Reluctant to become one of this year's 1.4 million college graduates without a job, a student posted an online advertisement, seeking a big shot who would be his "adoptive dad" and help him get employed.

Li Junxian, a senior student majoring in human resource management in southwestern China's Guizhou University, said in the advertisement that he wanted to find an "adoptive dad", or "gan die" in Chinese, to help him in his job hunt and that he would act like a good filial son in return.

"Government officials are preferred," said the advertisement.

Li said that he has been turned down by more than eight local companies since he began job-hunting last October, despite the fact that he has an excellent study record.

He found out that some of his classmates got job offers easily by using their social connections while he has no one to help him.

"One of my classmates got an offer because his brother is a department manager in a company. I really wish I had a powerful relative," Li said, adding that the advertisement was a kind of self-mockery. "I just gave vent to my frustration," he said.

The advertisement has triggered a hot discussion on the internet.

Most netizens disapproved of Li's behavior, saying that college graduates should find jobs by their own efforts, rather than depend on social connections.

However, some netizens said they could understand Li.

"He did this because he was undergoing a lot of pressure in looking for a job," a netizen nicknamed "fengyun" said.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security predicts that 4.95 million students will graduate from higher education institutions this year, which is a staggering 820,000 more than in 2006. About 30 percent or 1.4 million of them will be unable to find a job on graduation.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2007)