Job Discussion Forums

Stuart_H · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 9

Like many people here I'm looking for my first job teaching in China. Very quickly I've come across suspicious people. My question is, how do you know if the person you're dealing with is trying to rip you off? How do you confirm that the person e-mailing you is actually from the school they say they are? Any help for a newbie would be appreciated!

Mydnight · Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2005 7:42 pm Post subject:

My advice would be to email people that have actually worked in the schools that you are interested in. If the school cannot give you email addresses and information such as that, there are thousands of other schools out there that will.

Those that are the most giving with information always seem to be the schools with the least to hide.

burnsie · Joined: 18 Aug 2004 Posts: 489 Location: Beijing

Generally as suspicions come from emails with poor grammar, direct offers and simple responses. This is not always true but you can't help but want to know more about what is going on.

Most Chinese usually withhold information or don't tell you the full story unless you ask specific or direct questions on everything. It's very difficult to determine if you are being ripped off or not.

Post the school's name or other details and you might get other responses of people that have worked at your school.

wonderd · Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 68 Location: Shanghai, China

Ask to speak with a foreigner or two that worked in their company or school before. If they can't provide that, then I would be worried. Be careful of first timers. If you are their first foreign teacher, then you've got a lot more to worry about, because there's a good chance they don't know what they're doing.

tofuman · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 937

Deleted

tofuman · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 937

When talking with an FAO, you can safely assume that he is either lying to you or not telling you things that he should (passively lying).

Unless you are a linguist, a trained educator, or a missionary using ESL as a front, teaching oral English to unmotivated students in classes of fifty once a week, in China, is a scam.

My views on FAOs may be changing, however, as I move along.

qiaohan · Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 24 Location: Shenzhen

A good public or private school or agency will ask for many of your current professional references and will check them thoroughly.

chengdude · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 294

My 2 cents:

Do you see the same job cross-posted all over the Internet and does the post reappear with (alarming) frequency?

Are you applying to a school that includes a proper noun/an academic division/a level of education in its name or are you sending e-mail to "a nice school in (fill-in-the-city)?

When the offer or contract arrrives, do you find yourself wondering if it's the same as the one you to which you originally reponded?

Do you see "volunteers" or "EF" in the name of the organization you are communicating with?

Are "fantastic" or "highest salary" or other superlatives part of the lead copy in the job post?

Are you corresponding with someone named Cherry or Rainbow?

Is the e-mail address from an @yahoo.com or @hotmail.com address? To a slightly lesser degree, an @126.com or @sina.com address?

Do you receive a generic application form as an attachment when someone responds to your query?

Do the e-mails stop after you start to ask more detailed questions?