Job Discussion Forums

[davidchu79]

Hi,
I'm looking to go and teach in Beijing and I've heard that all they're looking for are white blonde faces to get a job.
I'm native Englishman but I am half (well actually a quarter) chinese with a Chinese surname. Is this really going to be a problem getting a job in Beijing?
I'm 28 with a degree and a CELTA qualifaction, is this much of an advantage in Beijing or does everyone have them?

If any 'halfies' or everyone else can enlighted me on any thoughts or experiences of the above it would really be appreciated.

Thanks
Dave (will that name help??)

[u24tc]

Basically..... do you look asian?

[davidchu79]

Well....I've got black hair, but kinda dark skin....I suppose I could look mexican, or Italian, but yes I also look half chinese.
Is that reallygoing to be a problem?

[Anda]

Well tell them you are half Italian and that your Italian father had a Chinese grandfather. That should distance you enough. You could turn up wearing Italian clothes too for effect.


If you are a top teacher then it should not be a problem. Like I say, one only needs one job.

[tw]

[davidchu79]

Hi Anda,
Is that a real picture of you?
Are you mixed? And if so did you have any experiences that you thought it was really working against you?
I wouldn't think I look anywhere near as asian as you, and I would say I dress and my general appearance is very western (and I don't mean wearing England football shirts!)
Do you think that will be enough distance?
Plus, I've a VERY english middle name, so don't think I'm really going to be able to pull off Italian convincingly.

Cheers
Dave

[Sonnet]

A number of employers won't consider non-caucasians. Well, that's their loss.

If you're a decent teacher who's serious about the job, and you do your research & find a decent school, you shouldn't have any problems; pretty much the same as those of us who're gloriously pasty white. I've known a fair number of teachers here with varying degrees of Asian lineage, and they didn't encounter any serious problems.

You should be fine! All the best with the job hunt.

[william wallace]

Most are employable here, the question is; are you willing and able to accept the salary and conditions.
I come from the East of Canada, where even the lowliest of jobs are difficult to get, yet on the other end in Calgary and thereabouts, jobs pay much more than minimum wage, yet are going unfilled, so they've attached incentives to try and fill the jobs. China has a big demand for FTs ,but they are NOT so desperate as to offer major incentives.

I've seen and know people with no degrees, no high school diploma, prison records, non-white, poor English speakers(L2 English),poor social skills get work--------Does it seem like it is a challenge to get a job in this country? Does body count come to mind ?

AND,that's in the discriminating capital city-Beijing!!

[davidchu79]

Thanks for the concern William,
I think I'm going to leave on a tourist visa and try a look at a few schools and for jobs when I'm there. Then at least I'll know better if I can take the conditions and incentives!

Can anyone tell me if it would be very advantangeous to start contracting Universities or schools in Beijing now? Or is it fine to just get on a plane and look for schools/universities when I arrive. There seems so many of them in Beijing!

What should I really look for in a school? Or shall I stick to jobs at are adventised and apply to schools that way?

Any advice would be great

And any good web-addresses for jobs would be great as well!!

Cheers
Dave

[therock]

Start contacting them now. Most universities will go on summer vacation shortly. Competition especially in Beijing is more competitive, so it would be advisable to start looking now.

[brsmith15]

David,

NO! NO! Don't leave without a job prospect. Search from your home planet first, land a position, then come.

[tw]

[Anda]

I'm mixed but half Pom and Half Oz!

[voodikon]

hi david,

i'm a half-chinese american who's been living and alternately working and studying in china for three years. however, the chinese lineage comes from my mother's side rather than my father's, so my (legal) name is completely non-chinese, and other than darker features, i "look" white. relatively few people here and elsewhere (outside of east los angeles, where i'm often taken for latina) have assumed i was not fully caucasian. i do sometimes get the "you look chinese" comment here, but it's generally solely due to my dark hair.

i haven't experienced much discrimination or issues with hiring. my first job here was at a company run by a chinese american, and though he itched to have white-looking employees, he was also happy to hire westerners no matter what their ethnic background--i was hired with my then-boyfriend, a vietnamese american; and in the year i worked there our boss also employed one other chinese american as well as two indians and a filipina. it was in my second year of employment in china, at a public three-year college, where i first faced any sorts of race-related issue: the first thing i noticed was that my students all asked me why, if i'm american, my hair was black. to which i'd often go off on a long tangent about how people all over the world have black hair and then finally conclude ... and my mother's chinese. secondly, at the end of the year, the school suddenly announced they wanted to renew the other two FTs' contracts (both of them are fair-featured white folk) but not mine. however, when i asked why, they had no explanation, other than they apparently did an informal survey in one of my classes. perhaps they really just thought i was a crap teacher, but it was quite a blow since i had more experience and education in education than the other two, had taken on two unexpected extra classes midway through the term when another FT broke his contract (one of the other FTs also took on one; the third refused to take on any) and had initiated not only regular professional-development staff meetings for our english department but also suggested and coordinated replacing the dull english corners with activity clubs. in short, i thought i was exceeding the demands of the job, and all of my efforts were overlooked.

that's my sob story.

however, at the end of the summer, when they realized that FTs weren't lining up to work for their little college way out in the suburbs of chengdu, they said they would be "willing" to renew my contract. at which point i took my pride and told them to shove it. amusingly, they ended up hiring a taiwanese american (with a master's degree in education) for the next year but refused to even give him a contract. the students i stayed in touch with griped that their new FT "wasn't even foreign." (incidentally, also, the year before i worked there, their FT was a chinese american who was also an experienced teacher who they did not invite for a return.)

anyway, to make a long story short, i'd say there is definitely a certain fetishization/worship of blond hair and blue eyes, and those features embody what many chinese consider to be the "foreign" look, and that students (ok, i'm talking about those who are keen to learn english, not those who are being forced against their will) are particularly pleased to have this kind of foreign teacher, but that in actuality most seem grateful to have any foreign teacher, no matter what he/she looks like. employers, on the other hand, it's a toss-up. but i just figure if they're so set in hiring teachers based more on their appearance than on their qualifications, let them be--why would i want to work for that sort of employer anyway?

as bad as it sounds, i think your photo will take precedence over your name. so i wouldn't worry about it too much, in terms of landing jobs. what happens afterward, however, is a whole 'nother can of worms....

feel free to pm or im if you want further information. as you can probably see, i can write a lot on this subject.

voodikon

[voodikon]

oh yeah. i also wanted to add that while i wouldn't play up the chinese ancestry business in applications for teaching jobs, i generally find people here are quite pleased when they find out i'm part chinese. (the guy at my local mantou stand, for instance, jumped up and said, "i knew it!" and is always particularly friendly to me. another guy i met looked moved almost to tears and said, "welcome to the family." all right, it's a little hokey, but kind of nice to receive that kind of acceptance when i feel like my chineseness is often denied by white westerners and sometimes asian westerners as well.)

and ALSO i have actually played up that aspect of my identity in applications for certain jobs where i feel like having a bicultural background could be portrayed as an advantage (according to time magazine it's hip to be half: