Job Discussion Forums

[WuZetTien]

I'm looking for a job in southern China, preferably Shenzhen or Guangzhou. I don't seem to be having a lot of luck but perhaps I'm approaching this the wrong way.

I have a background as a secondary school social studies teacher in the States. I've taught in China in the 90s and more recently in Beijing for part of 2009. I'm somewhat older than the average Western ESL teacher so this may pose a problem. I have a Masters and this may price me out of the market somewhat but still this shouldn't be an insurmountable barrier. Should I "dumb myself down"?

I've been responding to posts here, Shenzhenparty.com, and any other resources I can find.I do get responses, schools or employers ask for my resume, photos, passport, etc. I send these but then I don't hear back. Something is going wrong but I'm not sure what. Is it up to me to call schools myself? Are there irregularities schools watch out for?

Also, what's the story with Angelina's? I found out about them from here and they seem to have a good reputation. My email correspondence with them has been a bit bizarre. They had one job I was interested in. They seem to be dangling this but leading me somewhere else.

I'd appreciate any advice.

[Niederbom]

I also looked for some jobs in that part of China with no luck, but obviously I'm not as qualified as you are.

I think one problem is that there simply aren't as many jobs posted on the internet for SZ/GZ as there are elsewhere (like Shenyang, Changchun, Tianjin, Harbin, Jiangsu, or BJ/SH). All the major esl job sites seem to have a dearth of jobs for these two cities compared to much smaller cities elsewhere.

So maybe, in general, you send your resume to 10 jobs and, on average, you hear back from 2 of them.

What if SZ/GZ only have 4 jobs?

Would you be willing to cast a wider net?

[nickpellatt]

Just a guess, but there are probably more teachers physically in and around GZ/SZ than anywhere else in China. I would assume most posts end up going to people 'on the ground' so to speak.

[randyj]

Another thing is that Guangdong seems to be a little more strict in the adherence to regulations about hiring: age, qualifications, etc. I mean, the "letter of the law" in this area apparently has more clout in Guangdong. Of course, regulations are merely "guidelines".

[johntpartee]

[powerrose]

Uh........have you contacted the many international schools in Shenzhen? Shenzhen University? You are their model employee (unless you are MUCH older, like 50-60s, but still...)

How about http://www.iss.edu/edustaff/jobs.html?

Keep in mind, the int. schools hired in Dec-Feb, so now you have to wait for September dropouts.

There is a lot of private tutoring in Shenzhen, which can be quite lucrative (I know 3 people personally who say they support themselves on 3-6 clients, and they live in fancy foreigner apartments). There is the issue of a visa, but ...

Angelinas sucks, but reachtoteach can get you interviews at EF and Disney English, if you need a foot in the door....