Alibaba’s online flea market draws moonlighters seeking side income in brutal job market
- Xianyu, also known as Idle Fish, has launched a new feature that enables users to hire themselves out for part-time jobs
Alibaba Group Holding’s second-hand marketplace Xianyu has launched a new feature that enables users to hire themselves out for part-time gigs, as China struggles with high youth unemployment in a bleak job market.
The function, officially launched on Tuesday, provides users with templates to quickly generate a “resume” by uploading a few photos or videos. Customers can place an order and pay, just like they would when buying items on the platform.
Those who provide more than three images or videos longer than 15 seconds are generally better at getting views, according to Xianyu, also known as Idle Fish.
As of Wednesday, the channel featured hundreds of resumes, offering various services ranging from dancing classes and personal fitness training to graphics illustration, legal services and pet sitting.
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Lily Bi, a master’s degree student and operator of Quite Studio in Xian, capital of northwest Shaanxi province, said she began using Xianyu’s resume feature in June while it was still in beta testing. She offers design services for posters, logos, menus, business cards and more.
