Job Discussion Forums

[Muff Daddy]

Does anyone know of how I can find out about tutoring Business English in Asia? I have my own Business Services company and would like to go abroad as a consultant through this company and tutor Business English for professionals in Asian countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, China etc.

I hold a BA in English, TESL/TEFL certification and am proficient in FLS (french). I also have professional office experience.

Would it be better to find employment in Canada first before heading over there? Would it be possible to not sign a year contract but instead work as a consultant all over Asia? Should I start advertising my company in Canada now? Where could I advertise in Asia? Should I contact companies directly?

Thank you for you help in this matter!

[PAULH]

Muff Daddy

Dont get me wrong here, but from your post it sounds like you believe that Asia (which stretches all the way from Korea to Singapore, which is like the same as saying from Canada to Central America) is a glutinous mass where all languages and business culture meld into each other and what works in one place will work in another.

Which country are you interested in- Hong Kong and China (which is bigger than the continental US) are part of the same country but Mandarin and Cantonese are separate languages. Hong Kong is a four hour plane ride from Osaka and Taiwan is 2.5 hours away.
Korean and Japanese are totally different languages as well.

It is unlikely there is a company that will pay you to fly all over the Asia-pacific region like a global jetsetter to teach business English, but you will likely be based in one region or area e.g Shanghai, Taipei etc. I have no experience with business consulting (though I have taught business English in Osaka) but my guess is if you want to make any headway in this area you will not only need skills in an area they are seeking help, but you would also need local language skills, whcih comes back to my first question- do you speak any languages, what languages & cultures are you interested in or familiar with? I was in Hong Kong last week on a stop over and its vastly different than Tokyo or Osaka in terms of language and culture etc.


As for getting a job you will have greater success if you have a face to face interview, develop contacts and referrals etc. If you can get something in Canada all well and good, but in your particular area it may be necessary to go through a recruiter or head hunter that can match you with a particular employer. In Japan for example, I think you can find links to them on http://www.gaijinpot.com

I dont know about Korea or Taiwan etc.

[Muff Daddy]

Yes I am aware "Asia" is not one big mass of similar countries. I was just generalizing for the sake of the posting. Yes I am aware it was a long shot to ask if any companies working throughout Asia-Pacific region would want a business consultant to teach English in different countries, I was asking for the most and seeing what I got out of it.

No I do not have any knowledge of Mandarin or Cantonese or Shanghaiese or Japanese or Korean. This is why I want to go over there. I would prefer to go somewhere with Mandarin as the primary language (like Taiwan or mainland China) since that is the language I want to learn most of all.

My point which I did not get at in my first posting as I was waiting for a reply before going into detail, which took a long time to get!, is that I do not want to go teach English to children, I prefer businessmen/women and would like to work in a professional environment that would potentially lead to other work placements in neighbouring countries.

Thank you for your advice!

[PAULH]

If you are interested in a country that speaks Mandarin I would probably suggest the China forum or the Jobs Information Journal (click on Asia and then China). In the Japan page you are probably barking up the wrong tree.

In any case, Japan now has a 12 year recession, it is very difficult to get jobs here unless you have a degree (for the work visa) a TEFL qualification and/or previous teaching experience. Many jobs come through knowing someone as well and being in the right place at the right time. If I hear of anything I will keep you posted (the Japan Times newspaper has many jobs in its Monday edition but Im not sure if its available to you in Canada or if its online).

Good luck,

PH

[Muff Daddy]

i only posted it here cause no one answered me in the general forum for ages so i copied my posting and pasted it in a couple asian forums to see if i'd get better response there. i did!

thanks for all your help.

[PAULH]

Muff daddy

I did a quick search for the South China Daily Post which the largest circulation daily newspaper in Hong Kong and they have a classiifed section for jobs for expats. That would be your best line of enquiry for international jobs and working in Hong Kong etc.

http://www.classifiedpost.com/jshome.php