Job Discussion Forums

[talkgabchat]

My friend and I applied and accepted a position at EF Weihai back in December. By the end of January we had submitted our forms and were waiting to hear back about the processing of our visa. After reading about others' experiences we started looking for other jobs in case they ended up bailing. Sure enough we received this e-mail today, I'm just posting so others can try to prevent it from happening to them. Do you think his offer is legitimate, or is he just trying to be nice?

E-mail:

I'm sorry to write with bad news, we have a bit of a problem with regards to a start date for yourself and ___. The two teachers you were to replace have decided not to leave, one was going to leave at the end of his contract but has now chosen to resign for another 12 months, the other was going to leave early but has changed his mind on the last day he was meant to be working.

This really leaves us two options, I would still be delighted if both you and ___ choose to come here, however that would mean delaying your start date till August. I can ask through the contacts I have in EF Shanghai and elsewhere if anyone requires two teachers immediately and help to set you up with an alternative location in the short term.

I can only apologies for this turn of events, unfortunately things are often 'up in the air' and changeable in the EFL teaching world. The school as with most others has a hard time recruiting teachers and so when they choose to stay after already doing contracts here they snap them up quick, as most teachers do a year and move on.

[Denim-Maniac]

I dont think this means you have been strung along and although its disappointing, I think their email is probably quite genuine. Im not going to shout down EF in this thread, which is common practice, but I do think this kinda of situation is quite common.

They have been good enough to advise you and give you an alternative. I would like to think they have done this as soon as they can meaning you havent wasted money on flights etc. Far better to receive a disappointing email like this now, then fly into China on the promise of a job that doesnt actually exist anymore...cos I have heard of that happening too!

[Opiate]

[jimpellow]

Sounds legit to me. My biggest question if you decided to do it would be about the work visas. You will need work visas, unless I missed something you wrote. I would think that they would help procure them for you, if their "connections" don't. I only spent a few days in Weihai but the one thing I noticed that would work in your favor is there are not a lot of English Teachers, but there are a lot of Koreans willing to pay big RMB to tutor their kids. Not such a fun town just so you know...

[waterloo_jamie_m]

[Opiate]

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