Job Discussion Forums

[slug93]

After writing horry stories about VN(in the post "goodbye VN").. i've arrived.. two weeks ago and started pounding the pavement.

relevant info about me.. i'm viet kieu so i have vn name and can speak SOMEWHAT VN, since i grew up in the states(got uni degree AND TEFL) i fluent in english AND have worked in business for over 10 yrs in the states(meaning that i can understand business english AND business culture). plus lots of experience giving seminar and corporate training. So you would think all those skills set will give me a edge in finding work..

My first week, i've dropped off my resume(w/ all copies of diploma, TEFL, etc.,) at 10 places. not one placed called me back. i dont know why..
could it be because i'm viet kieu instead of white face. here some parents prefer a white teacher. BUT i cant say that's the reason for the lack of response. what WOULD be interesting experiment would be for me AND a white applicant to walk in together drop off our resume and see who gets call back!

BUT i'm fortunate to have good connection via family in Saigon. Thru these connection i was able to get meeting with high level people at various places. Thru them i would get more personal referrall. This is how i'm able to line up interviews and offers. here in VN, like anywhere else WHO you know is MORE important than WHAT you know. The higher the level of connection the easier it is to get stuff done.

Here's what i found out.. working for schools(colleges) which are all have govt affliation, requires LESS paperwork! I met w/ one college that just took all paperwork and will submit it to the ministry of education to be process. i didnt have to submit ANYTHING else, no police check, no notarize stuff, no certified stuff, nada. the whole process takes 4-6 weeks, because they have to send it to VN embassy in US and check what type of person i am back in the states. This is a little longer for viet kieu because they will check to see if you or your family done political stuff in the past. so if you wrote a anti-govt piece 10 yrs ago for the local community rag, no visa! ha, ha

BUT with private institute then YOU have to go thru all that authentication stuff. police check, translate documents, etc., to get a work permit. which is possible BUT it's LOTS of work, so if you want to come to VN and work, you should have ALL that DONE BEFORE you arrived. And get LOTS of notarized copies! Of course the pay at institute is lot more than uni, unless you're going to some top uni.

Side note: i wrote some very critical piece about VN and it's culture on the "goodbye VN" thread.. While i've encounter slight problem with family, for the most part i have to eat my word.

the weather sucks! for a southern californai guy it's very hot and humid. the traffic sucks, it takes 30 min to go 5 FREAKING km(3 miles) because of traffic! note to newbies, have a cap and face mask(you can buy them here), for the sun and dusk. everything except electronic stuff is VERY CHEAP! food, rent, liquir.. the party scene here SUCKS! clubs/bar close at midnight! work habit is not like the US. people take AFTERNOON NAPS! but at least business open till 10pm. i've seen TONS of foreigner, must more so than my travels to S. America. Not many americans beside Viet Kieu(tons of them!) sometime i feel like i'm in little saigon in Southern California. Because there's sooo many foreigners, i feel less of a need to make foreign friend. In my travel to South america, if i see a fellow foreigner, we'll talk and maybe go for a beer. Here i'm not doing that, partly because i'm NOT staying in hotel(but with my family members). I'm sure once i start working as a teacher, i'll make foreign friends(if anything to be able to speak english and normal speed).

note to newbie.. dog meat is not that tasty and it has the "icky" factor that makes it hard to like.. especially if you came fr US or Europe, where eating dog is not cultural norm. if you must eat it, because business associate want to take you out, then drink lots alchohol..

that's it for now.. feel free to comment..

[Serious_Fun]

[Gordon]

Judging from your post you don't sound like a native English speaker. You are missing most of your articles and your spelling is not very good either. Don't take it personally, just what I observed from this one post. Perhaps that is explains your lack of responses.

[slug93]

it's this stupid laptop with a bad keyboard driver. the cursor is skipping all over the place every now and then. if i type fast without checking, i get screwy stuff. even with checking i get screwy stuff. for an informal internet forum, this board has tough writing critics! BUT i understand since this IS a board about teaching english(and english teacher have a reputation to live down), and writing legible is one of them. so a little ribbing is well deserved.

my spelling IS INDEED VERY BAD, from having worked in business for over 12 yrs. in business we type everything in MS Word w/ spell check, so we dont come across as illiterate when trying to talk to corporate folks. but using spell check, my spelling slowly gotten weaker. thank goodness, during interview the school directors are only evaulating speaking/pronunciation abilities. if they ever start giving spelling test, i'm doom!

i have gotten two offers already both with pay level appropriate for native english speaker. so it's a good thing the hiring people didnt use my post to evaluate my level of fluency! of course the offer is conditional on having my working paper approved by the VN govt

3rd edit.. u guys r really keeping me on my toes..