Job Discussion Forums

[Monday]

I'm looking at switching from my current Chinese public university to another Chinese public university. I know that most Chinese public universities end their terms in mid-June and begin in mid-September. But what is their hiring time line like?

1. In which month do they typically start asking current teachers if they will renew their contracts?
   
2. In which month do they start looking for new teachers? Arrange contracts to be signed?
   
3. At what point in the summer can new teachers typically arrive?
   

[doogsville]

I can only speak for my own uni, which has no vacancies for next year, but if it did.

They ask us about renewal in April, mid to late. I have heard from a teacher who used to work here, and experience seems to bear her out, that they are supposed to ask you to renew or tell you they won't be renewing at 3 months before the end of your current contract.

My school starts looking as soon as they find out someone won't be renewing. It can take a month or two before they find a suitable candidate though. That's been because of teachers who've said they were interested only to pull out for some reason later, leaving the school to start the process all over again.

The university closes the Tuesday after the last day (Friday) of term, which is when all the office staff finish up. The FAO is very unlikely to be available after that, and the campus itself, if you were going to be staying there, has only a skeleton crew of mostly kitchen staff, gardeners and maintenance staff and security. No one has ever arrived more than a few days before the beginning of the new term, when the students themselves are also arriving.

[Monday]

Thanks for the details. That is good to learn that at least they'll try to hire before the summer starts.