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please help - still don't have a university job!
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chryanvii



Joined: 19 Jul 2009
Posts: 125

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 4:50 am    Post subject: please help - still don't have a university job! Reply with quote

Hello -

I have had some contracts and job offers, but I have passed them up because of these reasons:

[1] schedule was too chaotic - changed all the time

[2] student discipline/motivation would be the same at the new school

[3] money/paying for utilities would be the same

Right now, I am looking to see if your school might still be looking for a teacher [sometimes they are, as people like me pass up contracts at the last minute]

I am looking for:

[1] A school in the South

[2] A school in or very near the city

[3] A school with good, well disciplined students who are motivated to
learn

[4] A school that could accommodate a reasonable schedule,
maybe even Fridays or Mondays off.

It does not matter if it is public, private or a college. In fact, it might be interesting to teach at a smaller college.

However, I have found that word of mouth is much better than "chancing it" through a recruiter or posting a resume online.

Thanks for not eating me alive about this post, and please PM me if you are able to help me out.

I certainly appreciate it, as I would certainly love to stay in China...
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sainthood



Joined: 15 Nov 2010
Posts: 175
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 5:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm confused....

Quote:
..I would certainly love to stay in China


And yet -
Quote:
[3] A school with good, well disciplined students who are motivated to learn


So - do you want to stay or not?? Razz

Btw, you haven't mentioned how much money 'is the same'... so how would we know what to suggest, and what not? Nor the number of hours, from which to determine a 'reasonable' schedule. Where I work, you get given a schedule, but you have the leeway to move classes (if the students can actually come up with a spare slot where everyone fits in).
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MisterButtkins



Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Posts: 1221

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 11:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you wanted to be picky about getting a university job you missed the boat. You should have sent out a huge number of applications in March or early April. At this point you should take what you can find. Better luck next year.
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Guerciotti



Joined: 13 Feb 2009
Posts: 842
Location: In a sleazy bar killing all the bad guys.

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 10:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with Mr.Buttkins, you most likely missed the boat on the 'good' uni jobs. Heck, I even used the same metaphor. Sad
Find something for now and begin your search earlier next year.
Cool
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Steve_McQueen



Joined: 04 Dec 2009
Posts: 37

PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 3:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The OP might want to try with the unis in Nanjing. Contact them directly or try going through a recruiter. One of the recruiters I was using said they were going to have more openings there either in late May or early June. Don't know if this is true or not, but worth giving it a shot.

FYI I got the uni of my choice by directly contacting them.

Don't give up, but you may have to lower your standards a bit.
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xjgirl



Joined: 02 Feb 2010
Posts: 242

PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 3:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I disagree that you missed the boat,
most teachers that are thinking of staying on at their schools still haven't signed their new contracts for next year yet
and that usually creates a lot of openings late May, or June
as they get offered a contract exactly the same or worst than last time.

All the same it's chancing your luck a bit coming on to Dave's and expecting everyone to lead u to the Holy grail
-a uni job in the south in a major city with good pay and conditions
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bradley



Joined: 28 Mar 2005
Posts: 235
Location: China

PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 1:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree. It's still a good time to find a job at a uni in China. Don't give up yet.
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7969



Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong

PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 1:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

xjgirl wrote:
I disagree that you missed the boat, most teachers that are thinking of staying on at their schools still haven't signed their new contracts for next year yet

How do you know this? Our school sent an email out in the last week of April requesting we inform them of our intentions before mid-May. This was also done at the last college I worked at and it seems to be common practice for schools to find out who's staying and who's not by sometime in May. That gives them 6 weeks or so to find replacements before they head off for summer holiday. FAOs don't like to scramble around in mid summer or late August looking for someone to start work on September 1st. Those aren't my words, those are the words of our FAO.
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catinthehatter



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 29

PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm sorry, but why should other people find a job for you ? It's a good indication that someone who has no initiative or drive to find will have other major issues in the future. I'm happy to help find a job for a fee. Nobody did the work for me.
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xjgirl



Joined: 02 Feb 2010
Posts: 242

PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

but yet most of them end up mid-summer desperately trying to find someone because they're chinese and stupid
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Non Sequitur



Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China

PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 8:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OP - too many upfront conditions.
The golden rule of any job search is A,B,A.
A= Always
B= Be
A= Applying
Get into conversations with as many employers as possible and don't turn your nose up at recruiters. Many schools new to the FT hiring game need recruiters to hold their hand through their fist few times. Doesn't mean bad school necessarily, just inexperience.
Before my last school ditched their recruiter I was asked to copy all my emails to/from recruiter to the FAO so they had an example of the process and the timeline.
So get applying - you should have a least 10 and ideally a mega number of applications out there right now.
It is not too late but in the words of B Dylan 'time is slippin' away'.
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Silent Shadow



Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 380
Location: A stones throw past the back of beyond

PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 2:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

7969 wrote:
xjgirl wrote:
I disagree that you missed the boat, most teachers that are thinking of staying on at their schools still haven't signed their new contracts for next year yet

How do you know this? Our school sent an email out in the last week of April requesting we inform them of our intentions before mid-May. This was also done at the last college I worked at and it seems to be common practice for schools to find out who's staying and who's not by sometime in May. That gives them 6 weeks or so to find replacements before they head off for summer holiday. FAOs don't like to scramble around in mid summer or late August looking for someone to start work on September 1st. Those aren't my words, those are the words of our FAO.


They may not like to scramble about in mid summer, but they often do. Chinese administration in schools, have that peculiar human trait of leaving things to the last moment down to a fine art (a trait I share myself, when job hunting, as is evident from the next paragraph).

I found three good college/ university jobs, on different occassions in September or March, the same months I started at those establishments, and I was thankful for their procrastination. I'm not recommending that the OP leave it this late, but I am certain that there are still plenty of university openings available for september starts at this time of year.
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sainthood



Joined: 15 Nov 2010
Posts: 175
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow

PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 4:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A) I don't recall seeing any good uni jobs being advertised prior to now

B) I got my job here in late August/September... it was about 4 weeks before acceptance letter to being on a plane.

C) Jobs come up all the time.. even during a semester (teachers get pissed off, leave, etc...) Of course, that means a lot less pickiness...

D) I sent out emails to the universities I wanted to work at a few months ago, only 1 bothered to reply (and that was a "Sorry, that position is no longer available). I sent out emails to a few of the bigger recruiters... only 1 is still bothering to send me stuff.


So, to OP - just keep looking... and re-evaluate your expectations!
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TexasHighway



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 779

PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Slient Shadow wrote:
Quote:
I found three good college/ university jobs, on different occassions in September or March, the same months I started at those establishments, and I was thankful for their procrastination. I'm not recommending that the OP leave it this late, but I am certain that there are still plenty of university openings available for september starts at this time of year.

It seems that with every university I have taught at, there is at least one no-show or someone who pulls a runner after the first week of classes in September. I also find that in Shanghai, where foreigners are a dime a dozen, they are always able to pull a warm body off the street at the last minute to replace the bolter.
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piglet44



Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Posts: 157

PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 2:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have sent literally hundreds of mails,basically checking out unis in the cities I am interested in,regardless of whether they advertised a job or not. I have about 15 good offers which I am now checking out.
It's just legwork man. Get on with it.
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