Job Discussion Forums

[Joshua1974]

I've been just offered a job via Guangzhou Xuehai Education Service Co., Ltd. You can check their website at www.xhes.com

I had a telephone interview/chat today with the school's director and a lady from this agency, btw, it's not the job listed on their website, but a comprehensive school including primary, middle, high school and college in Zhanjiang. They promised a private apartment (I specifically asked if it was alright to move in with my chinese fiancee and if it really is private). The salary is 4500 rmb including the apartment with paid gas and electricity bills, and also they would pay for my travel expenses there from Shanghai where I reside at the moment.

Do you guys here have experiences about this company? Please don't respond with a "never go via an agency blablabla etc.", as I'm really tight on cash right now, and if I don't find a satisfactory job by the end of this month, I must go back to Europe. I've been offered a job here in Shanghai too, but this is 30h and teaching 6 to 10 years old kids, with 10K RMB salary, but the hours are simply too long and kids too young, for me to keep up my interest in teaching.
Also I had 2 other schools interested in my application, but both stopped our ongoing email correspondance all of a suddenly. Is this the norm in China, once/if the employers finds a more suitable teacher, they will pretend as if they never emailed or talked with you in the first place?
I myself have a TEFL cert and professional background in IT that involved a bit of teaching, and although I've lived in a native speaking country for the past 5 years, and speak like one, I'm originally from Scandinavia.
Anyhow, is there anybody out there who has experiences about this teacher recruitment & translation company?

edit: typos and can one live a decent existance in Zhanjiang for fourtyfive hundred yuan?

[tw]

[Roger]

Of course, it is NORMAL for employers to stop corresponding when they feel you are asking way too many questions!
Don't forget there is a surplus of jobseekers, believe it or not. I have this on authority. (And it has been my impression for years).

To answer your primary question:
No, never heard of XUEHAI.
Interpretation: They are also-runs in the field, which you do not need to mean either something negative or positive. Have you verified whether they are licenced to hire FTs?

On the other hand, I have been to ZHANJIANG and it would not be my cup of tea of a place. There are dozens of towns like this one, though - and I would give all of them a miss, of course.

I did see a FT who is working in Zhanjiang; he seemed to be relatively upbeat about his experience. I helped a woman in her 60s to find her way to Zhanjiang, and when she returned she said it was out of question for her to go to work there.

The advantages might be: it is a relatively "small" town (officially they seem to have over 5 million inhabitants but I am not sure how they can pack so many into so few concrete; it probably is the populaton figure of the entire district including a dozen towns such as Hai'an).

It has a train station.

It isn't too far from laid-back BEIHAI, and you can get to GUILIN within a few hours by train or bus.

It is near the sea and the sea here is comparatively clean.

The city's natives are not yet spoilt by the new lifestyles and income opportunitites that define the Pearl RIver Delta - more outgoing and more friendly in Zhanjiang.

But the downsides are evident too:
Relative isolation (one train a day to Guangzhou, takes a whole night);

the city has next to zero cultural, historic or tourist value.

There are no upmarket shops (a lone McDonald's and a coffeeshop).

[Joshua1974]

[clomper]

I'm working in Zhanjiang and I remember who the 60 year old lady who came here to visit as well.

Tamil_tigerII stayed here last term and mparansky will be teaching this coming year.

If you are planning to teach in Zhanjiang, can you get the name of the school so I can give you some feedback if they're legit or not.

Claudine

[Mideatoo]

[Joshua1974]

Well, never mind this one. They told me now that they hired another one, what they said was another applicant was given the job while I was hesitating - after the interview on Saturday afternoon, it took full 28 hours until Sunday early evening when I said I will take it...and it was during this time another applicant promised to fly out to HK, apparently to get a Z visa. Sounds like piss to me.
Why would they otherwise ask me to ring the school director on Sunday, who then said he'll decide after 2 days, and that I should deal with the agency, who had first asked me to deal with the school.

In all fairness, the lady at the agency was always professional and friendly, so they might be okay, it's just me whining about the loss of opportunity, but who knows what really happened. I've actually been on interviews, that have turned out to be such that the employer is interviewing people for reserve. On a notion that somebody will quit soon, so they need to have "reserves" that they can call out to the field when one goes missing in action.... This is something I really hate, as job seeking and going to interviews does cost money and time...

[Chris_Crossley]

There are plenty more fish in the Chinese TEFL Sea where that one came from. I'm sure that you will end up with a job to suit both you and the school you will eventually work for. There are plenty of jobs around and there are more or less year-round starts for private language schools if you are in a hurry to teach in China.

I have re-read your original posting where you mention "having to" go back to Europe at the end of August if you don't get a decent job since you allege you are a little strapped for money right now. I must admit that I am slightly confused here, though. Why "must" you go back to (continental?) Europe? You don't explain this in your original post.

[nolefan]

What most people fail to understand or remember is that schools contact at least twenty recruiters looking to fill their vacancies, some of them also advertise directly. It is not different from you contacting 20 schools while looking for that dream job.

Their priority is to fill that vacancy a.s.a.p with the most suitable candidate, time is a deciding factor for them in this case. As soon as the FAO has someone lined up, they can breathe a heck of a lot easier. qualifications count a bit but not much.

Just like many teachers have become disillusioned with schools, schools have are dislillusionned with foreign teachers. It's a two way street. Their impression is that most teachers will complain about every single little thing and will never take the time to try and understand their perspective, so they will just go for the first one that says YES and move on. If things go wrong, they'll deal with it as it happens.