seeker’s capability.

“I’d like to work in the temple even if the pay is not as high as rumored,” said job-seeker Wu Xiaochen. “Its tranquil environment would be an ideal workplace, and perhaps I would be blessed by Buddha if I worked for him.”

Meanwhile, the hunt for jobs goes on. The Hangzhou Talent Market is continuing to hold job fairs almost every day to help graduates and those seeking to find better jobs.

Hangzhou


 

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