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anonymous
Q: Why do qualified foreigners do not get hired in China?
The answer for your not getting hired can be multi-leveled. Since I am unsure of your skill set, I will keep things general here.
1) Mandarin. Can you read/write it?
2) Relocation. Where are you located and do you expect your new company to pay you to relocate?
3) Cost. How much are you looking to make? If it is the typical American wages, then you are probably asking for 10-50 times more than a local. Are you worth the extra cost?
4) Legality. Companies in China have to be authorized by the government to hire foreigners. So they may be looking for locals only.
5) Internal policies. A lot of multi-national companies in China are not allowed to hire foreigners directly (for most positions). Foreigners need to be transferred into that company from a foreign branch.
Anyway, this is just a basic list. There can be many, many more reasons why Chinese companies don't want to hire you (age, race, marital status, etc...). And of course, there are millions of people out of work in this country as it is. So it is difficult for locals to find a job too.
Can a local do your job just as well? Is there some NEED to hire a foreigner to do this job? I'm guessing there are many qualified locals with Marketing experience....as I see and hear ads galore-ious everywhere I go in China. Unless you bring something unique and unavailable in the local job market (IE native speaking ability for English teaching, special technical experience/knowledge for some industry) then there's really no sense in paying an expat salary for what can be done at a fraction of the cost by hiring a local. Sorry.
If You are not native, caucasian, English speaker, and don't want to have teaching job - it is easier to have job in China, while being employed in company in Your homeland, and having Your duties in China.
Off course You should have at list some skills that are needed for that, as Xpat and cooter said above.
I'm working in China that way. My experience (not measured only in TIME) was enough to send me to China, even with no "communicative" mandarin skills. Ok, my experience is not only about marketing.
Off course it is not as convenient as having residence permit, because this is based on F-visa (sometimes there is need to go for a new visa).
The most common reasons are you're not Caucasian, (not nice but often true) you're not male, (again not nice but often true), or if you are female then you're not deemed 'attractive', (more common amongst Chinese employees though), or your salary demands are too high, (don't expect UK / USA salaries in China, it isn't going to happen).
He also can have some problem...
Hugh.G.Rection:
Yeah stupid! How does he expect to get a job if he can't be arsed to comb his hair?
Xpat.John:
And what kind of professional would wear a broad striped tie? Seriously, it is hard to find good help these days.
SimonRainbow:
His suit was probably wrinkled, or maybe he had a stain on that awful tie as well?
I'm pretty sure it depends both on what you're aiming for (as general opportunities in teaching abound provided you're not in a position to worry about being provided a VISA) as well as how good a "job seeker" you are. I've heard of a saying to the effect that that its the person best at finding a job who gets it over the person best qualified. Obviously its not always true, but thus far in my experience, having almost every "disadvantage" you could think of when it comes to hiring in China: I'm black, not from US/NZ/UK/Canada/Australia, have zero experience, zero qualifications and I'm 19 years old (read: age discriminated). The ONLY thing I had going for me was I am a native speaker with an accent people mistake for American/European so my only shot was reduced to getting in a phone call before they ask me for my picture.
Yet after 5 maddening weeks of browsing 150 job ads a day from 4 websites, 12 daily email applications, trial & error, reading & tweaking, YouTube videos & illegally downloaded textbooks and 4 bombed interviews to learn my weaknesses and mistakes from, I got a part-time job and beat out over 20 other applicants to teach at an after-school teaching center for Japanese kids, because as my interviewer told me, "Your resume was very interesting." I've secretly perused the other's applications. I should NOT have stood a chance in any fair universe.
I had the fortune that they were offering training so no demo class was needed until I had 2 weeks of observation and training which I fully milked every drop of and incorporated into my previously-haphazard teaching style that cemented me a position on staff.
They now want to hand me classes of the other girl who got the job but is now leaving. And of course I can add "Currently employed at XXXXXX teaching 8-14 year olds." on my CV now. 
I'm fairly sure that at if you have the experience, qualifications, white skin and so on, and don't have unrealistic expectations of China, touching up your CV's format, layout, content (which can be increased by giving other things about yourself the context of being useful and unique to your teaching) ought to leave you with many many many options.
I've started using my latest CV draft for the past 3 weeks and my hit rate went down from 5 interviews out of 100+ email applications sent to 1 interview out 5 email applications sent out.
Xpat.John:
Well, if your written English is any indication of your spoken English, and your teaching skill, I would have to say that your current school is lucky to have you. Yes, you are right, persistence and the willingness to adapt are two of the most important keys to building a job history. Congratulations!
SimonRainbow:
Just curious... what is your age, race, and citizenship? I'm just wondering why they passed you up so many times if you are not blacklisted for some reason.
Ken55:
Xpat: I appreciate the encouragement more than you'd think. Thank you so much, and it just struck a chord on the ol' proverbial heart strings because I must say, those 5 weeks were easily the most depressing out of the whole year. My heart goes out to anyone who's got to do this for months and is more desperate than I was. I wasn't going to starve if I didn't get it,
Simon: Dude, come on. I said I was 19, not from a native-speaking country and Black in the post. Can't be blacklisted. Never taught a class a single day in my life.
And now I wonder why I got 2 Thumbs Down?
A lot of times they won't want a qualified person cause they just want a yes man, not a foriegner who they KNOW will make them look bad.
Hard2Please:
I agree. They want a white face that agrees with them. I also think some Vhines business owners think that a foreigner on the staff adds to their prestige or credibility - especially at English schools.
Frankly_Speaking:
Actually there was a very good answer two weeks ago posted by someone called "Hard2Please" that provided proof of black lists being used against "problematic" foreigners. He gave some links. I will go through my cache and try to find and repost those links here. I also noticed that the China Foreign Teachers Union has an old copy of this list and suggest you contact them at ChinaForeignTeachersUnion@gmail to learn more. Maybe they can tell people if they are on the list or not.
Flicker:
Also they dont want a foreigner who will become "problematic" and demand to be paid on time, paid in full, or refuse to work overtime, or do someone else's job. They really don't like foreigners who file complaints with their embassy, FEB or Ministry opf Foreign Affairs and will blacklist you if you do.
This is just another clever attempt from these guys:
http://answers.echinacities.com/question/how-have-you-been-cheated-china?&showid=80933#answer80933
http://answers.echinacities.com/question/what-companies-are-known-cheat-foreign-english-teachers?
I guess you need to narrow your question, I have done my MSC from University of Birmingham, UK and have 7 years of experience of the my related industry and I am pretty comfortable in China. My colleagues are also well educated in fact some of them are PHD’S.
It also depends who is your employer and what industry you are dealing with in China..........................
The definitive answer "Yes" with proof was posted here two weeks ago by a poster named "Hard2PLease" and was mysteriously deleted. Draw your own conclusions.
giadrosich:
Oh, I get it now. Hard2Please was shown to be spanner, just like the host of other "personalities" that got axed. His disappearance was not mysterious at all. He posted spam. You want to irrelevant links, go get your own website.
Frankly_Speaking:
No, if I recall correctly, YOU Mr. G were the one who boasted that you would get the fellow deleted even though he was the only one who posted definitive links proving their was a black list being used against foreign teachers in China. Way to go! It never fails to amaze me how you label anyone who disagrees with you as a "spammer", "troll", "idiot", "moron" etc. and if they keep disagreeing with you, you cannot bear the possibility that you may be wrong so you "Report to admin". Making false abuse reports to eliminate people who disagree with you is lower than a snake in mud.
giadrosich:
Like you are doing now, Frank? You seem to have prior knowledge of a lot of events here. What's up with that? Lol. You really have way too much time on your hands. A real job would take care of a lot of that. Btw, I love the bold lettering. It makes what you say "very bold," but carries little meaning. You also spend a lot of time "amazed" and "shocked." You really need to get out more. As in, grow up. Ganbei!
Snoopy:
Frank my boy, it seems you and this other fellow giadrosich don't seem to agree on anything. But I like the way you call a spade a spade. I also seem to recall reading w or 3 different links about black lists of both teachers and schools here about a month ago. Money talks heh?
giadrosich:
You're right, Snoopy. There was a thread about the subject, but it became so contaminated by people posting spam that the Admin took it down. For a while, there was a rash of different uses posting sites to "cheaters" and "blacklists" on many of the threads. They would pick a random subject, start out with a few lines, and then embed a link. It really got a little crazy, until one could hardly read a topic without encountering one of these links.
There are plenty of places to do that on other sites, but this forum is a Q&A forum, and thus, generally should (sometimes things digress) stay on topic, according to the question.
Personally, I have no problem with Frank, although he might think otherwise. But, like him, I call a "spade a spade," as you put it. Chalk it up to two "A" type personalities having fun! 
Yeah I also noted the deletions and I think the people that were trashed probably paid off a moderator to get the bad publicity deleted. Money buys anything in this country.
giadrosich:
You noticed, huh? Maybe because you posted the bogus links that were deleated.
Frankly_Speaking:
Another example of this fellow's mean arrogance at work here. Disregard him King_Of_Hearts as he did not bother to contribute a decent answer of his own. Disagree with the bloke and his response is "You are a spammer and I reported you to admin". Note also that he is on-line all day suggesting that he may be unemployed with nothing better to do than attack people on blogs like he did shamelessly to Ms. Sokie, me, and now you as well.
giadrosich:
Provide the link with your evidence, Franky. I'd like to see it, lol, although, just like the answer to the censorship question I asked you for, I think I will be waiting for a very, very long time...
depends what kind of job you are looking for and where you are from, if you are looking for as an english teacher most schools dont give a crap about qualifications, just as long as you fit the part or have the right passport
We actually debated this issue for two hours at one of our English Club meetings and we agreed that extreme discrimination exists against foreigners who may be VERY qualified but ...
* They are fat
* They are over 40 years of age
* They are on a blacklist used by schools/employers
* They refuse to sign a contract without making some fair changes
* They refuse to sign contracts that are deliberately vague or one-sided
