Tough competition for a job in the mainland's civil service, in which some posts attract more than 4,000 applications, has not diminished applicants' desire, reports China Daily. According to official figures, the number of applicants registering to take next year's national civil servants' examination surpassed one million. A total of 137 central authorities and institutions plan to recruit 16,000 civil servants next year, 1,000 more than this year.

Happiness leads to success

Being happy doesn't just make you feel good, it can also make you more successful, according to Shawn Achor, a Harvard University lecturer and author of The Happiness Advantage. Positive thinkers have a biological advantage over people who are neutral or negative, and the good news is that being happy is a skill we can all learn, says Achor, who gives tips in his book on how to retrain the brain to improve productivity and performance. AAP  

Directory giant looking to dial up greater earnings

Yellow Pages Group, New Zealand's biggest provider of directory information, has added 100 workers to boost earnings through more direct contact with customers. The jobs will cost NZ$8 million (HK$48.88 million) a year, with workers located throughout the country and will also help form a new outbound call centre, the Auckland-based company says. Bloomberg