Job Discussion Forums

[j552k]

Has anyone had any recent experience with New Time Hebei - http://www.teachinchina.cn? And, does anyone know if Global Crossroads is still affiliated with them? I am thinking of using New Times to help me get started in teaching in China. Doing a search of older posts turned up mostly positive feedback, but some that are quite negative too. Any help or advice regarding them will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[therock]

I used their services a few years ago, although they placed me into a public college, it took them almost 3 weeks to do this, I was promised a job on arrival. So for the first 3 weeks, there was a lot of screwing around. Also there were many teachers who had bad experiences with them. This was a few years ago, so it's possible they have cleaned their act up, but who knows.

If you go through them, demand they place you into a public college or university. Then you don't have to deal with them anymore. If you go down that road they can be helpful.

[JadedMenhir]

While I cannot comment about NT a ''few years ago'', I used them to come to China through them two years ago. I found them to be courteous, professional and very helpful. They found me a school in the city I wanted, kept in touch with me and were a consistent source of assistance.

In fact, so high was my confidence in NT, that last year, I accepted a job working for them heading up their foreign teacher recruitment. I have since moved on to Beijing but I am still in regular contact with Mr. Dou, the boss, and Jacques and have utter faith and trust in them. The placement system is efficient and rapid with most teachers spending around 3 days in Shijijazhuang before departing for a job.
I agree with therock that some teachers have had troubles there but this has usually been a mixture of non-preparation for Chinese life, staggeringly high demands by unexperienced teachers.

For my part, I cannot recommend them more highly.

[j552k]

Thank you both for sharing your experiences. New Times does come off as a professional and reliable organization, but the occassional negative feedback has made me pause to consider. The 2 main reasons I am hesitant is the visa status and also the waiting time for placement.

1st, they say that it is ok to arrive with a tourist visa and that I can easily switch to a work visa when I have signed with a school. Some recent comments on the message board seem to say otherwise - with some teachers having to exit to HK first. Maybe that only applies to some provinces?

2nd is regarding how long it would take to find a position for me. They say the normal waiting period is 2-3 days. However, here I should also state that I was born and raised in the U.S., but I am a Chinese-American. This, I know, may be quite a hindrance to me in terms of applying to be a FT. Furthermore, I do have a bachelor's degree and some ESL teaching experience, but I don't have any teaching certificates. I don't want to be stuck in Hebei for a month since they are unable to find something for me. If I have to wait, I'd rather do it at home.

Am I going at this the right way or am I over-thinking things? Maybe I should just take the plunge?

[HunanForeignGuy]

Dear J552,

First of all, be upfront about the Chinese-American bit.

Second, don't buy all the hype about how impossible it is.

I recommend you contact our poster TW (a Chinese-Canadian) to get his opinion.

In my university, we have two Chinese-Americans and both of them are quite liked.

Yes, a Bachelor's degree is a great key in this market and I think personally you have a winning combination. Beijing / Shanghai might be a little difficult, not so for Chengdu, Hangzhou, Harbin, GuangZhou and other cities with which I am familiar. Again, perhaps the posters on this board might share their experiences with you.

As for New Times, I used them in a crunch three years ago when one school where I was had an idiot of a FAO. I ultimately did not take the job because another job, more local opened up, but they were there for me, and yes, I found them quite professional.

Remember one big caveat -- they have their fair share of laowei loonies to deal with too and this may have resulted in the bad press.

Good luck and please keep us posted. And if you are Chinese-American and speak Cantonese as opposed to Mandarin, then perhaps you may wish to try Southern China. If it's the opposite, then stay north.

HFG

[tw]

[j552k]

Thank you for your input HFG and tw.

It seems that my chances are not as bad as I had thought. This would be my first time teaching in China and I felt that I should get some professional guidance. And I chose China because I felt the FT market there would be more forgiving of less experienced teachers like myself. Even though I have spent some time teaching ESL, most of my teaching experience comes from being a private tutor preparing students for standardized exams (TOEFL, SAT, AP). In addition to that, my degree is not in English or education. All this compounded by my Asian ethnicity, and I thought I would have a tough time getting my foot in the door.

So far, with everyone I've contacted, I've been upfront about my Chinese background and experience (or lack thereof). And, as tw has said, public institutions seem to be less bothered by my "Chinese face". I am fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin, but, as advised, I will try to keep that to myself.

Right now, I think my best bet would be to have everything set up before I just fly over there. Another recruiter - Start Consulting Services in Hubei - has been more pro-active in helping me apply. Plus, they seem to have more contact with public schools and universities. I'll see what they can come up with. Although, they too have said that I should arrange to travel there sooner in order to coincide with the start of the new semester.

[tw]

[JacquesP]

Here my two cents as the current teacher representative for New Times

It is not impossible, and you will probably have better chances with a public school, and personally I would think you would be a better teacher than most of us, just for the fact that you can understand your students better. It will be your choice to communicate with them in Chinese or not, but at any time, you will know what they think is difficult.

However, the problem is that the schools that contact us as an agency don�t wish to employ teachers with an Asian background for full-time positions.

I cannot say for sure, but I think the reason for this is (especially the private schools and training centers) that, as a foreign teacher, you are not only expected to teach, but also to be the "face" for the school in advertisements, brochures and parent meetings. A foreign face sells the school better than an Asian face.

We do hire teachers with an Asian background for volunteer positions, and although it is still more difficult to find positions for them, we have always been successful in the past. This year we successfully placed six Brits with an Indian and one with a Chinese background.

Jacques

Oh... and of course it is always the teacher who chooses the job, we never make you take a job.

[tw]

[Kilroy238]

I had an ok experience with them when they placed me in my school about 4 months ago.

Everyone was nice the apt was clean and comfortable. I was only there for a few days though.

My only really complaint was I felt very rushed. Granted there were not a lot of jobs open and when asked about jobs that may be coming open if I waited it was all negative. I could tell they wanted me placed and gone. Which is understandable that is how they make money. I was not really excited about the job they wanted me to take but I went anyhow.

As soon as I walked in the door of my school (Witty International English in Tianjin) they put a pen in my hand and contract in front of me. I was a little miffed as I told both new times and the school that I was only going to check out the school. Still I was in a bind because I was screwed over by another school. LTC in Beihai and needed a job, so I decided to take it.

I rate my experience as ok but not great. They did get me a job which I am very thankful for but still being rushed soured my experience a bit.
Looking back though I should not have let myself get pushed into this job. I could have held out for another couple of weeks.

The most important thing I can say is yes I would use them again.

[KES]

But why use an agency or recruiter when you can deal directly with the school?