Job Discussion Forums

bluey · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 50 Location: Shanghai

A company called China Connexions claims on their web site (www.chinacnx.com) that they're responsible for all Hunan's FT recruitment (some 4000 positions in Changsha alone).

Does anyone know if this is true? Or to what degree it is true, or how to bypass them when looking for positions in Changsha?

I sent them my CV and they dropped it like a dog's egg. "No vacancies that suit your qualifications" which are a CELTA and a BA, on top of two and a half years... blah blah blah. This is the same CV that's pulling in offers of 8K from ostensibly decent employers in Guangzhou, Dalian etc. Right now I'm doing 20 hours for 8.4K. Sweet, but my GF wants to go back to Hunan, and it's too darn hot here in Dongguan. And it's a dump.

So normally I'd just write these ChinaCNX people off, but I've noticed there are hardly any vacancies listed in Changsha on the websites that I've been looking at (some courtesy of a recent thread), and the few that are listed pay absolute peanuts, even by China standards. I'm starting to wonder if this agency really does have a stranglehold...

Any Changsha FTs or vets out there? Anyone have an insight? I've got a week's holiday between now and Sep, when I want to make the move. I'm considering going to Changsha with my girlfriend (who's got friends there) and having a go at getting a good job that way, in person. A good idea? If so, what's the best time to go? I'm hoping to teach business English to adults (which is what I'm doing now in Guangdong).

So please Idea

, any contacts, names of good (and bad) employers, experiences of working in Changsha, dealings with ChinaConnexions, inane ramblings, whatever...

Count_Fathom · Joined: 17 Apr 2003 Posts: 92

China Connections (whatever) doesn't rule the province.. Many schools in the neighborhood scare off potential FT's with an FAO using barely comprehensible English. "Connections" is a last resort for these schools. I've finished a contract about 40min outside Changsha working for peanuts, but a lovely little town (in some ways). If your gf has friends to show you around, you can find a decent position - but breaking the 8K mark is out of the quesiton (as far as I know).

Good Luck! If you're willing to sacrifice alot (a LOT), but be treated well then feel free to PM me. This is a funky little town. (Liuyang, Hunan - of the famous song for those that know it..)

bluey · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 50 Location: Shanghai

Count, thanks for your note. Maybe I should just put up with the heat and stick around here for a bit. I'm also looking at unis - if the contract rate in Changsha's going to be 35-65/hour then it won't matter so much if I can get plenty of private lessons lined up, and if I'm only doing a few contract hours a week.

We'll see. I'm off for a summit with she that wears the trousers, and will probably be reprogrammed to start applying for jobs in Harbin or somewhere. Thanks again.

Bertrand · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 293

dorum · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 35 Location: China

Well, Bertrand, at least it's possible that bluey might teach his(her?) students some English instead of getting carried away babbling ad nauseam about linguistics and the 'benefits' of a degree in it... Rolling Eyes

Why aren't you on the Hong Kong board instead of here (just curious)?

bluey · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 50 Location: Shanghai

****Info on China Connexions at the bottom of the post****

I say Berty, (or is it Randy?) you are in fine form today. Still smarting from the diagnosis of acute pomposity, I assume. Thanks for condescending (I mean really condescending) to reply to a post from my humble, underqualified, inexperienced self.

We're TEFL teachers. It's a high-churn industry. A couple of years experience, a BA in languages and a four-week certificate are not mightily impressive in any industry. But in this one, and in this location, they are competitive. If you had understood my post, you'd see that I'm comparing the ChinaCNX response with responses from other areas and organisations, not branding it as audacious or unacceptable.

Your rather camp post is typical of your reaction to someone asking for a little help or advice. The last time we posted on the same thread, boxcarwilly was asking how his Spanish girlfriend could get a job in China. You smothered the thread in pages of academic hyperbole and peronal attacks. Not a single one of your thousands upon thousands of superfluous, irrelevant, sometimes self-contradictory words addressed the guy's problem.

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=2843&highlight=spanish

Why do you bother? Is it because you just know you're the top boffin in ESL, and everyone else needs to know how clever you are?

Were you ever bullied at school, Bertrand? Is it still going on? Wink

Do you treat your students to the same warm encouragement and constructive criticism you give your "fellow" teachers?

You insist you have no intention of ever working in China.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=2961&highlight=
This is the China Job related board. Which bit are you having trouble understanding? Rolling Eyes

For those of you that are interested, the company China Connexions (which is nominally the subject of this thread) is responsible recruiting FTs only for public schools in Hunan. Universities and private language schools operate independently of them.

Sandgropers · Joined: 05 Jun 2003 Posts: 39

Hey bluey
Have a look at www.chinatefl.com. There are a number of educational institutions in Hunan listed.
Hope this is of some help to you. Smile

Cheers

Minhang Oz · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 610 Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin

Bluey's wonderfully eloquent response to a totally unwarranted attack from Bertrand probably hasn't had the readership it deserves. I'm waiting for B's reply.......waiting, waiting.....
Please post more often Bluey!

Michael T. Richter · Joined: 17 Jun 2003 Posts: 77 Location: Wuhan, Hubei, PRC

Is there an "ignore list" feature in this forum software that I'm just too thick to find?

Not asking for any particular reason, of course. Wink

Minhang Oz · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 610 Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin

It's not exactly software Michael, but the scroll button does the job.
By the way, you're posting like a champion today - keep it going. There's enough on the two China boards to keep everyone interested, annoyed, or amused.
PS Did I see you having a little flame on another thread?

Michael T. Richter · Joined: 17 Jun 2003 Posts: 77 Location: Wuhan, Hubei, PRC

TNVKOBE · Joined: 20 Oct 2006 Posts: 6

Please be aware that Ian Clark, who seems to be the recruiting agent in Japan for this Chinese organization, impersonates other officers of the company.

If you are involved in e-mail correspondence with Connexions there is no certainty that you are actually corresponding with a real person, or pseudonym of Clark.

I do not know whether Connexions is aware that Clark is doing this. Nor can I claim that Connexions is not a reputable company. I really don't know.

But, Clark undeniably pretends to be a person called Jane Fang in China. Just read the thread about The New Village in Kobe in this forum and you will see what I'm talking about. If there really is a Jane Fang, I doubt she is aware that Clark is speaking for her. If she is aware of it, then I would recommend caution when dealing with Connexions at all.

Sincerely,

Brian Miller
Director
The New Village
Kobe, Japan

P.S. It wouldn't surpise me in the least if Bertrand weren't yet another pompous pseudonym for Clark. He also goes by On Time and Horatio.

Watch out, he's a naughty boy!

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

To the OP:

Firstly, there are NOT 4,000 FT positions in ChangSha alone, as you write. I do not know where you ever got such a figure.

I do not believe, based upon visa information that I have seen, that there are even 4,000 FT positions in all of Hunan.

My in-the-field estimate for greater ChangSha would be closer to about 500, if even that many.

The ChangSha Mayor's Office and the Foreign Affairs Office holds a National Day Reception for the FTs and far less than 500 invitations were issued this year.

Next, no one but no one holds a monopoly on FTs in Hunan. Hunan is NOT at the top of any FT's list of first choices and they know that

BUT

that being said, ChangSha is a rather mellow kind of a place, to tell the truth. There are enough Western amenities so as to avoid culture shock and the ChangSha natives really do tend to be friendly.

If you want a job in ChangSha, just go to www.eslteachersboard.com post your review with a caveat that you only want a job in ChangSha and you will see how many replies you quickly receive.

Now wages are lower in ChangSha than in other major Chinese cities, but you can still push the envelope, so to speak. And 1 RMB goes a lot farther in ChangSha than in many other cities.

The weather is severe -- of that fact you should be warned. Spring and summer can easily hit 40 C. and more. It will rain for three-or-four months on end in winter and then it will also snow. It can be gray and dreary.

Do not let yourself get talked into the outlying districts of ChangSha. Xiangtan, for example, is a nightmare.

In many ways, I miss ChangSha. The populace is less-inclined to double-talk than in other places in southern China and what you will get is often the simple truth, albeit rather unpolished in delivery.

If you require any more info, just PM me.

daodejing · Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 39

Hunanforeignguy,

Your link does not work because it has a comma after the .com. You may want to edit.

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

bluey

There seem to be lots of jobs available in Hunan. I have a friend who used to work for a university in Changsha, and I also know of an employer in Hengyang. PM me if you'd like more info. Granted, you won't get the sort of offers you're getting from Guangzhou, but if you're satisfied making 4-5000 a month then you can probably land a job with a decent school.