This book is written about mainland China. Where it says national, domestic or the state, it means China, not your country.

Before changing jobs or cities: the accounts to work out and the formalities to handle

Changing jobs or cities touches matters spread over Sections 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 15, 19 and several others. Below, first, four accounts (health, people and relationships, time, money) list what to check before you make up your mind. Then, in time order, are the formalities to handle before you leave, when you start the new job, and after you move. Each point says only what to check and what to do. The numbers and the basis are in the item named in the parentheses. Whether to go, and where, is for you to work out. This piece does not draw the conclusion for you. If you were laid off by the company, follow the other long piece, What to do first after a layoff.

Before you decide: the health account

If the new post involves night shifts, do the sums by years. For every 5 more years of night work, cardiovascular disease rises by a further 7% or so. Put this sum in when you choose the job. The cost is zero. See Section 2, item 39 (the longer you work night shifts, the higher the cardiovascular risk).
Ask exactly how many hours a week you will actually work. Working 70 hours a week and working 56 hours produce almost the same output. See Section 3, item 13 (do not keep raising weekly working hours).
If the post involves dust, noise or chemicals, ask three questions at the interview: is there an occupational disease hazard, is it written in the contract, and who pays for the pre-employment medical examination. See Section 19, item 9 (before taking a post with dust, noise or chemicals).
The three occupational health examinations at the new employer, before taking up the post, during the post and on leaving it, are all arranged and paid for by the employer. See Section 19, item 9 (the three occupational health examinations are arranged and paid for by the employer).

Before you decide: people and relationships

If you want to leave because you have been bullied at your employer for a long time, write it down and keep evidence first. People who are bullied later have about 60% higher risk of heart disease and stroke. Changing jobs has the highest cost, and whether to go is for you to work out. See Section 19, item 16 (being bullied at your employer for a long time).
When you move to a new city, the people you used to see often become distant. People who have very little contact with others have about 30% higher probability of dying in the same period. Once you are in the new place, treat meeting people regularly as a health expense. See Section 22, item 9 (treat "meeting people regularly" as a health expense).
If you change city in order to live together with a partner in another city, the hurdle is the first three months after you move in together. Of couples who reunite, one third break up within 3 months. See Section 10, item 6 (the first three months after moving in together).
If you have just had a change such as a bereavement or losing a job, and someone urges you to resign and start afresh in another place, put the decision off for three months. First tell it to someone who has no interest in the matter. See Section 29, item 12 (put off all big decisions that cannot be undone).
Put off an important decision until after you have slept, and do not decide in the middle of the night. See Section 3, item 10 (make no major decision late at night).

Before you decide: the time account

First look at how long the one-way trip from the new home to the workplace takes. If the one-way trip is 30 minutes shorter, that saves 5 hours a week. See Section 4, item 18 (when you choose a home, put commuting time first).
The commuting account is disputed. There is also research saying that a long commute can be paid back by a better job or housing. See Section 4, item 18 (shorten the one-way commute).
The number of years you have already worked at the current employer does not enter the question. Count only how much more you must put in from here and how much you can still get back. See Section 4, item 3 (look only at future input and future return).
If you plan to try the new city for a period first, write one sentence before you set out: if a certain indicator is not reached by a certain date, stop. See Section 4, item 2 (write down the exit condition before you start).

Before you decide: the money account

If you resign before the next job is settled, first check whether you have an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of living costs. See Section 5, item 27 (an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of living costs).
Do not take "online they say the pay is high" to mean that the trade is short of people. Look up the shortage occupation catalog and the subsidy catalog of the target city. See Section 23, item 12 (shortage occupation catalog and subsidy catalog).
In national per-person consumption in 2025, food took 29.3% and housing took 21.7%. When you look for a job, ask whether food and lodging are provided. A post that provides them wipes out these two big items. See Section 7, item 17 (press housing and food to the minimum).
If you plan to stay out of any employer and work flexibly, you must pay pension and medical insurance in full yourself. By the local contribution base, that is over a thousand yuan a month. See Section 31, item 11 (not joining an employer is flexible employment).
If you want to resign and go back to study, work it out as one problem. Set the wages from the years you earn earlier against the difference in annual income over the decades that follow. See Section 23, item 6 (work out "study or work" as one problem).
If you are leaving because the company owes wages or does not pay social insurance, you may still be entitled to severance even if you are the one who gives notice. Do not sign "voluntary resignation for personal reasons". See Section 19, item 7 (do not sign "voluntary resignation for personal reasons").

Before you hand in your resignation

If you signed a non-compete agreement, first see whether it can bind you at all. A non-compete can bind only senior managers, senior technical staff and people with a duty of confidentiality, for 2 years at most. See Section 11, item 12 (signed a non-compete agreement).
During the non-compete period the company must pay compensation every month. Where no amount was agreed, it is 30% of your average wage over the 12 months before you left. See Section 11, item 12 (signed a non-compete agreement).
If the agreement is valid and the company has paid month by month, and you still go to work for a competitor, you must pay liquidated damages. See Section 11, item 12 (signed a non-compete agreement).
Annual leave you have not used up is settled when you leave, pro rata to how long you worked that year. Do not sign a form for "voluntarily giving up annual leave". See Section 19, item 2 (annual leave is counted by cumulative years of work).
Settle overtime pay you are owed at the same time. A labor arbitration claim for wages or overtime pay must be filed within 1 year after you leave. See Section 19, item 1 (overtime pay) and Section 8, item 19 (labor arbitration, 1 year).
Before you hand back the computer and accounts, save your pay slips, attendance records, labor contract, social insurance records and chat records. See Section 19, item 8 (save them before you leave).
For a conversation that may turn hostile, turn on a recording right away. For a conversation you take part in yourself, you do not need the other side's consent first. See Section 8, item 41 (turn on a recording right away).

The days of leaving the old employer

Ask the employer for a certificate of leaving, stating the contract term, the date of leaving, the post and how many years you worked there. The employer must also transfer your file and social insurance within 15 days. See Section 19, item 17 (certificate of leaving).
The certificate of leaving is written proof that you have ended the contract with your former employer. If a new employer hires someone who has not ended their contract and this causes loss to the former employer, the new employer is jointly liable. See Section 19, item 17 (certificate of leaving).
Hand over account access in full. Do not delete data and do not change passwords, even if the company owes you money. See Section 11, item 6 (hand over account access in full).
Do not take the company's source code, customer lists or technical documents, and do not upload them to a personal cloud drive. See Section 11, item 7 (do not take source code).
If the post involved dust, noise or chemicals, have the leaving-post medical examination before you go, and ask for a copy of your occupational health surveillance file. If the leaving-post examination was not done, the employer cannot end the contract with you. See Section 19, item 9 (occupational health examinations).
If you receive a one-off payment for ending the contract, look at personal income tax first. The part within 3 times the local average wage of employees for the previous year is tax-free. See Section 19, item 18 (look at personal income tax first on severance).
If there will be a gap in between and it is not you who resigned voluntarily, register as unemployed and claim unemployment insurance benefits. You can claim only after paying in for a full 1 year. See Section 7, item 1 (unemployment insurance benefits).
In the gap, fix your daily routine: get up on time, and put the job search into a fixed schedule. See Section 29, item 3 (after losing your job, fix your daily routine first).

When you sign the contract at the new employer

Read the onboarding documents from start to finish, ask on the spot about anything you do not understand, and then take photos to keep. See Section 8, item 17 (read the paper through before you sign).
Check the probation period. For a contract of less than 1 year, at most 1 month; from 1 to 3 years, at most 2 months; 3 years or more, at most 6 months. See Section 19, item 3 (the probation period has a legal maximum).
Wages in the probation period may not be below the lowest grade for the same post or 80% of the wage agreed in the contract, and may not be below the local minimum wage. The same company can put you on probation only once. See Section 19, item 3 (the probation period has a legal maximum).
Social insurance is paid from the first day of work, whether or not you are on probation. See Section 19, item 3 (the probation period has a legal maximum).
If you write code or do design, read the intellectual property clause in the contract carefully. For software written mainly with the company's equipment, internal network or business data, for which the company bears responsibility, the copyright belongs to the company. See Section 11, item 13 (code written with company resources belongs to the company).
If the new employer asks you to sign a non-compete while you are still employed, it counts even if the company pays no extra money. See Section 11, item 12 (signed a non-compete agreement).

Finding a place to live in the new city

When you choose a home, count the green space around it. The cost is zero. Do not read this as meaning that going to a park will lengthen your life. See Section 22, item 10 (count the green space around).
Write into the contract, before you sign, how much the deposit is, when it will be returned and in what cases it can be deducted. See Section 15, item 1 (the amount of the deposit, when it is returned and the cases of deduction).
Before signing, go to the real estate registration center to check the title and any mortgage. Pay everything by transfer, with a note such as "rent for such-and-such property for such-and-such month". See Section 15, item 6 (check the property certificate and the mortgage).
Pay rent and deposit directly to the landlord, not through the agent's hands. See Section 15, item 3 (an agent may not collect or pay rent and deposit on others' behalf).
If you rent a long-term-let apartment, first check whether it has publicly stated a fund supervision account. Do not pay a whole year at once because it is cheaper. See Section 15, item 4 (fund supervision account).
Do not rent a partitioned room. Kitchens, bathrooms, balconies and basement storerooms may not be lived in. See Section 15, item 8 (do not rent a partitioned room).
If the house is sold during the tenancy, the lease remains valid and you do not have to move. See Section 15, item 5 (the lease stays valid).
If a landlord cuts off water or power, changes the locks, or comes to your door and threatens you to make you leave, call the police first and keep the record of the police response. See Section 15, item 2 (call the police first and keep evidence).
Housing provident fund (公积金) money can be withdrawn to pay rent. After you submit the application, the provident fund center must reply within 3 days. See Section 5, item 3 (the provident fund is not only for buying a home).
A migrant worker can apply for public rental housing only after stable employment locally for the required number of years. Queuing costs nothing, and the earlier you register, the earlier your turn. See Section 7, item 16 (if housing is difficult, queue for public rental housing first).
If you buy a second-hand home in the new city and an agent collects the purchase money, it must go through the special transaction fund deposit account the agent opened at a bank. See Section 15, item 7 (special transaction fund deposit account).
If you hold an urban hukou (户口, household registration) and want to move to the countryside long term, rent only farmhouses, for at most 20 years at a time. Do not buy homestead land or the house on it. See Section 15, item 9 (rent only farmhouses).

If you take a job in another place, your pension relationship follows you, and the contribution years keep adding up. A break does not reset it to zero. See Section 7, item 18 (do not panic about a break in social insurance).
After you have enrolled and paid in the new place, the new employer or you yourself apply to the new insured place to transfer the pension and medical insurance relationships. See Section 19, item 19 (transfer of the pension insurance relationship).
Before the age for receiving a pension, you cannot withdraw from the insurance to take the money out. See Section 19, item 19 (do not withdraw from the insurance).
If your employee medical insurance has been unpaid for more than 3 months, in the new place you may have to wait up to 6 months before reimbursement, so do not leave a long gap in between. See Section 19, item 19 (transfer the pension and medical insurance relationships to the new insured place).
If you go across provinces to a province that is not the one of your hukou, and a man is 50 or over or a woman is 40 or over, the pension relationship stays in the original insured place. The new place opens only a temporary account. See Section 19, item 19 (pension and medical insurance relationships).
A break mainly affects the qualifications that require continuous contributions, such as buying a home, registering a hukou and points systems in the local area. Each place sets its own rules, so check in the new city. See Section 7, item 18 (do not panic about a break in social insurance).
A person in flexible employment can join the pension and medical insurance where they work, and the hukou restriction has been lifted. A few very large cities are still lifting it step by step, so ask locally. See Section 31, item 11 (the hukou restriction has been lifted).
If you have to pay resident medical insurance yourself in the interval, do not let it lapse. After a lapse, when you pay again there are 3 months during which medical care is not reimbursed. See Section 7, item 9 (resident medical insurance costs 400 yuan a year, do not let it lapse).
If you have a chronic disease such as high blood pressure or diabetes and your medical insurance stays in the original insured place, there are two things to do. First get outpatient chronic and special disease recognition at the insured place, then register for medical care outside your insured area. See Section 16, item 2 (get outpatient chronic and special disease recognition first, then register for care elsewhere).
"Temporary medical care away from home" and "long-term residence in another place" are two different registrations, with different reimbursement levels. See Section 24, item 4 (before you see a doctor in another province, ask locally first).
Before you leave, keep your own copy of your medical records, test reports and imaging. When you change hospitals and see a new doctor, this pile of material is what you go by. See Section 24, item 5 (keep your own copy of medical records, test reports and imaging).
If you changed jobs during the year, do a personal income tax reconciliation between March and June of the next year, which can usually get a refund. See Section 5, item 2 (personal income tax reconciliation).