'Flash-quitters' quick to make for the door

Hu's parents, who are mid-level bank executives, were quite content with his decision. Their only concern was that their son should be content, no matter what career path he chose.

"Some older people will think that quitting my job was immature because there were many other ways of solving the problem. Others may think that people of - my age, the post-1980 and post-1990 generations - are so spoiled that we run away as soon as we are faced with a problem. But in my opinion, that simply isn't the case. We are young people who make our own judgments and have our own ideals and expectations," he said.

"Meanwhile, there are plenty of other opportunities. I have nothing to lose," he added.

'I wasn't happy'

Approximately 57 percent of respondents to a survey on the career adaptability of college graduates changed their job within three years of starting work, while 32 percent had worked for more than three employers, according to a report released by Beijing Municipal Commission of Education in late 2012.

The survey also discovered that the post-1990 generation accounted for the highest number of flash quitters, with 30.6 percent of respondents taking the controversial step, 5 percent higher than the national average.

"I wasn't happy," was the reason Li Yuchen gave four quitting her last job. Although she had been with her employer for almost three months, she had made the decision within four weeks of starting work for the company.

With a bachelor's degree from Nanjing University and a postgraduate degree from the London School of Economics, the 28 year old has had four jobs in her four-year working life.

"It was a global consulting firm and they offered me about 20,000 yuan per month. But I didn't like it, anyway. The management mechanism wasn't transparent," said Li, who now works for an advertising company in Shanghai, earning 8,000 yuan a month.

Her parents are university professors. Neither understood what was happening with their daughter and they never asked.

"I understand that future employers will see frequent job-hopping as a big negative, but, you know, a lot of things in life can't be planned or foreseen," said Li.

Self-fulfillment

Despite this, it would be unfair to assume that young people have no career goals.

In a survey released at the beginning of the year by 51job, China's leading employment website, human resources professionals explained that younger job hunters, especially those born after 1985, are less loyal to their employers because "they are more concerned with self-fulfillment".

Wu Yizhong, 27, spent two months working for a well-known Spanish fast-fashion brand as a supervisor. Wu's degree in administrative management prompted the company to offer her a monthly salary of around 7,000 yuan. Although the remuneration was good, Wu said she could not work with her boss because she felt his management practices lacked consistency.