Job Discussion Forums

[foster]

Well, the first round of NET interviews are over.

For those who had one, has anyone heard about getting a job yet??? I was told it might take a month to find out...which seems like a really long time to keep some hanging about a job.

Thanks in advance!

[Egas]

I just had my interview Monday 24th March. I was told it would be about a month too. Yes, its a long time to keep you hanging. I have to decide whether to renew my current contract in Beijing, or go to Hong Kong. What am I supposed to tell my beijing school? "Sorry, but just wait a month or two till the guys in Hong Kong get around to deciding if they want me or not."

Actually the interview seemed to go pretty well, but it seems to me that there will be a big difference in workloads for different jobs. Conversation classes will require little work, while classes that require writing instruction will require about 150 papers to be marked and returned each week. I don't think I will be able to accept any such job offer as I have too much on my plate with a PhD.

But i did like Hong Kong. vibrant, intersting,Iand things seem much more efficient than Beijing.

[arju]

re net interviews
Iam a pnet in hk I had interview last year in may and waited until end of july for the job offer which required being in hk 3 weeks later. the interviews are for august 2003 so dont hold your breath first you have to get a letter sayibng you passed the interview and will be considered for employment then you have to wait and wait in hong kong style for the schools to be offerdd you as an applicant thenthe schools will contact you if same as last year then you wont hear until late june or july
best of luck and get all your papers in order as they will need them over and over and over to make a salary assesment
bye

[foster]

This is a true test of my patience....
Has ANYONE heard from the NET interviews? Maybe I don't wanna know what no news means, but I am VERY curious....

HELP!!!!!!!!

[ESLMaster]

Nope, I haven't heard anything yet from the NET interviews either, but what I don't understand is: At what point are you offered 1) a position, 2) notified of salary and teaching duties, 3) required to be in HK

[Scott in HK]

I had my interview in early May when I first came, and didn't get the appointment letter until July. That letter didn't have an actual salary but a salary range...depending I guess on whether my experience was verified or not...I didn't learn of my duties until I got to HK. The contract starts August 15, so I expect that you will be asked to be in HK by that time. I was a little late due to visa problems. Other things to note, if you do get a job and you are going to ask for the salary advance (up to 50K HK) make sure you tell your school early on. You will need a wad of money to set up house in HK>.

[SJW]

I had interviews for primary and secondary 3 weeks ago. I got an offer
for primary last friday. Its an AM school and I'm still not sure if I'm
going to be shared with another school or not .....it makes making a
decision difficult.(And nobody seems to have any answers for me in HK!)

[foster]

Is it a bad idea to call them and ask if I am on a waiting list or if I was unsuccessful?
Honestly, this waiting is a killer.
I wouldn't be surprised if Japan was stopping all Hong Kong mail.
Anyone else in Japan received any word????

[lionbrian]

Hi,

I got a letter also stating that I passed the said interview, and I am on the waiting list.
What the hell? Did I get the job? Or they are using my name just in case someone gets SARS, and they will give the job?

If yes, I did get the job, when will they notify me regarding school and SALARY?

Thanks guys![/b]

[delian]

Hi,
I've also received a letter stating I 'passed the said interview' and am now on the waiting list. I've read posts on this board that seem to imply this letter means we will now be considered for employment, and the next step is for a school to look at our applications, etc. and make an offer. From what I understand it seems like it could take up until June or July to hear anything. That is a major pain for me, I don't know about you.
I don't know, maybe I'm wrong...the whole thing seems really disorganized, though. What I really don't understand is why the P-NET people (teaching in primary schools) seem to have received offers much more quickly than we have for secondary schools. Why is there a difference?
On the other hand, I also wonder how this whole SARS debacle will affect things? One poster said that the HK gov't may be waiting to see who will actually want to come to HK with all the attention SARS has been getting - so in effect the 'ball is in our court' as teachers who have been put on the waiting list for a NET job. I wonder what that means exactly? I don't want to come across as grasping, but does this mean we can negociate better contracts/working conditions? I have my doubts as they are putting so much effort into the whole salary assessment process.
Do any of the current NETs have any ideas or advice?

[arju]

hi re net interviews job offers
the same thing happened last year to us, the assistant to the secretary for education was quoted in the press last december as stating the reasons for the delay in job offers is to counteract nets getting a position in hong kong and then in july getting a better offer in either their own country or another country. the department dont want the hassle that they put us all through.
At present with the sars it could be an advantage to new nets as you may have more time to make a decision about coming to hk if the sars is still an issue in june july.
Re contracts and negotiation its dependent on each school you could be lucky and change some small terms of the contract but in hk that means a trade off in conditions.
best of luck

[foster]

Well, I finally heard from Hong Kong. I passed my interview and am now awaiting salary assessment.

They asked for copies (again??) of all my teaching experience....the same ones I provided for them at the interview.

Is this what I have to look forward to? Constantly providing and double-providing my paperwork??

If I am unable to get some proof as some of the schools where I taught in Canada are not being very cooperative about sending me information, does that mean they won't offer me the job or that I will not get credit for the years of teaching that I have when they assess my salary.

If you made it to the salary assessment stage, when will they offer you a job? If you make it this far, is a job offer just a formality? Am I required to go to Hong Kong again for a second interview?

I am worried that they will not offer me a job until Mid-July and I need to give notice at work as well as my apartment. I am not shopping for other schools, I want to be in Hong Kong and they are my first choice.

Thanks again for all the great feedback and assistance!!!

[Scott in HK]

Yes, they will constantly ask you for more info and continue to ask for things they already have...and while at the same time moving your application along...drove me crazy....

and yes...without prove of your experience...it won't be counted...make sure the proof works in your favour...it must be full time work...and as a teacher...many nets complain of years being uncounted...

now..i believe your name is being sent out to schools...who will contact you...it will still be some time i think before you know for sure...they love to keep you waiting...and the schools here have more to do because of sars so choosing nets might be low on their list of things to do right now...

[arju]

hi again
I agree with scott about the paper trail over and over however the point of teachers complaining about lost years are legitimate concerns as they are years of teaching in own countries and not to be recognised by hong kong is a joke especially in light of the fact the the vast ,majority of primary english teachers from hong kong are employed as teachers without having a degree, in my 2 schools most of the staff are still attempting to get their degrees.
The important fact here is all aspiring nets should make sure they get all the paper work for each year of teaching from each school showing that the dates of teaching are calender years that include school holidays and clearly state full time. If the school dates fall short of a year the hk ed dept will work this against your salary. This is very important if you cant clearly show when you taught then they will not credit you.
Even after 6 months of teaching in hk I have had to re submit my paper work a number of times we get used to it but its a joke really how the paper trail goes and goes.
Re schools contacting you remembrt that primary schools will reopen in2 weeks time so this will slow down the process further plus the ed dept are very slow in checking your papers over and over they are cautios as hk is the domain of fakes copies etc
best of luck see you in hk one day!

[delian]

Hi,

I have some questions about the most recent email I got from the HK gov't/NET people - has anyone else recently received an email from them, too? In this email they told me that I was 'in the top 20 candidates' and then they asked me to send in letters from basically every school I've worked at for the last 10 years!
My questions begin here:

1) Has anyone else been told they how they were ranked in terms of candidates, or is this just a line? I guess I'm wondering if I should be feeling confident about getting placed or not...?

2) In terms of all these letters they want, some of them I already submitted in the interview and some I haven't. I have some letters from schools in Taiwan that I worked for over 6 years ago that seem to contain the information required, but I'm not even sure if these schools still exist. Will the HK gov't be contacting these schools? Do I need to worry about having the correct addresses and contact names?

I'm also wondering about the logistics of getting to HK. Isn't there supposed to be round-trip flights provided for us (and our spouses or dependents)? Isn't there also supposed to be some kind of moving allowance if we want to bring anything with us? I thought I remembered reading this when I first applied (way....back in November), but now I'm starting to doubt myself.
How does getting to HK happen? Do they give us tickets or do we pay ourselves then hope to be reimbursed? Ditto for the moving allowance.
Has anyone heard anything about this?

I've tried emailing the Education Dep't, but no one ever replies - unless it is to ask for more paperwork!

I've found this board to be very helpful, so thanks for any more insight anyone can shed on these questions.