Job Discussion Forums

[webber]

So I just finished my CELTA, I’m a native English speaker (US), have a bachelors (unrelated field), and no experience. I’m interested in a job that will provide a Z-Visa in a decently sized city.

My main concern is getting a Z-Visa with no experience. From what I’ve read, big cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen are out of the question as they will enforce the requirement of 2 years experience.

What cities do I have a shot in?

What type of job could I get (hours/pay)?

[getbehindthemule]

Yes, you can get a Z visa with a degree and a CELTA (in a lot of cases the CELTA will be accepted instead of the 2 years experience). Although the authorities are tightening up on the 2 year experience rule. Have you any work experience at all in any other field, coaching experience, working with kids, that you can put on your resume?

You need to figure out what type of job you want first and in what sector (private language centre, private school, public school, kindy-uni, etc.) The hours will vary significantly and so will the pay.
Decide on a desired location and target a postion first would be my advice. What is driving you to come here, to make money, to have a low hour job, to have a job with lots of hols so that you can travel, etc?
Come back with a job ad/offer and ask for advice on here then.

[webber]

Regarding experience, the only thing would be volunteering at a summer camp about 10 years ago. Other than that I could possibly do volunteer SAT tutoring to build up my resume.

I’m interested in a University position (low hours). But would I need to wait until the Fall for a job?

Cities I’m interested in include Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing, but I’m willing to go anywhere that’s decently sized (ie. there’s a thread below about Nanning, which I would consider).

Basically my ideal is a university position with low hours in Shenzhen. But I don’t know if I can get that. How far down the list should I target in terms of ‘good cities’?

Thanks!

[getbehindthemule]

[katia04]

There are many good things about a uni job: low hours and long vacations are the best parts. However, if you have no teaching experience, uni jobs actually might be rather stressful. Most uni jobs have very "hands-off" approaches, as far as administrators go. In my first year at the university I am currently at, I initiated all contact with the head of my department: I asked for the teacher observations, I asked for feedback, I requested meetings. If you have no experience, it is going to be really tough. You are going to be dealing with a lot of things your first six months: homesickness, culture shock, and a new language. Classroom management is also huge, and it's something you really need to be good at or it will wreck your whole year (I speak from experience).

To deal with these things, you need support and, most importantly, structure. You need someone to give you ideas of what lessons to teach and how to teach them; a general map for the year; what kind of assignments to give and when. In many (if not most) cases, universities just don't have that kind of structure. They see you as the foreign expert, and therefore they are less likely to give you guidance. My recommendation is to teach at a language school the first year to give you structure, or if you are really insistent on a university, to make sure you are going to one that has a lot of support it can give to new teachers, because if, as new teacher, you go in with no structure or backup, it will be a very, very rough year.

[VanillaICE]

webber if you do some creative editing of your resume, to show you have the 2 years of teaching / work experience at home, they don't really have any way to check some work experience in America from years ago.

For someone brand new to China you should employ a realistic strategy - shoot for a University in a town a little bit off the beaten path so you can get into China, and perhaps near the end of the first semester, or a month into the second semester try to contact the other universities you are interested in working at.

These universities are all full of dead-weight teachers whom they will not be renewing the contract with, they probably already have an idea of who they will keep, and who they will let go by the end fall semester - I got weeded out this way in my first university job. I have seen some advertisements for a shenzhen university that is recruiting for the fall semester, right now.. so that should give you a good idea of what you are up against.

A good way to get your foot in the door is search linkedin for foreign and chinese teachers at the university you want, connect with them, chat them up, then ask them to pass along your resume with some good words