Job Discussion Forums

Photograffiti · Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 10

Hey there everyone, I know this is a bit unusual, but I am desperate... I am out of work, I did the "breaking the contract the right way" thing... you know the release letter and all that, thinking that I would have no prolem finding a new job. I have spent the last 3 weeks looking all over for jobs... (mind you I am trying for the Shanghai area, or thereabouts) going to all the places listed on the "Best internet sites for jobs" thread, but I haven't had any luck yet. So here is my request...
Is there anyone out there who knows of any immediate jobs in Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, or Hangzhou?
I have all the requirements... degree, experience, and such, but I just cant find work.

Thanks

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

If I were to guess, many schools will start advertising round about mid-January to mid-February. The semester is winding down to a close in the next month or so and some teachers may be leaving their positions mid-term. Also, if I were to guess, many of those that didn't like their positions and left their school early, did so in the first month or two and those positions have already been refilled or eliminated. You might check some language schools for short term jobs (weekends, evenings, a winter holiday English camp?) that will tide you over until you can find a more permanent place.

Finally, you may not see much activity until AFTER the winter/New Year's holiday in late January to mid-February.

ContemporaryDog · Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 1477 Location: Wuhan, China

you might as well just go through an agency for now.

echo2004sierra · Joined: 12 Nov 2004 Posts: 90 Location: prc

http://www.eslhookup.com/SchoolDetails.asp?sid=216

http://home.tele2.ch/teach_jiangsu/List.htm

http://www.eslsky.com/shanghai/index.htm

http://usl.com/employment.htm

http://www.tefl.cc/ShangHai/

http://www.thatsmagazines.com/home/index.asp?location=sh

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=shanghai+international+school&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t&fl=0&x=wrt

lagerlout2006 · Joined: 17 Sep 2003 Posts: 985

He has a point though. Jobs are not as plentiful as many think-at least the decent ones. In the Shanghai corridor especially .

ContemporaryDog · Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 1477 Location: Wuhan, China

Yeah I know a guy from Canada who already had a few years teaching experience, and something higher than just hte CELTA (DELTA I think) who could only find something in Shanghai paying 5000.

Sinobear · Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 1269 Location: Purgatory

Where are all the teachers who are looking for jobs? It's amazing that you can post a job offer (personally endorsed) and not hear anything from anyone despite a firm, fair, offer.

I'm just b**ching at this point. But I feel better, now, honest.

struelle · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 2372 Location: Shanghai

Kev is right about the timing, as Jan is normally a slow month for teachers and the hiring activity now wouldn't be that high.

But seriously, I wish that people would rely more on facts and reality than stereotypes when it comes to finding jobs and working in Chinese cities. The biggest stereotype of all is that there are good jobs aplenty all over China for native speakers, just waiting to be snatched up at any time year. So yeah, you can just quit your job and/or do a midnight run any time you want, and something else will be waiting for you.

Stereotype or reality? Again, it depends on many factors: region, teaching background, employer, season, appearance, etc.

Steve

oatgnist · Joined: 07 Aug 2004 Posts: 90

http://www.teach-in-china.net/classifieds/CPViewItem.asp?ID=1060

Sanjiang University in Nanjing seems to have genuine vacancies.

Good luck.

c-way · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 226 Location: Kyoto, Japan

Well since were on the topic,
I'll be finishing up my TEFL diploma at the beginning of March in SuZhou. How is the job market looking at that point in the year.
I want to find a job right after I finish the diploma, but I've heard so many horror stories about swindler bosses and unfair pay on this forum that I don't want to be forced into taking a lousy job.
Is SuZhou a good place to work and how does the cost of living compare to that of, say, Shanghai.
I don't have the balls to go much farther north. I've never lived in a place where it snowed, or really even got that cold.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

I have amassed quite a pile of flak over the years from disgruntled gys who wanted to set me right about the job market that I keep to depict in a rather dim light.

It simply isn't true that jobs are there for you to choose from, full stop! The schools can choose.
Case to support this: a "training centre" with no licence and no official name hires someone, promising "150 RMB".
The pay, it turns out later, is 150 per 60 minutes of actual teaching; the classes are 45 minutes long, and the break is anywhere from 10 minutes to 20 minutes. Effective hourly wage: 100!

Not bad but still not the right job.

Because they are opportunistic. They only hire you per class. If they cannot convince their customers to give you a chance you have no income.
So they promise you to roll several lessonsinto one day. You accept. They accept, or so it seems.
It works one day, then, next time, the lessons are spread over several days, and you must commute to the same school at your leisure and time and expense every day. You teach 45 minutes, maybe 90 minutes, and you put in a total of up to 2 hours a day in commuting...

Yes, such jobs abound, but my patience and my endurance are not illimited. I want a little steadiness. I want to plan my next week's timetable. I don't want to be at others' mercy!

Why has it come this way and this far?
Simply - most jobs are these days offered by middlemen. Call them recruiters. They don't hire you. They only peddle you to public schools and they cash in big - up to 50% of tuition ends up in their pockets. If you make 100, they make 100.

Since the beginning of this century, adults account for far fewer contact time than primary school and middle school students do; yes, I am talking about those well-salaried ones among us working for a training centre. Training centres have shifted their focus from in-house classes ('in-house" meaning in their own premises) to teaching at public schools. I distinctly remember in the 1990s the majority of us taught adults in evening classes or in corporate classes during afternoons. Those days are largely gone! Adults hardly care for English any more. China is in the WTO, and nobody actually knows in what way English would benefit them. Go to a trade fair, and most interpreters there are fresh university graduates who offer their services equally to foreign businessmen and to CHinese traders.

So, if the poster really wants a new job he is well advised to be geographically mobile; he may have to accept a position in LANZHOU. At a public college or university! But then again, he will have to be a little patient until the season is ripe. They will hire towards the end of February!