Job Discussion Forums

[earl]

Sorry about the title, I know that covers most things in daily life in the middle kingdom....

I have just started my job search in earnest with the intent on coming over longer term and as such am not in a rush. I was there '04 - '07 but looked at that as a temporary thing. i am in Australia atm.

Anyway I have been in negotiation with a uni (through a recruiter) and have been asked to start in one week on an F visa!

I am very wary of the F visa thing from the start but to be in China teaching in one week??! I am a bit staggered to be honest.

Even if I had my bags packed (which I most certainly don't), one week is probably not enough time.

Anyone else got a similar request?

[thechangling]

Only come to China to teach english on a Z visa. The F visa is for business only。

[Double_Dragon]

Schmerg

[earl]

Thanks for the replies. I have already told them that their request/demand is out of the question. They replied that is not negotiable.... end of discussion as far as I am concerned.

Apart from the impracticalities of getting there so soon and the visa dodgyness, I always see a red flag when an employer needs someone "urgently". Of course there could be a legitimate reason but I think more than likely it shows that they are poorly organised, dodgy or it is generally not a good place to be (if someone has left in a hurry).

I was just curious if anyone else had been asked, before a contract or legit offer of employment had been made to arrive from their home country within the week. Seems ludicrous to me...

[jimpellow]

I don't think there is a China veteran who has not been asked to do the ludicrous. Working on the wrong visa seems to be at the top of the list.

This entire "can you start yesterday" request has become more prevalent over the last couple years as employers scramble to find qualified employees with the new regulations and requirements being rolled out. Basically, what they asked you to do is to stick you ass on the line to help them, and in the event you are caught, little if anything will happen to them but you will be major league screwed.

Quite fascinating yet terrifying how their attitude is to hold out until some spineless naif decides to do them this little "favor".

[roadwalker]

If you start your search in October for uni positions, this will happen every time. That is, there will be universities who either haven't been able to find qualified teachers that they like, or a teacher that they were counting on left, and they become desperate. Also, freshmen classes don't begin until October*, so it's not already over in their minds.

Best time of year to look for public school / university positions is April and early May for the first term of the school year (c. September 1) and November to early December for the second term which begins in late February or early March. Too late and they may have made their decisions, or it throws off the timing for the long process of procuring a work visa invitation. Too learly and you get the schools that are willing to take desperate measures to get a foreign body into a classroom in the current term.

*I was at one university where the freshmen started in September and did the mandatory military training in October. I doubt that that situation is common, though, because it is very disruptive. The weather is better for long days outdoors though.

[Non Sequitur]

Interesting point about military being delayed until weather cools down.
Makes sense although disruptive if you've just your classes underway.
At Dalian Maritime the military programme calls for a route march which is done at night.
That said not uncommon for kids to keel over from heat exhaustion.
Vocationals don't do military from my experience.