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bmoore
Joined: 30 Oct 2009
Posts: 18
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 Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:04 am Post subject: Race in Indoneisa |
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Does anyone know if being of mixed heritage is a problem in regards to getting hired? I see alot of ads asking for recent pics  whats the reason for this? |
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Ozindo
Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 40
Location: Indonesia
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| Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:25 am Post subject: |
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Not in my experience. Photos are a normal part of every job application process here, and everyone carries photo ID. I don't believe that there is anything sinister about ads that ask for a recent photo.
As I and others have said before on this forum, working alongside people of varying ethnic backgrounds is part and parcel of working in ESL.
Hope that helps. |
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ljb
Joined: 12 Feb 2009
Posts: 41
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| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:51 am Post subject: |
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| I don't see the issue of mixed race being a problem for you either, I have not yet come across anyone who has felt discriminated against due to their ethnicity within ESL. |
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MrMrLuckyKhan
Joined: 08 Feb 2008
Posts: 282
Location: Kingdom of Cambodia
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:18 am Post subject: Re: Race in Indoneisa |
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| bmoore wrote: |
| Does anyone know if being of mixed heritage is a problem in regards to getting hired? I see alot of ads asking for recent pics whats the reason for this? |
It depends solely on that particular school. The previous posts seem to imply that race is not an issue here in Indonesia when it comes to EFL, but I others would strongly argue this.
The bottom line is you should still apply at to any school you want. If they don't want to hire you because of your race, I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted to work for them anyways, right?
good luck! |
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tanyakenapa
Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 180
Location: Batavia
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 11:17 am Post subject: |
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My school didn't want to hire anyone with a Dutch passport, only because apparently its more difficult to process with the immigration people.
However my friend who is mixed Indo/Dutch and has a dutch passport has had no trouble working for other schools and she spent almost 10 years at EF also. |
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bmoore
Joined: 30 Oct 2009
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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That is all good to hear. They reason i had ask the question in the first place, was not that I had felt that the few interviews that I have had went bad but, because of a few other post I have read. It must just have been a few people who feel that being white makes them a better choice. there comments were off the wall and anyone could tell that they had "darker" (pun intended  ) issues than ESL help or information for others.....thanks all for the great replys |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 6:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Ozindo wrote: |
Not in my experience. Photos are a normal part of every job application process here, and everyone carries photo ID. I don't believe that there is anything sinister about ads that ask for a recent photo.
As I and others have said before on this forum, working alongside people of varying ethnic backgrounds is part and parcel of working in ESL.
Hope that helps. |
I see no valid reason for a prospective employer to ask for a photo. They can ask for one when they hire you and offer to meet you at the airport. I realize that Asia isn't like North America (where employers, generally, don't discriminate based on such irrelevant things as skin color) but I will not send a photo to any prospective employer. If they want to know what I look like they can hire me and see what I look like when I report for my first day of work. If they have a problem with that then that isn't a place I want to work for anyway. Unlike you, I do think there is a sinister reason behind asking for the photo: so they can discriminate. |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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| tanyakenapa wrote: |
My school didn't want to hire anyone with a Dutch passport, only because apparently its more difficult to process with the immigration people.
However my friend who is mixed Indo/Dutch and has a dutch passport has had no trouble working for other schools and she spent almost 10 years at EF also. |
Indonesia used to be essentially a Dutch colony and it has more difficulty processing a Dutch passport? That seems strange. |
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newgabe
Joined: 13 Nov 2006
Posts: 18
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Chancellor wrote: |
| Indonesia used to be essentially a Dutch colony and it has more difficulty processing a Dutch passport? That seems strange. |
Not really, the Indonesians had a long hard struggle to get rid of the Dutch and have no sentimental associations with them. But that's not really the point I suspect- more that for a company to get the right to employ a 'foreign expert' English teacher in Indonesia, that teacher needs to come from UK, Australia, NZ, Canada or US- what are considered native-English speaking countries. I have heard of people from South Africa or Singapore being rejected, although they regarded English as their first language. |
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Ozindo
Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 40
Location: Indonesia
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| Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:34 am Post subject: |
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You're right, newgabe. To be classified as a "foreign expert", and therefore be issued with a short-term working visa to teach English, the government is very specific about the countries of origin. Language schools don't write the rules.
As for discrimination on the basis of a photo, I've never experienced it. Most employers ask for a recent photo and all Indonesian job-seekers ensure they have them ready to send off with their CV.
I once sat with an Indonesian who was sifting through some applications for a job vacancy who remarked when he saw one photo "She's pretty" and "He looks strong" when viewing another. He gave all photos a cursory glance and busied himself with the information contained in the resumes. Later I learnt that neither the "pretty" or "strong" one got the job.
Sinister? I don't think so. Photos are part and parcel of job-seeking here.
That issue is, in my opinion, quite separate from the matter of what passport you hold.
I can only repeat: I've worked alongside people of many skin colours and ethnic backgrounds, and have not seen any signs of discrimination.
That's my experience, but I respect others may feel differently. |
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MrMrLuckyKhan
Joined: 08 Feb 2008
Posts: 282
Location: Kingdom of Cambodia
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| Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Ozindo wrote: |
I can only repeat: I've worked alongside people of many skin colours and ethnic backgrounds, and have not seen any signs of discrimination.
That's my experience, but I respect others may feel differently. |
If you've lived/worked in Indonesia for longer than 15 minutes, and can still say you've 'not seen any signs of discrimination,' I suspect you are completely blind, OR have the worst case of cataracts and should consider contacting the Guinness Book of World Records about your condition. |
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ellecbee
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:34 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| [If you've lived/worked in Indonesia for longer than 15 minutes, and can still say you've 'not seen any signs of discrimination,' I suspect you are completely blind, OR have the worst case of cataracts and should consider contacting the Guinness Book of World Records about your condition.] |
Ahhhh yes, so true. Trust me, if you are a "Bule" you will be discriminated against. I love walking in the mall to have people stop, turn and watch me walk by like I have 3 eyeballs. Indonesians also believe that if you are a Bule, you are rich. The first Bahasa I learned was how to tell the cab drivers to not screw with me and take me STRAIGHT home as they liked to play this I can't find your house game and a 25,000 cab ride would quickly turn into 50.000. Most Indonesians never make it off their Island, much less out of the country, so trust me, you WILL be stared at A LOT - unless you look like them. The upside is that most Indonesians are friendly and quite passive. If you can deal with being a bit of an oddity, you will be fine. |
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