Job Discussion Forums

[tw]

Well, first there was the medical exam, then police record check. Last week the employer sent an e-mail to my former co-worker. He had written a letter of recommendation for me to them weeks ago. It seems it was not good enough because it was missing the all-important red stamp of the school.

The problem was, he was in Shenyang and wouldn't be back in Dalian until the 20th -- the day he was to go back to Australia. Consider that, along with the fact that he is no longer employed by the former employer AND even if he was hired, he wouldn't be authorized to use THE red stamp anyway. I thought I was screwed.

In the end, I had no choice but to give the employer my former employer's FAO telephone number (same employer as my former co-worker). Yesterday, I was told that the former employer faxed another reference letter to the employer -- with the stamp.

So, now I know not to use personal reference anymore. Be nice to your employer for a full year so they will give you a nice letter of recommendation -- with a red stamp on it.

Hopefully in 2 weeks' time they will send me the needed documents so I can go get my Z visa.

[Susie]

I have never ever thought of giving any of my new employers a letter of reference of employment from a former colleague at any of my previous work places even if I didn't get along with the last employer.

In one situation, I was employed at an agent company - my legal employment documents were in the name of that agent company.

The agent breached on his contractual obligations with me (and others) for 5 months or so, before taking on new partners and changing the company name.

None of my legal documents were up-dated to the new company name, the work had effectively dried up by this time even though the agent had promised in the contract to pay me a fixed sum per month - he had always paid below the fixed sum. The agent didn't pay the promised sum of money, he only paid me for the teaching that I had done, and since he couldn't supply much teaching I wasn't getting paid.

When I finally challenged him on the matter it was too late, since the company change of name had effectively rendered me legally out of the game, and the law only covers people who have been employed for 6 months or more (so I was told).

Anyway, I was furious and out of pocket, and to add insult to injury, the agent wrote a letter of dismissal accusing me of all kinds of wrong-doings that I wasn't guilty of. I paid RMB800 to get a legal consultant to send him a letter about his false accusations, but I didn't get any compensation for the money that he should have paid me over the months.

I had to move on quickly, but in order to do that I needed a reference letter of employment and the agent clearly wouldn't give one. So I turned to one of the school headmasters where the agent had sent me out to work towards the beginning of our working relationship. The headmaster was busy but told me to write up my own letter of reference and he'd put it on his school's letter-headed paper and sign it.

With this letter I was able to move on but new employers did ask why I hadn't got a letter of reference in the name of the agent.

That experience was a very difficult one to get out of. The agent was used to illegally employing foreigners on a part-time basis and abusing them. I my case even though I was initially legal, (until the company change of name and new partners), the abuse continued.

There are some nasty Chinese men out there employing foreigners and their only purpose seems to be to make money at the expense of the foreigner.