What determines PhD graduates’ employability in Chinese academia? A graduate capital perspective

Chinese academic labour market is increasingly competitive, yet the factors shaping PhD graduates’ employability remain under-explored. This study investigates how PhD graduates in the humanities and social sciences, including both domestic PhDs and PhD returnees, mobilise different forms of capital in seeking employment in Chinese academic labour market. Drawing on Tomlinson’s graduate capital model and Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, field, and habitus, we conducted qualitative interviews with 27 Chinese early-career academics (11 domestic, 16 returnees). Findings reveal that employability is relational, stratified, and context-specific rather than individual possession. Human and cultural capitals are crucial, while social capital often proves decisive, disadvantaging returnees unfamiliar with domestic networks. Identity, psychological, and economic capitals mediate self-presentation and opportunity, while structurally contingent ‘fortune’ shapes access in unpredictable ways. Extending Tomlinson’s framework, this study theorises PhD graduate employability as dynamic and field-dependent, with implications for policy reform, institutional support, and equity in academic hiring.