Job Discussion Forums

[altaiwan]

I came here on a recruiter who had the notion of placing me in the boonies some small uniteresting town. Now I have yet tp sign any contract am anxious to move to the city and live the big city city life. I mean the only real diversion here is being stared at here everyday and having a laugh. Is changing jobs that easy ? what bout being blacklisted I dont think my employer or my recruiter filig my application for work permit and arc soon wouldlike if I gave them the slip. Or does this not even matter? how much freedopm do I have to switch? what if it I soon get the wp with through them can I still move can I stiil switch or is too late then

[Ki]

Get out while you still can. Call the CLA and see at what stage your work permit is at and get them to cancel it. Make sure you get all of your documents, passport, degree, paper work and not anyone else. Keep them safe.
Now there are two ways to play this. I'm not sure how long you've been there and how much you will lose. You can play it the nice way and give them two weeks or four notice. Or you can just pack your bags and head for the bus/train station in the middle of the night. I would hate to recommend the latter option but it may be to your benefit.

Don't listen to any of the lies, threats, promises the recruiter may tell you. Don't sign anything. If you have been there less than a month you can leave anyway, probably without giving any notice.

It sounds like if you stay you are in for a year of hell. Which recruiter is it?

[altaiwan]

what if your short on funds and have only a 30 day landing visa and would need a first months salary to make the move. I have read that getting a second job on your existing work permit is possible now. But again I am only just beginning to understand the rules and regulations pertaining to this issue

[BigWally]

a 30 day visa will be problematic, and any decent recruiter would have advised you to obtain a 60 day visitors visa before coming into the country anyways, as there is almost no way to get an ARC within 30 days of arrival.....

the cash thing is also a big problem, but if you're willing to throw the dice here's how it could work out....spend your remaining cash on cheap transport to your city of choice (any city but Taipei will help keep expenses down once you're there), of course food is cheap if you're willing to live off rice & noodles for a few days, and check your bags into a locker at the bus terminal/train station....it'll be easier than carrying tons of luggage aroudn everywhere with you...pack a backpack with some essentials....

start looking into schools immediately (read: that day)...(if you feel really deperate you can alwasy try this: if you see any white people on the street, politely stop them and strike up a convo, ask if they know of any schools looking for people because odds are you'll run into someone who is or knows an english teacher ) in this case i might lean toward a chain because they can usually offer you some type of a loan (supposing you are hired) to keep you a float, and so you can get yourself a place to live.....

if all this works out you then have a place to live, and a job, the next step will be your work permit issues, which supposing you find a reputable school will try to help you out where they can, but you may have to spend some money in order to do a visa run to hong kong to extend your visa.....

i'm not an expert in this but from what i've read in the past, this seems like a good course of action right now....if anyone else wants to correct me anywhere, please do....

good luck

cheers/ganbei!

[dangerousapple]

Before you run, a few questions:

Did you research carefully before coming to Taiwan? A 30-day visa is not the normal procedure, and doesn't give you any extra time for job hunting.

Were you mislead by the recruiter in any way? Did he explain where you would be living and what you would be doing?

Has the school started your paperwork yet? The spelling in your first post makes it a little difficult to understand.

Are you legally entitled to work in Taiwan? That's a big one, because if you aren't you'll be stuck with whatever jobs you can find.

If you were mislead by anyone, then sure, get the heck out of nowhere. However, if you knew what you were getting into but once there realized that you don't like it, you should think a little bit. That school may or may not have their next year's profits riding on your shoulders. They most likely used a recruiter because small towns have trouble getting native speakers. You could hurt them quite a bit by running.

[Ki]

And you could hurt yourself by staying. What an ethical dilemna. Every job has a thirty day get out of jail free period. Use it. Contact a chail shool like HESS and make sure you state you will ONLY work in a big city. Get a credit card or call your parents for a short loan. Looks like you will need to do a visa run anyway.

[Toe Save]

[SanChong]

I'd agree with everything Dangerous Apple wrote. You really do have two options and they both depend on how you came into this situation:

1) Leave the job right away. I would only recommend this if you were totally misled by the school/recruiter. What recruiter did you use and what school are you at?

2) If everyone was honest with you, but you just aren't happy with the situation, you should definitely do the right thing. Give a month's notice and be insistent that you will be leaving at the end of that month. You are in a foreign country: If people are being good to you, you should treat them with respect in return. If you aren't happy, then leave, but do it the right way.

Your visa situation is very confusing. You came on a 30 day landing visa, but your work permit is in process? That is entirely impossible as you need a visitor's visa to apply for a work permit/resident visa. As people have said, any good recruiter would have made sure you arrived on a visitor's visa.

[TaoyuanSteve]

SanChong,

Many things are possible with the right connections here. I have known schools that have been able to obtain work permits and resident visas for teachers on landing visas without visa runs. It depends really on who they know and if they can call in any favours owed to them. Never say impossible when it comes to this kind of thing in Taiwan. Although, OP is best to clarify if the work permit is indeed being processed or if s/he will need to do a visa run soon.

Also, I agree with the sentiment re: recruiters. They are best avoided if possible. They will try to place you in the sticks (because those are the places that have the most difficulty attracting and retaining staff). I have met many people who have used recruiters (my self included, when I first arrived). None have been totally content with the service. The best single reason to avoid recruiters is: They are totally unnecessary. There are plenty of jobs around. It's a piece of cake to get a job yourself.

I'd like a few more specifics from the OP:

What town are you in? If you aren't too far away from a major center, you might find you are happy in the place you are. Describe the job and your duties. Are they asking a lot for little pay?

Obviously your visa situation and finances are going to influence your ability to move right now. Maybe consider sticking it out and seeing how it goes.

[Toe Save]

San Chong,

Silly or not, you are entitled to your opinion. I believe you are either involved with or actually the proprieter of Reach to Teach and/or buxiban.com, are you not? This is not a bad thing and I wish you all the fortune in the world. Some people do need recruiters. Just not those with a sense of adventure and a small bankroll.

I hypothesize this (your participation in the previously mentioned sites) as you seem to always offer these two sites up as advice. I don't say that they aren't honest and helpful. I just say that they are useless and redundant.

As for me, I have been here 5 years. I maintain that I could go to any city in Taiwan, get off the train and within two hours have 3 job offers. I could do that even if I dumbed down my resume to show zero experience in the field. I could do this 5 years ago and I could do it today. Folks, there are jobs a plenty. Always have been, always will be. Come on down.

Please don't call my opinions silly. Disagree until your heart is content, but please don't judge.

[BigWally]

[altaiwan]

I believe I was misled by my recruiter only in that I should come on a 30 day landing visa which seems to have been foolish in hindsight when I could easily have gotten the 60 day visa back in my home country. I am in a small insignificant town in Changua county working for a well known chain school. I rather name my employer and/or recruiter since I find myself in the thick of things right now and prefer to avoid shooting myself in the foot by naming names. I think most the responses have been helpful and are appreciated. But I do get the feeling that a alot of maneuvering is taking place by my recruiter and employer to tie me down into signing a contract and being stuck here. Since arriving here the recruiter has already done the medical with me and my diploma and passport are in my employers hands as he will take of applying for the work permit. I wll have to do a visa run in 12 days soon since I arrived here last August 24th. Most posters are right if I had the money or the means I could just get up and leave which seems to be what my gut is telling me. But the poster who replied that I should leave the right way and wait a month or so and give notice also sounds good too becuase I can always get a second job on my existing worki permit. I hope I am understanding thi spoint correctly. again I am only just coming to unavel the complex web of rules that apply to visas and work permits in Taiwan so bear with me. Any more clarification would be greatly appreciated.

[BigWally]

[Toe Save]

[BigWally]