Job Discussion Forums

[Nkengaola]

I'm sure this has been covered hundreds of times in this forum, but for some reason the search function comes back with no responses.

I am considering a position teaching English as a foreign language at a school in Chongqing, China. I have the opportunity to talk with one of the current teachers there. What questions should I ask her?

[Miajiayou]

First, ask some basic questions in order to discover whether you are talking to a native speaker or not.

Other questions kind of depend on whether you are working for a mill or a university, but good ones would be:

1) How many times was your schedule changed?
2) Did the school frequently request your presence at dinners, parties, stupid little shows, etc.?
3) Were you paid in full and on time?
3) Is the accommodation acceptable? How far is it from where you will be teaching? Is transportation provided?
5) Why are/aren't you staying?

If the school handed over their email address, they're in good standing. But, I've talked to a surprising amount of teachers who just loved their school because they thought it was totally not a big deal to get jerked around all the time because they're totally team players and their poor Noble Savage of a boss is just having a rough time. So, you might get some good info about said jerking around should that be the case.

[dean_a_jones]

Here is a list of some general things you should try to figure out (although a lot of these may be answered by the FAO rather than the FT):

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=91394

Rather than pressing someone to talk about the bad points (as the school will have provided someone they trust) try to be a bit more subtle when talking about things. Mention issues you have heard teachers in China generally face. Get their input about the city, what they do in their free time, other teachers and the expat community. Ask them to recommend any websites or whatnot about the city they are in that they think are useful. Ask them what they enjoy most/least about the job, the city, the employer. Ask about what the teaching materials, courses and students are like.

It is worth noting that some schools will put you in touch with someone who is also expected to pass judgement on you and say if they think you sound ok, so professional questions about the curriculum, students, facilities etc. show you are serious about working in a professional environment.

Also, if possible I think it is better to try to chat on Skype if it can be arranged, rather than email. Obviously it is what works best for the person, but I prefer to chat with people on Skype as it works out to be a lot quicker and easier than writing a long, detailed email if they have a lot of questions. You might get more out of them (and be better placed to judge if you think it is accurate) if actually speaking to them rather than reading responses they have taken their time over or are vague.

[xiguagua]

[Miajiayou]

[Nkengaola]

Thank you all for your responses. I have sent off my first set of questions (I don't want to overwhelm her with too many at once), and hopefully I'll get a detailed response back. Thanks again!

[GHammer]

FANTASTIC information and advice for newbies in this thread! It's also good advice for people who are switching jobs or trying to "upgrade" from their current positions. Happy hunting, everyone.

--G

[Non Sequitur]

[Lobster]

On that note, you may wish to ask whether any of the other FTs at the school are misanthropic psychopaths.

RED

[therock]