Job Discussion Forums

mep3 · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 212

I didn't get a job at a Taiwan uni this year, but I'm thinking of changing uni's anyway. It would be my fourth one-year job in a row though. Any idea whether that would make it harder for me to get a uni job in Taiwan the following year? I'm planning to come to Taiwan to visit some schools/hopefully interview during the '07 - '08 school year. The move I could make this fall would be a nice one for me even though it's not Taiwan. But if moving again would look bad on my CV for Taiwan, I'd probably stay put.

Thx ... Mep

forest1979 · Joined: 10 Jun 2007 Posts: 507 Location: SE Asia

Of course it's not great!!! What do you think?? 4 jobs in 4 years is hardly conducive to saying "invest your time and energy in me - you'll get long term rewards"! Do you think an application in the US, or Canada or elsewhere would be favourable to someone geographically mobile in an industry swamped with a supply of potential staff? You would have a hard time convincing a committee on an experience card alone? What do you have to supplement your case? Publications? Conference papers? Research experience? Fluent in Mandarin?

From my experience, and by this I write of being on job recruitment committees at unis, you could get a chance offer if you guarantee staying for a number of years. I do know of people who moved around a lot and were given jobs on the basis of they promise to stay for 2 years (if my memory was right). In fact they're still at the uni that offered them a job. However to be honest moving around ain't a great thing for most institutions looking to keep their staff.

Incidentally, on the plus side many low quality private unis - i.e. upgraded colleges based in rural locations - probably would not be as negative as city-based institutions but it is commonly known that the rural unis are poor places to work for even though in financial terms you'll be better off than living in Taipei, etc.