Job Discussion Forums

[Javelin of Radiance]

The attitude of some foreigners in China seems to be "doesn't matter what my resume says, it's just some Chinese guy with bad English reading it anyway." 1. bad attitude. 2. Some FAOs have other foreign teachers look at resumes they receive, and ask them to offer an opinion. Been asked to do it myself a few times and am probably responsible for a few posers not getting jobs. 3. Some Chinese schools do know the difference between a good and bad resume.

Writing a decent resume or CV isn't hard, and for this business unless you're a PhD that's published articles, keeping it short and simple is probably a good approach. I once saw a five page resume from a native speaker that was totally disorganized and contained at least three pages of irrelevant information. I'm sure there's plenty more of them out there.

[Babala]

I would say not to come off as arrogant when making an inquiry/applying. I've received emails from job seekers that give the impression that I should be honoured to even get an inquiry from them.

[Non Sequitur]

Good to keep in mind that there is an actual difference between a CV and a resume.
People often use the terms interchangeably.
The resume suits people new to the workforce (like many FTs), as its functional layout enables you to more easily put experience in that may have been unpaid, but valuable nonetheless.

[Javelin of Radiance]

Yes CVs may be longer and more detailed but for most people, especially in this business, the terms seem to be used interchangeably without confusion. I'll edit my post above slightly to avoid any confusion.

[Voldermort]

When writing the CV, use a standard font. Many Chinese PC's are limited to the number of western fonts they contain. Writing, laying out and indenting may look good on your "English" PC but may become messed up on a "Chinese" PC.

If using Microsoft Word, save it as a "Word 97" compatible document. Many Chinese offices are slow to update their software. Using an older version will assure that they can open it.

If saving your CV as a PDF, don't "protect" it. The school will need to translate the document and often need to copy and paste. Protected documents prevent them from doing this.

[Banner41]

If I was hiring I wouldn't want a reject candidate with a stellar resume. I would welcome a crappy resume so I knew to pitch it and not waste my time on the interview. It all works itself out. Good teachers to the good schools who care and crappy teachers to the schools where they belong.

I was just wondering if the OP was using this as a "look at me" moment. "I am doing the hiring!" or really trying to give constructive advice.

[Non Sequitur]

Whatever the motivation it is good advice and I urge new applicants who haven't yet secured interviews/jobs to review their CVs and cover letters and see how they stack up.
This is a good thread and one that should be renewed May/June and Dec/Jan each year.

[choudoufu]

[Guerciotti]

All I can add is:
Keep it simple and write for the reader.
Make each letter different. If you can't think of anything insightful and unique, make a positive comment about their school.
"I see your school has operated successfully for over 8 months!"

Here is what I do:

Briefly tell them who you are.
Tell them why you're qualified.
-Don't tell them what you want.
-Don't ask 20 questions in the cover letter. Don't ask any questions. You can ask about the distance to the nearest McDonald's later.
Thank them for their time, you hope to hear from them, and wish them a good day.

Proofread it before you send it. Everyone makes mistakes, but this is not the time.

In my opinion, that's all you need.

I guess some folks find it useful to mass mail inquiries, but I never have. However, if you're applying directly to universities from their websites you're probably better off with the shotgun approach. I would still add a little compliment about their school.

This is a very useful thread once you sort through the cat fights which are, by the way, most entertaining.

Well done, Mr Leaf and some others.

[Non Sequitur]

A real plus of a cover letter is that you get to address the hiring person by name.
No matter how blase people become, that personalised touch brings dividends.
I am a long time recruitment consultant and a book I wrote about it is in most public libraries in my home country.
It went through two editions - the latest almost 20 years ago and I still get royalties.
The OP is completely on target from my perspective and newbies should note and adopt the recommendations.

[ecubyrd]

I figured the op was in the process of hiring and had just gone through a pile of applicant's resumes. It's true that you get a lot of cvs that make you wonder WTH the applicant was thinking. I'm glad that we are set at my school (everyone is renewing, albeit wish that one would not) and I don't have that unenviable task prior to summer break this year.

[mw182006]

Naive question time: The name that comes first is the family name right? So as an example a listing asks to email Tang Chang, I'd address to Mr./Ms. Tang? How do you typically distinguish the sex of the person, or do you just address it to their full name "Dear Tang Chang"? The latter seems wrong to me, assuming you're trying to be personable.

[Non Sequitur]

[maximmm]

[maximmm]

Is it possible that this could be a case of a recruiter that is offering a rather low pay and is frustrated because he often receives generic/poorly written resumes from dodgy applicants (who are willing to work for the low pay)?

Yet, when experienced/highly qualified applicants send in their resumes, they often ask for a higher wage?

At least that would explain the type of language used in the original post.

All in all, it appears to be a hiring manager's vent, rather than a helpful advice.