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bluetortilla
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan
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 Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 4:59 pm Post subject: Sending Out CVs to Uni's |
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Picking colleges off of China TEFL Network and Wikipedia, I'm sending out hopeful cover letters and CVs, though I don't really know if any of these schools will be hiring in February.
Question though is this: would you send scans of diploma, certificates, Letters of Recommendation, etc., or would you offer to send all those on request (sending just CV and cover letter)? It might seem inappropriate to send them so many attachments at once and one email weighs in at 3 mb for me. But then again, I thought my preparedness might make an impression. |
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Ariadne
Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 960
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| Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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I would recommend that you check to see if each school has a web page with some English. If they do, they might also have info about employment. Just do or send whatever it says on the site.
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Miles Smiles
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee
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| Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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| abroadchina.org allows you to contact the school directly. It's a massive website during the hiring season, and it includes schools of every type. And yes, it's a direct pipeline to the school. |
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vikeologist
Joined: 07 Sep 2009
Posts: 600
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 1:29 am Post subject: |
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I would strongly recommend that you send everything to the Unis that proves that you're a viable candidate, e.g. copy of degree and teaching qualification and a copy of your passport with your photo on. if you're already in China send a copy of your release letter.
At least some Unis will simply not bother replying if you don't send them these things. I would guess most Unis based on hearsay and a ridiculously low sample size.
I'm not sure how you're getting 3 MB of stuff in your attachments. Off the top of my head I'd guess the only other things that you could send would be a nice clear photo of yourself and I guess a letter of recomendation or a report from your CELTA or teaching course. The reason why so many of your emails will bounce back is because of FAOs that never bother to delete all the old attachment laden emails.
If you don't show straight off that you can get a work visa, they may assume you're hiding something. Remember that their priorities are in this rough order
1. Can we get a work visa?
2 Will he / she shag students, start a church in their flat, turn out to be mentally unstable or try to start a revolution?
3. Will he / she get good feedback from the students?
4. Can they teach? |
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bluetortilla
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:07 am Post subject: |
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| vikeologist wrote: |
I would strongly recommend that you send everything to the Unis that proves that you're a viable candidate, e.g. copy of degree and teaching qualification and a copy of your passport with your photo on. if you're already in China send a copy of your release letter.
At least some Unis will simply not bother replying if you don't send them these things. I would guess most Unis based on hearsay and a ridiculously low sample size.
I'm not sure how you're getting 3 MB of stuff in your attachments. Off the top of my head I'd guess the only other things that you could send would be a nice clear photo of yourself and I guess a letter of recommendation or a report from your CELTA or teaching course. The reason why so many of your emails will bounce back is because of FAOs that never bother to delete all the old attachment laden emails.
If you don't show straight off that you can get a work visa, they may assume you're hiding something. Remember that their priorities are in this rough order
1. Can we get a work visa?
2 Will he / she shag students, start a church in their flat, turn out to be mentally unstable or try to start a revolution?
3. Will he / she get good feedback from the students?
4. Can they teach? |
Good to know. 3 mb or more is very easy to go over when you have over 5 scanned documents that you feel are pertinent and could increase your chances of being noticed.
It's a no-brainer, but the first message I sent out had a 20 mb Photoshop pdf attached that I hadn't noticed. I fixed it but obviously it's important to check your file sizes. Silly me. |
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bluetortilla
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 7:56 am Post subject: |
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Another query:
I am fluent in Japanese and have a Japanese resume as well. I'm not sure how Sino-Japanese relations are on the China side (from what I've heard not good, and I know protests erupt at times), but I was wondering whether it would be a good idea to send the resume or not. It would show a knowledge of Chinese characters (obviously I don't read Chinese, but I get the gist of a lot of things).
And since I'm on the topic, could one possibly teach Japanese? |
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Opiate
Joined: 10 Aug 2011
Posts: 630
Location: Qingdao
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 8:36 am Post subject: |
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| bluetortilla wrote: |
Another query:
I am fluent in Japanese and have a Japanese resume as well. I'm not sure how Sino-Japanese relations are on the China side (from what I've heard not good, and I know protests erupt at times), but I was wondering whether it would be a good idea to send the resume or not. It would show a knowledge of Chinese characters (obviously I don't read Chinese, but I get the gist of a lot of things).
And since I'm on the topic, could one possibly teach Japanese? |
Many schools will not care one bit if you can speak or read Chinese or Japanese. You'll likely find a job speaking English where those skills are unnecessary I'd imagine. Some will prefer you not have any Chinese language ability at all. This is for the private sector, I do not know enough about public school practices....and one size never fits all anyway.
You may be able to land a job teaching Japanese, but at least in my area, the demand seems to be met by native Japanese or Chinese who have lived/worked in Japan for some time. Personally, if I were looking for a job teaching English in China, I would only mention any relevant English teaching experience gained in Japan and stop there. Not sure if it's the best course of action but it's what I'd do. |
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Lobster
Joined: 20 Jun 2006
Posts: 2040
Location: Somewhere under the Sea
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:16 am Post subject: |
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There's no way your package should be hitting 3 mb. Take your scanned documents and change them from bmp or jpg into gif or png. Because the colour range in most documents is limited, this will really decrease their size without sacrificing much quallity. You can also reduce the size of the documents. They don't have to be full-sized. You can do it all in PhotoShop.
RED |
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bluetortilla
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| Opiate wrote: |
Many schools will not care one bit if you can speak or read Chinese or Japanese. You'll likely find a job speaking English where those skills are unnecessary I'd imagine. Some will prefer you not have any Chinese language ability at all. This is for the private sector, I do not know enough about public school practices....and one size never fits all anyway.
You may be able to land a job teaching Japanese, but at least in my area, the demand seems to be met by native Japanese or Chinese who have lived/worked in Japan for some time. Personally, if I were looking for a job teaching English in China, I would only mention any relevant English teaching experience gained in Japan and stop there. Not sure if it's the best course of action but it's what I'd do. |
Understood but I do have two comments. The private sector not wanting you to speak much Chinese seems to be of a typical discriminatory practice in Asia (huge in Japan). I guess the rationale is that an 'only English' experience will lead to faster acquisition, but in my experience here it serves more of a way of keeping foreigners in the dark and powerless. Maybe it's not as bad as I'm portraying it, but certainly, there's no harm in speaking fluent Mandarin and overhearing the boss, is there?
Just throwing out a fish hook on the teaching Japanese thing. It's good to hear that Chinese are quite multi-lingual.
On the third point, there are two facets. For one thing, it's long been accepted that TESOL teachers should be fluent or at least proficient to some degree in a second language. It gives you perspective. And it doesn't necessarily matter what that language is. For another, i worked many hard years at learning the Japanese language and writing system and it is definitely part of my education history, and I have high credentials in it as well. I'm not saying this to brag, but surely a perspective employer would count such effort as a plus. If a language mill just wants warm bodies, then I can hardly call that education.
I know I sound snobby as hector but the point is for me that I've seen so much Micky Mouse English 'teaching' going on here in Japan that I'm beyond cynical and jaded. More like numb and vacant. I don't know about China. It sounds like a lot of the same thing is going on. It's very tiring after just a few months.
Wow! Sorry about the tirade! I'm probably gonna get flamed up the kahooty for this one! No hard feelings to anyone.  |
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bluetortilla
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:44 am Post subject: |
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| Lobster wrote: |
There's no way your package should be hitting 3 mb. Take your scanned documents and change them from bmp or jpg into gif or png. Because the colour range in most documents is limited, this will really decrease their size without sacrificing much quallity. You can also reduce the size of the documents. They don't have to be full-sized. You can do it all in PhotoShop.
RED |
Thanks! Do employers get irritated with the large attachments? |
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Opiate
Joined: 10 Aug 2011
Posts: 630
Location: Qingdao
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:04 am Post subject: |
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| bluetortilla wrote: |
| Opiate wrote: |
Many schools will not care one bit if you can speak or read Chinese or Japanese. You'll likely find a job speaking English where those skills are unnecessary I'd imagine. Some will prefer you not have any Chinese language ability at all. This is for the private sector, I do not know enough about public school practices....and one size never fits all anyway.
You may be able to land a job teaching Japanese, but at least in my area, the demand seems to be met by native Japanese or Chinese who have lived/worked in Japan for some time. Personally, if I were looking for a job teaching English in China, I would only mention any relevant English teaching experience gained in Japan and stop there. Not sure if it's the best course of action but it's what I'd do. |
Understood but I do have two comments. The private sector not wanting you to speak much Chinese seems to be of a typical discriminatory practice in Asia (huge in Japan). I guess the rationale is that an 'only English' experience will lead to faster acquisition, but in my experience here it serves more of a way of keeping foreigners in the dark and powerless. Maybe it's not as bad as I'm portraying it, but certainly, there's no harm in speaking fluent Mandarin and overhearing the boss, is there?
Just throwing out a fish hook on the teaching Japanese thing. It's good to hear that Chinese are quite multi-lingual.
On the third point, there are two facets. For one thing, it's long been accepted that TESOL teachers should be fluent or at least proficient to some degree in a second language. It gives you perspective. And it doesn't necessarily matter what that language is. For another, i worked many hard years at learning the Japanese language and writing system and it is definitely part of my education history, and I have high credentials in it as well. I'm not saying this to brag, but surely a perspective employer would count such effort as a plus. If a language mill just wants warm bodies, then I can hardly call that education.
I know I sound snobby as hector but the point is for me that I've seen so much Micky Mouse English 'teaching' going on here in Japan that I'm beyond cynical and jaded. More like numb and vacant. I don't know about China. It sounds like a lot of the same thing is going on. It's very tiring after just a few months.
Wow! Sorry about the tirade! I'm probably gonna get flamed up the kahooty for this one! No hard feelings to anyone. |
I do not know about teaching in Japan but I do know that if you are looking for a professional work environment where there are actual standards above keeping the parents paying....you'll perhaps be disappointed by many 'schools' here in China. There are real jobs here, it simply is not the norm. Keep looking until you find what you want.
Also, maybe you misunderstood my meaning in my earlier post since I did not spell it out clearly. A Westerner (assumption) teaching Japanese to Chinese students would seem low on the list of things schools would offer I believe. I would not likely hire a Thai to teach me Italian if I were living in France. It may depend on where you work though. Where I live, as I mentioned earlier, the demand can be met easily without resorting to 'outsiders' or non-native speakers who aren't Chinese. Other cities may prove very different, there is certainly a Japanese presence in Qingdao.
I understand you are proud of what you have achieved, do what you wish. If you feel I was trying to tell you there is one single correct course of action, than you misunderstood.
As to your thoughts on knowing the local language, I agree with you. My comments were not meant to start a debate, just to provide you with insight based on my personal experience. |
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bluetortilla
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:10 am Post subject: |
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| Opiate wrote: |
[
I do not know about teaching in Japan but I do know that if you are looking for a professional work environment where there are actual standards above keeping the parents paying....you'll perhaps be disappointed by many 'schools' here in China. There are real jobs here, it simply is not the norm. Keep looking until you find what you want.
Also, maybe you misunderstood my meaning in my earlier post since I did not spell it out clearly. A Westerner (assumption) teaching Japanese to Chinese students would seem low on the list of things schools would offer I believe. I would not likely hire a Thai to teach me Italian if I were living in France. It may depend on where you work though. Where I live, as I mentioned earlier, the demand can be met easily without resorting to 'outsiders' or non-native speakers who aren't Chinese. Other cities may prove very different, there is certainly a Japanese presence in Qingdao.
I understand you are proud of what you have achieved, do what you wish. If you feel I was trying to tell you there is one single correct course of action, than you misunderstood.
As to your thoughts on knowing the local language, I agree with you. My comments were not meant to start a debate, just to provide you with insight based on my personal experience. |
Thanks Opiate, I'm certainly not trying to be antagonistic either, it's hard to talk about this topic without me seeming to sound so as well. Apologies if I gave that impression.
Yes, it doesn't at all surprise me that there are heaps of low standard jobs around. Just a look at the ads show that. But from my reckoning (as opposed to the place I'm coming from), China does seem to offer you a much greater chance to develop and get out of it what you can. That's all I want really.
I thank you for your information and experience. It's very helpful to me in my job search. |
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Miles Smiles
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:13 am Post subject: |
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| bluetortilla wrote: |
Wow! Sorry about the tirade! I'm probably gonna get flamed up the kahooty for this one! No hard feelings to anyone. |
No big deal. The question about teaching Japanese is a reasonable one. It wouldn't hurt to put it on your resume, but I don't think you'd really want to be a teacher of Japanese at the schools where I've taught. The Japanese teachers that I know of have been paid about 3/4 of what a western teacher of similar education background have been paid. |
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bluetortilla
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Henan
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:54 am Post subject: |
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| Lobster wrote: |
There's no way your package should be hitting 3 mb. Take your scanned documents and change them from bmp or jpg into gif or png. Because the colour range in most documents is limited, this will really decrease their size without sacrificing much quallity. You can also reduce the size of the documents. They don't have to be full-sized. You can do it all in PhotoShop.
RED |
Well Red Lobster, I got 10 attachments and got it down to 3 mb from 8 mb. Is 3 that big these days? |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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| bluetortilla wrote: |
| Lobster wrote: |
There's no way your package should be hitting 3 mb. Take your scanned documents and change them from bmp or jpg into gif or png. Because the colour range in most documents is limited, this will really decrease their size without sacrificing much quallity. You can also reduce the size of the documents. They don't have to be full-sized. You can do it all in PhotoShop.
RED |
Well Red Lobster, I got 10 attachments and got it down to 3 mb from 8 mb. Is 3 that big these days? |
I have a scanned copy of my passport, one recommendation letter, resume, and university diploma and the total size is ~ 600kB. 3mB isn't huge at all these days (one jpg photo straight out of my camera is almost 10mB) but could take some time to download on some connections. Use Photoshop (noted above) or GIMP (free photo-editing software at gimp.org) to resize if you can't get them any smaller. |
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