Cross-border recruitment has increased significantly, and some operations positions have a monthly salary of 40,000+

During the annual peak recruitment season of March and April, the cross-border recruitment market is heating up. A large number of cross-border companies are offering high salaries, accelerating the pace of recruiting and building a talent team, while some operators choose to resign and find jobs in large companies again. With the two-way linkage, the cross-border recruitment market has been revitalized.

The recruitment market is hot, Amazon operations are in great demand, and there is a relatively large space for employment options. However, the matching degree between recruitment companies and job seekers is not high. There is a common situation in the market: not all companies are willing to offer high salaries. Some VCs offer a monthly salary of 40,000 + low requirements to recruit operations, and some SCs choose to increase revenue and reduce expenditure from the perspective of salary.

Cross-border companies are reluctant to offer high salaries, while job seekers are eager for high salaries. The salary issue between the two has been put on the table. Compared with previous years, the average salary level of Amazon operations has dropped a lot in the past two years. In the words of industry leaders, the salary of Amazon operations has returned to normal levels.

On one hand, the resigned operations staff are looking for jobs, and on the other hand, the company is frantically recruiting new staff. Today, Amazon is more like a besieged city. In order to escape this siege, some operations staff have begun to open up new fronts. Working alone is no longer a new thing. They are more likely to choose to join the army of civil servants, or to enter TikTok, which is the hottest, with tight job demand and relatively good salary.

A monthly salary of 40,000 yuan for operations, cross-border companies are actively recruiting

In the golden March and silver April season, one of the hottest topics in the cross-border circle is undoubtedly "job recruitment". An Amazon operator said frankly: "Amazon operation recruitment is very hot this year. Many colleagues who have left the company are interviewing and looking for new jobs because there are too many companies posting positions and they can't choose."

Looking at the situation of the leading companies in the industry, this can be confirmed: at the beginning of the year, big sellers are busy recruiting talents.

Yibai Network, a major seller, has released more than 200 positions, mainly related to operations. Due to the nature of distribution, operations positions cover a wide range of platforms, such as AliExpress, Meikeduo, Amazon, Walmart, Ozon, TikTok, etc. Salaries vary depending on the platform, but the highest-paid operation is TikTok, which is 10-15K, requiring relevant experience for half a year to one year; but for cross-border operations without experience, the salary is only 4-8K.

(Photo source: Boss Direct Hire)

GreenLink and Loctek both released more than 100 positions. As they focus on 3C and smart tracks respectively, most of the positions they recruit are technical. As for operations, Loctek offers 8-12K salary to operators with 3-5 years of work experience, and basically all have 16-month salary.

In contrast, the benefits offered by SC sellers do not seem to be as good as those offered by VC account sellers. According to a recruitment website, a company has posted a job opening for Amazon VC operations, requiring 3-5 years of work experience, a college degree or above, and willingness to operate a VC account from 0 to 1. The monthly salary is 25-40K, with 16 salaries per year.

Coincidentally, there is another VC that offers a monthly salary of 30-50K to operators with the same years of work experience, and even provides multiple performance bonuses such as year-end bonuses and outstanding employee awards, which has attracted the attention of many operators in the industry. In contrast, VC account operations are indeed more "money" promising.

(Photo source: liepin.com)

Sellers who are familiar with VC accounts know that since there are not many VC sellers overall, there are relatively few people who understand VC account operations, and naturally, the salary is higher than that of SC account operations. However, compared with the actual job requirements, it is found that in addition to having many years of experience, the other requirements for VC account operations are basically the same, such as English level 4, familiarity with rules, and the ability to practice various data analysis tools. Some requirements are even not as high as those for SC accounts.

In addition to the top sellers, cross-border e-commerce platforms are also competing for high-quality overseas talents, and they play a very important role in this recruitment season.

SHEIN has posted more than 1,300 positions on a certain recruitment software, mainly for technical, product, and manufacturing positions. Among them, technical positions alone account for 50% of the recruitment quota, and engineers and developers are popular recruitment positions, with the highest monthly salary reaching 65K + 14 salaries. There are 40 operation positions posted, most of which require 1-3 years of work experience, and the salary is basically 11K-20K, with 13 salaries.

Temu directly posted a number of in-demand positions through the Duoduo Cross-border Spring Recruitment, including management trainees in operations, products, marketing, etc. On a certain recruitment website, Temu also posted a number of operations-related positions, with salaries ranging from 15-30K, requiring more than 3 years of relevant operations experience, a bachelor's degree, and certain business resources.

(Image source: Pinduoduo Recruitment)

Although TikTok 's recruitment needs are not as high as Amazon's, it still has a big share of the pie. However, due to the relatively small number of TikTok talents, many companies are waiting to see the salary offered: those with less than 1 year of experience are mostly 6-10K; those with more than 1 year of experience are 8-15K, and managers are 15-30K.

It is not difficult to see from the frequent actions of the above-mentioned big sellers that this year's recruitment season is really hot. This situation not only occurs in the top companies, but also covers the entire industry. The demand for cross-border operation talents is currently in a concentrated outbreak period. "The seller friends I know are planning to recruit a few more operations this year. Does this mean that everyone made a good profit last year?" said a seller.

The net profit of the previous year or the previous quarter largely determines the demand for talent, and this is the case with the big sellers Lechuang and Yibai we mentioned earlier. Relevant data shows that Lechuang's net profit in 2023 is expected to be 610 million yuan to 650 million yuan; Yibai's net profit is expected to be 320 million yuan to 355 million yuan. With performance ahead of their peers, they are naturally aggressive in snatching talent.

A seller with sales of tens of millions said frankly: "Last year's performance on Amazon was pretty good. This year we plan to expand our local home furnishing platform in the United States, so we have released three job positions. So far, quite a few people have applied for the positions." Some sellers even lamented that this is indeed the peak period for job hopping. As soon as we started working, HR interviewed four or five operations personnel, as if we had returned to previous years.

According to what sellers have revealed, the supply and demand of Amazon operations are quite sufficient. Sellers have released a lot of positions, operators who left before the New Year have started looking for jobs, and there have been frequent job hopping recently. These are the key factors driving the hot recruitment market. According to Zhiyouji data, in the first two months of 2024, the number of recruitment positions for Amazon operations positions increased by 316% compared with last year, much higher than the same period last year. According to data from 30 recruitment websites, there are currently 12,395 recruitment positions related to operations.

Even though the recruitment market is in high demand, there are still many problems in this peak recruitment season. Although the recruitment demand for fully managed platforms is growing, the salary is generally not very high because the requirements for operational capabilities are not high. In addition, the current market generally presents a situation where "recruitment positions do not match job seekers' needs", and the proportion of successful recruitment by companies or successful employment of applicants is not high.

Will operational salaries return to normal levels? Cross-border job seekers face a dilemma

"I interviewed several operations staff, but I didn't find a suitable one. Many of them asked for high salaries, which exceeded the company's cost budget," said an HR. The company wants to recruit two operations staff with 2-3 years of work experience, who have worked in boutiques, and offer a salary of 7-11K, but in recent interviews, the salary is not matched or the job requirements are not met. Some fresh graduates are even more daring, saying that they want to run a store independently for 3 months.

Not only is it difficult for companies to recruit, but some job seekers are also very distressed . "I interviewed a boutique home furnishing operator, who had only one day off a week and no clear commission system. The most important thing is that the base salary they offered was too low, and I couldn't accept it." Another operator also said that he left last year and planned to find a job after the New Year, but after more than a week of interviews, he still hasn't found a suitable one. "I originally found a job with two days off a week, but the base salary was only 7K, and it was a new company. After thinking about it, I finally gave up."

To sum up the current situation of the recruitment market after the Chinese New Year, we can describe it as a high enthusiasm but a low success rate. Cross-border companies want to increase revenue and reduce expenditure and are unwilling to offer high salaries, while job seekers are eager for high salaries, which also creates a mismatch between the demand side and the supply side.

Capable operators change jobs simply to find a company with stronger strength, sufficient funds, more stable supply chain, and easier commissions. Those with less ability simply look down on each other. Recruiters want talents with satisfactory salary and experience, while applicants consider that since there are no commissions and various benefits, why not ask for a higher base salary. But at that time, recruiters will consider the applicant's ability and the company's salary structure, and the two sides will naturally part ways unhappily.

In fact, the salaries offered by cross-border companies are mostly based on market conditions, and it is impossible to give too high a salary, of course, except for particularly outstanding talents. Under the condition of equal work experience, the basic salary of each company is almost the same. This is also a major reason why some old operators who have worked for a long time find it difficult to find a good job after leaving . Even if they find one, the salary and benefits will be very different from before. But on the other hand, many companies are short of people during the expansion period, and there are even some capable operators who are targeted by headhunters and poached with various high salaries and multiple benefits.

Today's Amazon is more like a besieged city. The overall economic benefits of the cross-border circle are not good. The company has cut salaries in disguise, operations want to resign, and the company has begun to recruit new people frantically, and the cycle continues.

From the macro perspective, as early as 2022, many cross-border companies chose to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and rushed towards the "small and beautiful" trend. Then, the entire recruitment market gradually showed a cooling trend, and the demand and salary for cross-border positions also declined. Although the demand for positions has increased this year, the salary is shrinking.

According to Zhiyouji data, as of March 6, Amazon had 12,395 operational job openings, with 1,850 in Shenzhen, followed by Guangzhou, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Dongguan, Ningbo, Xuchang, Zhongshan, Shantou, Jinhua, etc. Judging from the data, compared with the same period last year, Amazon's operational job openings have increased significantly, but the salary and benefits have not recovered.

Among them, the average salary of Amazon operations is 9.5K, but most operations earn between 6K and 15K, accounting for more than 70%. In Shenzhen, the average salary can reach 15.9K, and more than 60% of Amazon operations salaries are between 8K and 15K. However, considering that the above data is publicized by Zhiyouji, the actual growth may not be optimistic.

In comparison, Amazon's average operating salary has dropped compared to last year, and the average operating salary for Amazon in 2023 is 10.2K. According to feedback from insiders, the operating salary of most companies is far below the average level, and only a small number of operations can get higher commissions. As the saying goes, those who are thirsty will die of drought, and those who are flooded will die of floods. The polarization of salary and benefits is quite serious.

The editor learned that on a certain recruitment website, the salary of operations staff with 1-3 years of work experience is mostly between 7K and 12K, and some companies mark the salary in this range on the recruitment page, but the actual salary is 7K to 8K. The actual situation of some in-service operations is even worse, some of them are living in pioneering companies with a base salary of 5,500, and only a few operations staff can get a salary of over 10,000, which is often earned by frequent overtime and long and short weeks.

"Amazon operations salaries have finally returned to normal levels," a boss in the industry lamented. In previous years, a monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan was basically the lowest in Shenzhen, but now a monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan is better than more than 80% of operations. At that time, cross-border e-commerce was booming, and companies rushed to snatch talents at high prices, pushing the salary of this position to a high level. There were countless operations with a monthly income of tens of thousands, but now, even for operations that have been in the industry for a relatively long time, the salary increase is only about 1 percentage point.

In terms of education, most companies do not require too much. College degree is the most common, accounting for more than 50%, followed by bachelor's degree, accounting for nearly 30%. In terms of experience, most companies will consider recruiting job seekers with 1-3 years of work experience. In the eyes of HR, the salary for operators in this range will not be too high and they need a certain amount of work experience. Some sellers also said frankly that it is difficult to recruit operators with 3-5 years of work experience, and said that they will not recruit inexperienced operators because the time and financial costs are too high.

Nowadays, with the industry booming, job hopping is prevalent. Coupled with the decline in operational salaries, some operations people are pinning their hopes on working on their own, taking civil service exams, or even switching to the currently popular TikTok.

Taking the civil service exam or switching to TikTok is another way out for Amazon operations

After working in Amazon operations for many years, most people will face some choices: go it alone or change careers. Without exception, going it alone is the preferred option for operations. It is obviously more enjoyable to work for yourself and take all the profits. Coupled with the fact that the actual salary does not meet expectations and the job requirements are too mandatory, the workers' psychology gradually breaks down and they begin to prepare to go it alone.

"I worked as an Amazon operator in a startup company for three years, and grew the store from zero to an annual sales of 20 million. Now I am considering whether to quit and start my own business," an Amazon operator said on a social platform. Especially in this year's environment, many Amazon operators who have repeatedly hit a wall in the recruitment market are considering starting their own business, and have even put it into practice.

However, going it alone is not the only way out for job seekers who are looking for Amazon operations. Some sellers consider more opportunities, but also pay attention to risks. They are worried that if Amazon blocks their accounts, they will be back to the old days and face debt. They will not choose to start a business alone, but will choose another more rigorous path.

After careful consideration, some older operators decided to leave Amazon and began to take the civil service exam. As we all know, there has always been an unwritten rumor in the industry: 30 years old is a hurdle for Amazon operators. If they cannot reach management level, older operators will easily be replaced by younger and cheaper labor.

Therefore, with limited funds and choices, many Amazon operators have joined the army of civil servants. Karan is one of them. He initially worked in multiple cross-border e-commerce companies in Zhengzhou as an Amazon operator, but the company suddenly dissolved in October last year, forcing Karan to start looking for a new job. He sent out a lot of resumes and went through interviews, but the results were not satisfactory.

Unable to find a job, but with his rent about to expire, Karan decided to return to his hometown to take the civil service exam. However, in the eyes of his peers, Karan's work ability is quite good, and he has a small network of contacts in the circle. Now he has compromised with reality, which is enough to show the serious situation in the cross-border circle.

Another part of the operations chose to switch to the most popular TikTok. Although Amazon has a lot of recruitment needs, it also has a lot of talent and the market is relatively saturated. On the other hand, TikTok's recruitment needs are not as high as Amazon's, but fortunately, the demand for related positions is relatively tight.

On a certain recruitment website, searching for the word "operation" will result in more and more related positions such as TikTok operation. There are dozens of pages of recruitment information related to TikTok operation, and the salary range is mostly between 5K-12K, which is a large span. An operation tried to interview for TikTok operation, and the recruitment information showed that the salary was 6K-8K, but because there was no relevant experience in TikTok, the base salary given was 5000, and commission was calculated separately.

The salary of the interview was a big blow to the operation. In their opinion, the salary would definitely be affected if they changed the track, but they did not expect it to be so big. However, some industry insiders pointed out that Amazon is currently facing a bottleneck in its development, but emerging platforms such as Temu and TikTok still have good prospects. If you join now and develop later, your salary will naturally rise.

An operator who has switched to TikTok admitted: "In fact, the technical content of TikTok operation work is not high. Take the product as an example, it is much simpler than Amazon and even Meikeduo." As long as you are a qualified Amazon operator, you are more than qualified to work on TikTok.

However , there are also difficulties in TikTok. Different from shelf e-commerce, TikTok focuses more on live broadcasts/experts/videos to promote product sales. When promoting a new product, you need to grasp more relevant data such as communication with the expert group, sending samples, expert test shooting inspections, how to market in the live broadcast room, and maintaining accounts. Salaries and benefits will naturally be increased according to your ability, so you don’t have to worry about this.

Another position that has been very popular this year is anchors. For example, the salary of TikTok English and Thai anchors is between 5K and 13K. Many cross-border companies even recruit foreign language majors from some schools. The editor learned that the highest salary for these positions can reach 15,000-30,000.

Previously, a number of leading MCN agencies such as Dongfang Zhenxuan also took a fancy to the TikTok market and decided to enter the market to get a share of the pie. They started recruiting for TikTok-related positions, including TikTok operation managers, business managers, and overseas store operations, with monthly salaries ranging from 20K to 40K. This is enough to show how valuable TikTok-related positions are.

Of course, during this peak recruitment season, job seekers still need to choose appropriate platforms and companies to apply for based on their own circumstances.

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