Job Discussion Forums

[matthewfbyrnes]

Howdy!

I'm hoping to teach in China this late-summer/fall with my girlfriend. I've read a lot of posts advising getting a job direct from a university; however, I wonder if the difficulties of coming with a partner make using a recruiter worthwhile.

Here's a little about our situation:

Me: White, US citizen male, 29, full beard and long hair. I have a teaching license and four years of teaching in the US, a BA and a little grad school work. I also have two misdemeanors (unlawful assembly and trespassing) within the last two years.

Her: White, US citizen female, 24, speaks Mandarin fairly well. BA in Geology from a top 30 lib arts school. She has two years of teaching-ish experience (self employed as a tutor as her main source of income, and TA experience in college). She has a clean record.

We're hoping to work at the same job or nearby. The weather is better everywhere in China than in our current home, so that's not an issue. She's convinced that we need to be in a city with a healthy western population because I don't speak Chinese. Thoughts?

Is it worth going through a recruiter considering how different our qualifications are? Does anyone know of any particularly savory/trustworthy recruiters?

[choudoufu]

this will probably be difficult for y'all. some (not all, not most) of the
more developed areas/cities with large numbers of foreigners are
starting to require criminal background checks.

branch out. it's possible to get by with limited or no mandarin.

'girlfriend' means nothing job- or visa-wise. you both would appear to
meet the requirements of most schools. except for that CBI.......

the weather may be better, but consider the pollution. the areas y'all
are likely to choose will be highly polluted.

i think you're the first ever to refer to recruiters as "savory." you
can do this without a recruiter. contact schools direct. i'm sure
some would be happy to hire a pair of teachers.

[Bud Powell]

Lose the beard and hair. Really. You will be judged by your appearance. I worked with a guy who had long hair, and the students' comments about him weren't nice. The FAO was p*ssed that his passport photo was taken five years earlier when he had short hair. She pressured me to make him get a haircut.

That's just my experience. Attitudes may differ in in cities and schools.

You and your partner can apply to the same school, but don't count on the administration looking favorably upon your living together if you're not married. That may differ from school to school and city to city as well.

Though a lot of people malign recruiters, I've had no bad experiences. I recommend esljobs.com. If you want to try contacting the schools directly, you might want to try abroadchina.org. You can contact the school directly through that job board once you post your resume.

If you use abroadchina.org., submit a generic resume with only job dates and general descriptions of your jobs. For your name, use "Male Applicant" and "Female Applicant". Leave as small a personal online footprint as possible.

[doogsville]

[johntpartee]

[Simon in Suzhou]

I've sent you a private message.

[fat_chris]

[SH_Panda]

Do you only want to teach university or are you open to teaching kids?

If the latter, feel free to drop me a PM as I may have an opportunity for you two.

[SH_Panda]

I should add, this opportunity is NOT in a language mill

[fat_chris]

[matthewfbyrnes]

I really appreciate everyone's help and advice! It seems like going direct through the school is still the thing to do.

And regarding the beard and long hair-- I understand it limits job opportunities, even here in the states. I'll see what I can get, job-wise, first before thinking of losing the beard or hair. I had a professor who said, "any job that makes you cut your hair is not a job you want anyways." But maybe that only holds true in the states.

[El Macho]

You've got a teaching certificate. Unless you're looking for an absolute minimum of hours, get on Search Associates and look for jobs at schools that want certified teachers. While you'll work more during the week, you won't have to deal with the various irritants in the Chinese schedule (makeup days...), will have nice long vacations and get to take off both western and Chinese holidays, and will earn substantially more.

Failing Search Associates and related international school recruiters, there are outfits like DiPont and Ameson that are willing to pay for teachers with qualifications.

The international schools won't care that much about the beard and ponytail while the Chinese institutions are more likely to.