Job Discussion Forums

[BlueBlood]

[Simon in Suzhou]

Yeah, the OP was on here all spring and summer asking the SAME QUESTIONS day after day, waffling about what job he should take, and trying to find a job that would give him an extra month off so he could go back and teach at a tennis camp back home...

Now its OCTOBER and he's still not here??? You had PLENTY of time to get a job and you should have been here more than 6 weeks ago. You didn't get rejected by the PSB. The school just doesn't want/need you now and this is their "polite" way of telling you.

[nellychess]

[Non Sequitur]

[Simon in Suzhou]

The FACT is he was HERE on daves asking the same questions over and over and over, disregarding the good advice given to him then. He had enough internet access to do that.Check his profile history. Check my history as well. I’m generally a positive helpful poster, but at a certain point some of the “victims” need to be called out.

People gave him a lot of great advice and he ignored it, then came back to complain about the situation. Sigh.

[teenoso]

I suppose it is hard to know what is good advice , if you are outside China, but the consensus on all the OPs threads was that a small college in Henan was not a good choice for a first position . He ignored that advice and ploughed on. Fair enough; maybe it could have worked out well, but (agreeing with SinS) it could hardly have been a great shock (aarrrghh) that it did not work out .

There is a massive difference in the resources, environment and general cultural development of the coastal provinces compared to the inland ones. This must be reflected in the respective unis and colleges and their competence.
I have never been to Henan, there is nothing that attracts me there, and I would never consider living there .
Travelling through Hubei /Wuhan several times , through hundreds of kilometers of dark, pollution haze , convinces me that parts of interior China are a kind of dystopian nightmare. (Nobody else on the train seemed to notice the complete absence of sunlight on a summer's day).

Maybe the local people are warm and friendly etc, but realistically , a new teacher here must be better off in a richer, more developed part of China.
Why choose grim?

[Prof.Gringo]

I just grabbed a bowl of popcorn...Let the games begin

[Simon in Suzhou]

He was on here in March, April, and May...procrastinating and putting his summer plans (Thailand...no, traveling in China...no, summer camp in Maine) before his longer-term job prospects. I'm not referring to what the Henan school did to him. That was not his fault. But by his own admission in his posts he put himself in a hole by waiting so long.

Nelly, in retrospect, I was a bit harsh. You do seem like the decent sort. I'm sure this is a difficult time, and I do hope you find your way to a good place.

I'm more frustrated that situations like this give fodder to the "bash China" crowd lingering here.

[nellychess]

I just don't understand why you say I ignored advice, or complained. I received differing advice, and thought I was making the smartest decision.

I had cell phone 3g internet on my phone in Maine so I could post on here, but obviously that's not enough to research and apply for jobs.

You shouldn't judge people without knowing all the facts. I would expect a teacher who has to deal with loads of students, and co workers should know that.

What is going on in your life that you feel it necessary to go back and look for things in my previous posts?

I think I should probably ignore people like you instead of defending my actions.

[dean_a_jones]

If the school really wanted you, they would probably just have stuck some teaching experience on your CV without asking you or something, and then submitted it. It is not like the people processing your documents are doing thorough background checks or whatever, especially in central provinces like Henan. So as others have said, it seems a little suspicious that, this late, you are getting this kind of news. I would assume this is a no go unless you can come up with some kind of teaching experience or situation you can spin into teaching experience. Even then, it seems quite late for a school to be looking for someone who is not already in country and ready to start immediately.

So I would suggest that if you want to keep looking you have two options: look for a position that will begin in early 2014, when new university jobs might open up for the second semester (which will be in March, I think); try for a job at a training school, as they tend to hire year-round. Either way, and internet issues aside, your general strategy for finding work here does not seem to have worked thus far, so you need to try something different.

You might try going through a recruiter--I know many here will say do it all by yourself, but if you really do want that mid-year university job, mass-mailing places on your own, with your experience, is probably not going to get you far. Recruiters can work in your favour because they have the connections and know what the school etc. needs to see with regards to your paperwork etc. It will probably mean less pay for your first contract, but if you are serious about teaching here it might help you get that all important foot through the door, after which you will be on the ground, with actual experience, and more likely to find something that suits your specific wants or needs. This is probably the quickest way to find something and get over here, although you run all the (considerable) risks associated with this method (so know them and be on the lookout/ask the right questions etc.).

Otherwise, keep plugging away on your own, but you need to get better at playing the game, and perhaps lower your expectations a tad for that first job. Keeping in mind your own actual experience in this field, which sounds pretty limited, your first job is going to be about managing to find something that doesn't screw you over, gets you here, gives you some experience and works as a stepping stone if you decide you like it and want to stay.

Good luck anyway.

[Non Sequitur]

[choudoufu]

[dean_a_jones]

[U99A]

China does not really 'verify' experience or educational qualifications. You should see who I am working with.......fake degree holders, no teaching experience at all.

Honesty won't get you anywhere in this country!

[NoBillyNO]