The "golden September and silver October" recruitment season has arrived once again, with China's five major state-owned commercial banks taking the lead in kickstarting their autumn hiring campaigns. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Postal Savings Bank of China have all recently released their 2027 campus recruitment announcements, officially opening the doors for fresh graduates and sounding the horn for the autumn hiring season.
As the dominant force in financial industry campus recruitment, the state-owned banks have once again unleashed a massive wave of job openings this year. According to preliminary statistics, the five major banks collectively plan to hire approximately 70,000 new graduates this year, extending offers to talents across fields including finance, economics, accounting, computer science, and less-commonly spoken foreign languages, providing an exceptional employment platform within the financial sector for graduating students nationwide.
State-Owned Banks Enter "Talent-Grabbing Mode"
Since September, the headquarters, directly-affiliated institutions, domestic and overseas branches, and comprehensive operating subsidiaries of the five major banks have simultaneously launched their autumn campus recruitment, entering full "talent-grabbing mode" for graduates at home and abroad. ICBC's recruitment this year covers its headquarters, 39 tier-one domestic branches, 13 directly-affiliated institutions, and 5 comprehensive subsidiaries. The headquarters is offering two categories of positions - management trainees and a special legal talent track - with approximately 100 positions available.
Bank of China's participating entities include its headquarters, directly-affiliated institutions, audit divisions, domestic branches, operations in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas regions, as well as comprehensive operating companies. At the headquarters level, the bank has set up both management trainee positions and a special program for minor language talent. The management trainee track spans six directions - information technology, business development, financial markets, risk and compliance, general management, and globalization - designed to build a pipeline of future business and management leaders. The minor language program serves as a key reserve for the bank's global expansion, recruiting specialists in nine languages including German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, and Serbian.
This year, China Construction Bank's headquarters is recruiting 100 people for department roles and 10 for its credit card center. Additionally, 11 directly-affiliated headquarters institutions such as the Remote Intelligent Banking Center and Operations Data Center, 37 tier-one domestic branches, two training institutes in the Northeast and East China regions, and 12 comprehensive operating subsidiaries including CCB Fund Management and CCB Wealth Management have all launched simultaneous campus recruitment efforts.
Based on the recruitment announcements, the autumn hiring process at all five banks follows the same sequence: application, initial screening, written examination, interview, physical examination, and final offer. Currently, all banks are in the online application phase, with deadlines concentrated between October 7 and October 9, 2026 (Beijing time).
Banks Stockpile Specialized Talent for the AI Race
Looking at this year's autumn recruitment trends, demand for AI-related positions remains exceptionally strong, with all major banks intensifying their efforts to hire "finance + technology" hybrid talent. To build up expertise in product development, user research, and big data analytics, the "Technology Elite" program remains one of ICBC's core campus recruitment tracks this year. According to the position description for the ICBC Xinyang Branch in Henan Province, the bank has established a "onboarding guidance + professional advancement + project practice" development system, cultivating technology elites along two paths - research and development managers and product managers - with a focus on recruiting graduates majoring in computer science, electronic information, mathematics, statistics, and related information technology and mathematical fields.
Agricultural Bank of China's "Elite Seedling Trainee" program includes a Smart Banking track, which focuses on financial services and product innovation, risk model and system development, AI technology application, and research solution design. The Smart Banking positions primarily target graduates in computer science, statistics, mathematics, and electronic information, with preference given to candidates holding interdisciplinary backgrounds combining "AI +" or "big data +" expertise.
In this year's autumn recruitment season, Bank of China has designated a dedicated information technology track within its headquarters management trainee program, targeting graduates specializing in computer science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Simultaneously, three directly-affiliated technology subsidiaries - the Digital Asset Operations Center, the Information Technology Operations Center, and the Software Center - have also launched recruitment. The Digital Asset Operations Center is hiring for data analysis roles responsible for group-wide data operations, analytics, application development, and cutting-edge technology research. The Information Technology Operations Center is recruiting for positions managing production operations across the bank's information systems, while the Software Center seeks candidates for application system development, testing, and maintenance.
China Construction Bank's domestic branches have established "Technology Specialists" positions focused on artificial intelligence, data mining and analysis, big data marketing, technology research and development, and system operations and maintenance. Upon joining, new employees may be assigned to branch fintech departments, or to the head office's Operations Data Center or fintech subsidiaries for on-the-job training.
AI Achieves Large-Scale Implementation Across the Banking Industry
Behind the state-owned banks' rush to secure AI and fintech talent lies the accelerating digital transformation of the banking sector and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence applications across banking operations. Recently, several listed banks released their "AI report cards" alongside their first-half operating results, demonstrating increasingly significant achievements in leveraging technology to empower financial services. As of the first half of this year, ICBC has deepened its "Leading AI+" initiative and "Digital Intelligence ICBC" strategy, deploying over 600 large-model application scenarios while maintaining industry leadership in overall AI application levels. China Construction Bank has maintained its business-driven approach, launching more than 600 AI application scenarios. Bank of Communications has advanced its "AI+" action plan, deploying over 420 AI application scenarios by the end of the reporting period to enhance business development.
Industry insiders believe that in the long term, banks will transition into a human-machine collaborative phase characterized by "AI improving efficiency, humans driving profitability." AI will handle standardized processes, while employees focus on client relationship management, complex decision-making, and other areas that AI cannot cover. The future banking professional will be a fusion of "technology-savvy financiers" and "finance-savvy technologists."
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