The hiring strategy of a company in China has gone viral after it explicitly banned candidates born in the Year of the Dog.

Those behind the employment policy believed that applicants born under the canine Chinese zodiac sign would bring bad luck to the boss of the firm who is a dragon.

China has 12 zodiac signs, each assigned to a year in a repeating 12-year cycle.

The belief is that two signs positioned opposite each other on the cycle are in conflict, such as the dragon and dog.

The company, Sanxing Transportation based in southern China’s Guangdong province, wanted to hire a clerk for a monthly salary of 3,000 to 4,000 yuan (US$420 - US$550), half the average salary in the province.

In its job description it specifically asked candidates born under the dog sign of the zodiac to “not apply for the job”.

On August 2, a member of staff told Hubei Television that the reason the company banned those applicants was because their boss was a “dragon”, and “dragons and dogs do not get along well”.

They said that less qualified applicants would be considered “as long as their zodiac sign is not the dog”.

Each zodiac sign corresponds to an “earthly branch”, and is assigned to one of the “five phases”, metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

It is said that the dragon has a water element while the dog has a fire element.

As a result, if a dragon works with a dog they will often disagree.

Superstitious beliefs also regard dog people as vindictive and capable of bringing bad luck to the career of dragon people.

When it comes to romance, the opposite is true.

It is believed that people born in the Year of the Dog would suffer more if they dated dragon zodiac people because dragon people tend to be less loyal and tolerant.

The belief is also mixed with the feng shui theories, which suggest that if dog and dragon zodiac people are colleagues they could hang lucky charms in the workplace to bring harmony.

On mainland social media, people denounced the company for being “too superstitious”.

“This is discrimination,” one person wrote on Weibo.

“I would not choose to work for a company like this,” said another.

A third said she had a similar experience: “My boss asked for my birthday and horoscope, and after learning that I’m a rooster zodiac person who was born early in the morning, they believed I would be a hard worker and hired me.”

A lawyer from Hubei Chisheng Law Firm, Wu Xingjian, said the company’s rule could amount to discrimination, but preferences based on zodiac signs were not illegal.

 - SCMP