Chinese Company Wants to Hire Handsome Educated Jew

Are you a white, Jewish, tall, handsome, Harvard-educated male seeking a part-time job? Do you also happen to speak advanced Mandarin Chinese? Well, then have we found the job for you.

Jokes aside, let’s first say that this job posting couldn’t be more discriminatory by North American (or most countries) standards… but obviously they do things a little differently in China.

There is a recent wave in Chinese business practice called “Rent a White Guy”. Just as the expression states, Chinese businesses hire foreigners to attend meetings or hang around the office because it apparently “adds a level of sophistication”, according to foreignpolicy.com.

Foreignpolicy.com received a letter from a contact in Beijing, asking for help in recommending some candidates for a new job opening. The following letter has not been edited, other than identifying information. Enjoy.

“I hope all is going well with you. The reason I'm contacting you is because today I had a meeting with a contact of mine (deleted) who asked me for some assistance in finding people for some part-time work in Beijing. Essentially they are in the business of (deleted.) They are looking for some Americans to act as assistants in meetings with potential investors, and essentially act as the "white face" to give some more credibility to the project. He said it would need assistance for about 3-4 meetings per month, maybe more, maybe less - it all depends on how the business goes. Of course this will be a paid job, but I have not discussed any payment amount or payment terms so you would have to negotiate that yourself.

The first requirement of the job is that you must be an advanced Mandarin Chinese speaker, since the meetings will all be with Chinese people. Also men only, no females. The other requirement is that you must have some sort of background that Chinese people typically value. My contact is (deleted) and is slightly obsessed with Jewish people and thinks they are the smartest, so he naturally prefers this person to be Jewish. If he can't get someone Jewish, he would also like someone who went to a famous university -- Harvard, Yale, etc. Besides those 2 qualifications, I'm sure he'd be happy with someone who has some sort of connection to someone famous or important, or maybe someone who is really tall and handsome. Basically any characteristic that Chinese people are impressed by - he is looking for in this person. Of course it wouldn't hurt if this person was good-looking, well-dressed, etc. - I think you can get it. (deleted).”