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Breaking a contract when you're new

 
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Flannelgrungenostalgia



Joined: 10 Dec 2017
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 1:01 pm    Post subject: Breaking a contract when you're new Reply with quote

I have been in a new job since January and it's not working out. I want to be fair with my employer. They haven't exactly treated me badly. It's more that the job is not a good fit.

What to tell new employers? Should I just leave job off CV? How much notice to give current job?
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rioux



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880

PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 11:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it a totally lost cause to stay and try to work things out?

If it is or isn't then I would discuss things with the boss.
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getbehindthemule



Joined: 15 Oct 2015
Posts: 712
Location: Shanghai

PostPosted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 1:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. How is the job not a good fit?
2. What does your contract state with regard to notice (standard seems to be one month)?
3. You are not being treated badly, so can you stick it out and move on afterwards?
4. Have you somebody that you can talk to, to dicuss the issues that you are having with the role?
5. Have you got another job lined up already?
(Whats to say that your next gig won't be a good fit also)
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Flannelgrungenostalgia



Joined: 10 Dec 2017
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sun Apr 28, 2019 2:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you rioux and getbehindthemule for your responses.

The job is not a good fit because the program is top-down, meaning the lessons and curricula are decided by higher-ups and I don't have input into what I teach. The students seem to hate the curricula too and have complained about it. Teaching them is a nightmare. If I could make changes, it might be better, but have been cautioned against this.

I would be willing to stick it out if the contract were one year but it is three. I am getting deeper into my 40s and feeling the pull of mortality. I don't want to waste my life in a job that makes me want to weep.

As for lining up another job, I am looking actively. But I'm not sure what to tell potential employers. I'm not flaky and I have never ever left a job early (been teaching since 1998). Will they view this as a red flag? I am looking to return to the US, so perhaps I can play the 'this country didn't agree with me' card?
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getbehindthemule



Joined: 15 Oct 2015
Posts: 712
Location: Shanghai

PostPosted: Sun Apr 28, 2019 2:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Three year contract seems unusual and not something I'd be happy to sign.
But more imporantly, I would also hate to have to teach a curriculum where I have no involvement to amend and improve to lesson plans with my own ideas and resources. So I totally understand where you're coming from. You should talk to your boss about this.
If you are leaving China, whats to worry about, just talk to your boss and work your notice?
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Shonai Ben



Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 617

PostPosted: Sun Apr 28, 2019 8:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I can add my two cents........been in a similar situation with the job sucking so badly it was a struggle just to get out of bed and face the day......other teachers I have seen do a runner in the same situation.....by just not showing up for work at all and no notice........just disappear.

So, my advice would be to put in your notice.Work for the next two weeks and get out of there.

Look after you first.Don't worry about your employer.

And, possibly the most important thing.Try to stay positive and find your next job asap.

Good luck.
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dragonpiwo



Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin

PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2019 5:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's been said that doing a runner after pay day is the SOP.
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General Disarray



Joined: 23 Jun 2010
Posts: 58
Location: Kent

PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2019 11:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You've probably made your decision now, but to add my view as I am sure other people will read this in your position.

Repeat what others have said; look after yourself first.

I've left a job after two weeks (Priest asking about my personal life, students were a nightmare, asking to submit a scheme of work for 4 classes within 2 weeks all while my friends were making more money teaching online for less hours than me.)

I didn't feel too bad as I paid for my flights, VISA, so the school wasn't out of pocket, maybe lost a bit of time.

The first mistake was rushing into the job and not asking enough questions.

Next time, I wasn't scared to turn down a job that didn't feel right. It was a good experience in realising that a job interview is also for you to find out if the place is correct for you.

I sent them an e-mail, leaving without a trace of a message I feel is wrong, especially if you work in a country where "bad" things can happen.

I would have felt guilty if the school had invested a lot of money in hiring me though.
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MotherF



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W

PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2019 10:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

General Disarray wrote:


I didn't feel too bad as I paid for my flights, VISA, so the school wasn't out of pocket, maybe lost a bit of time.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I would have felt guilty if the school had invested a lot of money in hiring me though.


I do the hiring at a place that does not pay for flights nor visas. It takes us about 4 months from posting an ad to having a new teacher arrive because of the visa process. We may not have invested in tangible things like airline tickets, but during those four months we invest a lot. Especially in the form of man hours, but we also invest in travel to the immigration office to start the visa application process. The office is three hours one way from our school and we must go in person twice. For one person hired we usually interview a dozen and spend a lot of time checking their references and background, and when you run off with little or no notice, keep in mind, it will take us about another 4 months to find a new teacher and in the mean time we have to cover the classes you left, yet another cost to us in extra labor.

The right thing to do is to work until the end of a course period. So if you have a year or three year contract, break it, but work until the end of the semester, quarter, or what ever term your school uses.
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General Disarray



Joined: 23 Jun 2010
Posts: 58
Location: Kent

PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2019 7:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So your school and situation is a completely different situation to this one;

I had to sort out the VISA process, had to pay for my transport to the capital (8 hours away) and back to the city within the space of 4 days. The school didn't help at all with this process, but I was able to survive as I had a good level of the local language.

I also found out that the teacher previously quit his job 3 months into year and I was his mid term replacement, so the hiring process was not as long as a normal hiring process. Maybe 1 week? I saw the job advert, applied, was interviewed in the space of 5 days. When you have a class of children laughing about how the previous teacher had a mental break down in the class, and then parents coming in saying they are happy a new teacher has arrived but the children need a lot of discipline, you know that you have stepped into a shit situation.

Sure the school may be without a teacher after me, but I wasn't the original cause of the situation, and maybe the school should look at why two teachers left the job in quick succession. Not giving me much time to settle in and putting a lot of workload on me was overwhelming.

There was other behaviour from the native staff that while they thought was funny, was bordering on bullying such as childish pranks. (Such as encouraging me to put hand gel on my food saying it was a local sauce.)

I take your point, but this was a completely different scenario, and I don't feel guilty about it at all.

There were red flags that I shouldnt have taken the job, but I ignored them I guess because of confirmation bias and just wanted to move back to the said country.
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rioux



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880

PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

General Disarray wrote:
the previous teacher had a mental break down in the class


Based on what you described I think it would be abnormal if he/she didn't have a mental break down.
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getbehindthemule



Joined: 15 Oct 2015
Posts: 712
Location: Shanghai

PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

‘Such as encouraging me to put hand gel on my food saying it was a local sauce.’

That is horrendous and would really add to an already tough experience, feel for the teacher who had a breakdown!

edit: What country did this happen in btw?
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depechemodefan1966



Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Posts: 71

PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello there.

What a terrible experience and I hope you managed to get yourself sorted out. I hope you have learned something from it and will take notice of the red flags in future. They are there for a reason.

I don't know what you did in the end, but for my two pennies worth, it's best to see out the three-month trial period and tell them it isn't working and want to move on. Schools and teachers both know, usually within the first month that things are not working.

I did a similar job to you where all the materials, lesson and plans were prepared by the higher-ups. Unfortunately, there was no room at all for adding your own input - nothing added, nothing taken away. I stayed six weeks and wouldn't do that type of work again.

Some schools deserve what they get when teachers just walk. My first-ever school in Poland was like that. Both myself and another Native Speaker walked out on him after seven weeks. I felt no guilt about doing it, as quite frankly, he deserved it.

The easiest thing is when you have a flat this is provided by the school and therefore, if you leave, you don't lose anything. The hardest part is when you have spent some time looking for a flat, found a really good one, signed the year-long contract and then want to leave. It's quite a financial stinger when you lose your bond, which is usually a month's rent. I was in this situation, but I was so unhappy, that I just said, b******s to it! It took me a while to claw that money back, but it was worth it to get out of there.

All the best and good luck to you in your next project.
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