Job Discussion Forums

hochhasd · Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 422

I will need to submit a letter of recommendation for a position in China for a public or private school.
My concern is that I will have a problem with the one I have from my previous school in Korea.
The letter was typed on regular printer paper( the school would not give paper with the school's letterhead) I forgot to put the date on the letter in which I typed it. I forgot to type the schools name in the center of the letter.
The body states where I worked ,what I did ,length of time and I did a good job. The principal's name was written in English and he signed it.

Will this be a problem? Confused

Zero · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 1402

-Highly unlikely anyone will ever bother to look at it.

-If anyone at the school had adequate English skills to read the letter I'd be shocked.

-China is a country where the principal of a school might be using something like [email protected] for her business email. So it's unlikely anyone would care how your letter was formatted.

xiaolongbaolaoxi · Joined: 27 Aug 2009 Posts: 126

Thank you for posting Hu Jintao's address.

hochhasd · Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 422

xiaolongbaolaoxi · Joined: 27 Aug 2009 Posts: 126

.. may or not be an issue, and you cannot control it.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, the miracle of Photoshop can give you qualifications that you never knew you had. If the school wants you enough, your letter will have a letterhead, a chop, and DNA from a prominent official. On the other hand, they can give you a major runaround without ever looking like they are saying no by demanding letterhead, chops, etc. that you cannot provide.

While there are many reasons that the school may not provide letterhead, some interpretations are not employment-enhancing. This is the line you want to use... "If I had waited for the letterhead/chopped copy, five more people would have had to say yes, and three of them were going on vacation. Knowing that letters are important to western teachers, the Korean principal was kind enough to provide me a letter quickly instead of making me wait" or something to that effect. The people you are dealing with have zero problem with the concept of how privilege, procedure, vacation and/or waittimes combine.

If you try to use this letter in the West, it is much easier... it was a personal reference, because a professional reference would have had so many hoops to jump through that nothing meaningful would ever be written. I worked for a major corporation that never provided more than dates of employment and salary (because they had given a glowing reference to someone who was truly bad and got sued for it), but had zero problem with everyone in the world writing an unofficial letter for you and actually encouraged it.

There is no real way to predict bureaucrats' behavior in China. Some days they make your life wonderful and other days they can make you regret being born. The good news is that you are allowed to argue (somewhat) while your Chinese counterparts would rarely do so.

Aloha,

XLB

The Ever-changing Cleric · Joined: 19 Feb 2009 Posts: 1523

i sense a scathing by lee barttwater (or whatever he's called today) on the way Laughing

really, letterhead or no letterhead, if there's a way for the new school to contact the old school to verify then it should be ok. I know image is important here but a phone number and/or an email on a less than perfect letter should suffice.

choudoufu · Joined: 25 May 2010 Posts: 3325 Location: Mao-berry, PRC

ummm.....these here letters of recommendation (or release)....

are they required from schools outside of china?

i was sorta kinda thinkin they are only needed from chinese schools,
and only if those schools are listed on your resume (or you're wantin'
to have your fec transferred...)....

hochhasd · Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 422

Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

Most schools in China do not look further than your degrees and resume. You can worry all you want about the recommendation from the school in Korea, but it is highly unlikely that an FAO will contact the school. (Letters from other schools in China saying you have completed your contracts may well be necessary.)

Did someone tell you that you needed this recommendation from the Korean school? Well, you have it. I think you are worrying needlessly.

.

xiaolongbaolaoxi · Joined: 27 Aug 2009 Posts: 126

... but that involves initiative on the part of the Chinese school. Which involves getting approval, which involves, etc. If they want you enough and they have enough pull [guanxi], any problems associated with the lack of a letterhead will go away.

You can't predict this. At least where I am now (SF Bay Area), the inclusion of an email address or phone number is enough to "legitimize" your letter [conveniently forgetting that you can provide an address you make up.] When you finally leave PRC, you may bump into this... people in the West do not necessarily know about "chops" so you can get a letter [with letterhead] that doesn't have a chop which would make it suspect in China but would not bat an eye in USA. This means that someone who would never be authorized to write a letter for Chinese teacher could write one for you. Happened to me, and the author basically begged me to not show the letter in PRC so her boss wouldnt' know she violated procedure. in America it's a workaround, in PRC, it's a protocol/face thing.

Again, you can't predict this. Your Chinese counterparts, whatever their ilk, are navigating their own web on relationships and requirements. Ten minutes ago, it was a problem for whatever reason,. Twenty minutes from now, noone cares. And that's before they start yankin' your chain.

Aloha,

XLB

hochhasd · Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 422

Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

Keep the email address and phone number of the Korean school handy, in the unlikely event that an FAO will want to make direct contact.

Good luck to you.

.

xiaolongbaolaoxi · Joined: 27 Aug 2009 Posts: 126

if you can get whoever wrote the substitute teacher letter to emphasize the sub part of your letter, that could count for a lot in American districts. I knew teachers who scared principals who would never be a sub because it was too hard Shows you can handle multiple age groups without having any relationship at all with the students you met five minutes ago. That part won't help you in terms of PRC, but later, it could help you stand out, as supposed to student teacher who did great with and only the two classrooms they experienced over twelve months (like me, [art of a traditional credential program].) Can also help with on-teaching jobs (particularly sales.)

Aloha,

XLB