Job Discussion Forums

[JacobTM]

I am finishing a M.A. in TESOL. I have a CELTA from years ago. I have over 3 years experience teaching ESL, and by the time I'm in China, I will have had 4 years.

I am interested in a University job outside of Beijing/Shanghai, perhaps Guangzhou. How have people generally found these jobs, are there online resources with job postings, or is it a hit the ground type of thing?

Thank you,
Jacob

[Non Sequitur]

Getting the appropriate Z visa will require a job to be arranged before you leave home.
'Hitting the ground running' implies coming as a tourist on an L visa. You won't have to look at many threads to see how that can pan out.
Timing-wise you are now looking at the next hiring season - May/June for Sept start. I'm talkin public sector jobs here.
There is a parallel thread on job sites, but I suggest seriousteachers.com as a place to browse and post your details for free.

[Bud Powell]

Look into esljobs.com and to see what kinds of schools are in china and the range of salaries, check out abroadchina.org.

[vikeologist]

It may be the best way is to contact Unis directly (notwithstanding the difficulties of getting their contact details), and it may be better to apply for unis in April or even march. I'm not disagreeing with NS. Perhaps more Unis will know which teachers are leaving, and thus how many replacements they need in May / June, but if you have an idea where you want to go, you may as well apply a bit earlier.

Of course with your qualifications, you may be looking for one of the better paid joint venture gigs with, for example, the Unis of Liverpool or Nottingham, and you should be checking out their websites constantly for when they post their ads.

[teenoso]

Agree with the previous post - lots of joint venture Unis opened in Zhuhai, near GZ. Zhuhai is a much nicer city than GZ, IMO, and now has good high-speed rail links. The Unis there pay well too. Beijing Normal Uni in Zhuhai often recruits thru Dave's job board and the recruiter and Uni admin seem decent.

[jackflash]

Have the new visa rules really changed the approach to finding a job? It seemed that a year ago the census was to arrive on a tourist visa, interview with employers, and convert to a work visa in Hong Kong. Or are universities the exception? They seem to be the most sought after gigs, so I guess that'd make sense.

I was planning on making a trip to Chengdu-Xian-Nanning (or Kunming) in May. Since this lines up with hiring season for universities, I figured an in-person interview would be mutually beneficial. Mostly, though I'm just excited to visit China for the first time and if I come away with a job for the Fall, I'll be thrilled.

[Non Sequitur]

[Bud Powell]

It seemed that a year ago the census [sic] was to arrive on a tourist visa, interview with employers, and convert to a work visa in Hong Kong.

A year ago?

Or are universities the exception? They seem to be the most sought after gigs, so I guess that'd make sense.

Yes, and they pay incredibly well.

Check the stickies. Do your own homework.

[Non Sequitur]

[FreakingTea]

What's wrong with a Skype interview?

[Spyro]

This worked incredibly well for me.

I picked cities that I wanted to live in, went to Wikipedia to find a list of universities, and simply cold called each place (unless they had a job listing posted on their website, in which I just sent an e-mail and followed up).

[JRJohn]

Spyro are you saying that you actually telephoned each university? I suppose I could do that, but if the reply was all in Chinese, I could only say some of the stuff I need to say.
In general I am getting really FRUSTRATED with recruiters! They never seem to have any of the jobs advertised, and all the jobs I see are advertised through websites like eChinacities and Dave's ESL Cafe.