Job Discussion Forums

[Trebek]

I applied at a couple colleges using this website: http://www.totalesl.com/ and got contacted the next day by a recruiter who had several jobs at several universities to offer me. From the colleges advertisement that I initially applied to, I thought I was sending my info straight to the HR department at the University itself.

Should I talk to this recruiter or avoid her?

[bradley]

I got my job directly. It has worked out for me.

[Guerciotti]

I'm starting to wonder if many unis post online. When I reply to most uni job posts, I get a reply asking if I am interested in a below average mill.
The uni emails and phone numbers I find online are disconnected, bounced, or don't reply.
Some websites have lists of unis in different provinces, but I get nada from them.
I'm thinking of asking a senior at my uni to accompany me to the local unis I'm interested in so we can hunt down the FAO or languages department.
Heck if I know what to do. People post saying they don't use recruiters, but unless it's for a language school, I haven't learned the process yet.
Maybe I'm better off skipping this uni job search and just go with a training school.
Confused, frustrated ...

[piglet44]

yeah you are right I am having the same problem. Emails listed on the websites bounce or there are NO emails at all on the websites. I hate having to go to a recruiter and I am not in China yet. Heck if I know what to do too.I really want a gig at a UNI cos I have had it with little kids but I have no clue how to contact them and the faxes don't work either.

[Non Sequitur]

Using a senior student/friend as support when personally visiting a FAO is a good idea and worked for me.
The language skills are more to find the location of the FAO on campus. Once inside the door the conversation will be in English.
Don't call between 12 and 2 as that's 'asleep at the desk' time.
The presence of a local student/friend gives you some additional credibility.
I 'walked up' to three unis in Dalian a few years back and got offers from two.

[Trebek]

Sounds like good advice Non Sequitor, but I am in the states trying to arrange a job via internet. I am currently working here and won't have time to get to China until June.

[Non Sequitur]

My post was more confirmation of the guerciotti comment.
I'll PM you with some ideas.

[MisterButtkins]

I have done the University job search 3 times now, so I think I can give some useful tips.

First, 95% of the job ads are going to be for recruiters, not universities. The 5% are going to be in crappy locations.
Second, many universities with English versions of their websites (most of the decent schools) will have a section about foreign employment where you can email about a possible job. If they don't have that, but have an English website, you can try to find the email of someone in the foreign language department.
Third, the salaries quoted for a university in its job ad or on the foreign teacher employment page on its website ARE NEGOTIABLE. I didn't figure this out until recently, but it is not hard to get at least 500 RMB more per month than the figure they give you, sometimes more. Of course, some schools don't want to do this, but a lot actually will.
Fourth, at the end of the day, despite what people may tell you, it is probably easier to use a recruiter, and plenty of people have found good jobs via a recruiter. But there's always the chance that you may get screwed or the school is a complete shithole. I get the feeling that universities who personally recruit their teachers have a bit more respect for them than those that use recruiters.

Personally I would try to contact the schools directly first, then use a recruiter if you aren't happy with the results. Also, post your resume on one of the numerous resume sites. Some schools will contact you directly upon seeing your resume (assuming your resume isn't terrible).

[MisterButtkins]

As for bouncing emails, I had some bounce, but most went through okay. Maybe 20% bounced. How many emails are you sending out? If it's not at least 20 emails to 20 different schools, you aren't applying to enough places.

[daCabbie]

[piglet44]

kinda helps but like Trebek I am not in China.
Answer to the other guy- I have mailed more like 100 schools (countless) and many more than 20% have bounced. I am just sitting for hours trawling google for emails. Many websites are all in Chinese and most of those don't have any visible email. Some have a bogus link to a non-existent English version of the page. Some give an email,which, as I said, turns out to be useless. Some give me auto-reply "email received" and that's it.
A few answer.
I think I will use some recruiters at this point, but very warily, out of lack of options.

[Guerciotti]

I should update my situation.
I'm only applying to a few unis, so I sent 5 or 6 emails.
Two emails bounced because I typed them wrong.
I fixed them and resent my info and now I have one interested.
If that does not work, I will definitely take an FAO tour with a student.
Maybe I'll take a tour regardless, as I have next weekend free, but everything looks good now.

[piglet44]

that's fine and dandy for you Guerciotti but what about us folks not in China yet?

[Trebek]

Congrats Guerciotti, hope you get the job you wanted.

I uploaded my resume on another site and now recruiters are crawling out of the woodwork.

Is it so bad to go thru a recruiter? I read somewhere that they are best avoided and I should deal with the school directly. I'm probably asking the obvious here, let me go do some research on this...

[Guerciotti]

Piglet ... good point.
When I was home (USA) I trolled every esl website I could find to get a uni job I could live with. Not a great, kick-ass, look at me now job, but not bad. Because I wanted a uni job, some sites were more useful than others. I think the process is easier if you're interested in a language school, but I didn't apply for those jobs, so I really don't know.
My uni job is not perfect, but they pay on time and leave me alone. This has bad and good effects, but so far the scales tilt towards 'good'.
I searched here and other sites, but I was looking in July for a September position, so any efforts now probably puts you ahead of me.
There may be more posts in a month or two, but like they say, start now, avoid the rush.
The usual, see post, apply, decide you need a boilerplate cover letter to use repeatedly with some changes, get answer, ask for the contract, spit out your coffee when you read the contract, say 'no', repeat. Skype with three or four or five recruiters. Work it.
Of course, first you photograph your diplomas, passport, and any TEFL/TESOL or other certificate you may have.
And send a good picture of yourself in a suit. You can use your passport photo, but if you don't like it, by all means take a good picture and use it.
I must point out that the school required a 100 hour certificate, so I did the ITTT in less than three weeks. ITTT gets the job done, and I'm pretty sure you'll find it useful as I have, but I recommend spending more than three weeks to pass, unless you have a lot of free time.
I have one of those uni jobs with the curfew laden on campus apartment, but I can live with it for 10 months. Heck, less than three months left!!
Not sure if I can post other websites here, but I found this job on another website. How many posts do you need to PM?
Of couse, I always post on Dave's so the old hands can steer me clear of serious trouble.