Job Discussion Forums

[Hipie84]

Hi guys,

I am a German and English native speaker, I have a bachelor degree in both languages, I have a couple of month of teaching practice and still I have not found a job yet. I've send tons of emails to universities, schools and some hopefully reliable agencies but I received very few answers.
I guess my CV is quite good, I have a photo as well as my two passports attached.
SO what is the matter with China ? Nothing there or is it too early to apply now for a job in Sept.2009 ?

Cheers,

Markus

[bradley]

The university where I teach hasn't made any decisions regarding next semester. Their first step is always to ask the current teachers who wants to return and to get rid of any they don't want to return so maybe it is early.

[Zero]

Could you omit the German passport? That probably makes them think you are not a native English speaker.

[Basilm87]

Hall� d�r min tyska...n�stan granne! :p

As a swede (english is my secondary language) I had no real trouble at getting a job in China last year, just stick with your searching for a decent position somewhere. A tip would though be to make up your mind of what youre looking for, what kind of position, payrate-ish, province/city etc That will narrow the search down and make it somewhat easier.

As a non-native-english-speaker (or in your case, non-english passport? german I presume?) youll probably need to do a test, or maybe a more in-depth interview, depending on school/agency etc of course. If you do good, as most of you germans and us swedes usually do :p everything should be ok jobwise, so just keep searching.

(Be sure to get a Z-visa, a normal 'excuse' would be: "You no English, you no Z-visa" ... kinda)

[bradley]

I had a friend from Germany who has taught at a university before as well.

[eddy-cool]

Mal auf gut Deutsch gesacht: Es wird wohl klappen wenn es klappen muss!

Your nationality is not likely the major issue; the biggest hurdle at the moment might very well be demand from the market.

[suanlatudousi]

One of the most horrendous "English" speakers from Ireland is where I live and god only knows how he can teach English.

Universities won't know their needs until May or June or so.

[roadwalker]

I agree with zero; is one of the passports German? If the other is UK, US, Can, NZ or Aus it would be less confusing to the schools to see only the passport that makes you special. If the school mentions that they want German instruction as well (not very likely but possible) then it would make sense to show it. Otherwise your application seems like more work, especially to an inexperienced foreign affairs officer.

Do you have a passport from one of the main English-speaking countries?

[Hipie84]

thanks for the responses, well i have a German AND Irish passport but maybe I should just omit that fact of being German as well
Anyway its not a good feeling having to travel to
China without knowing if Ill find a job..
Any tips for Qingdao ? Schools, agencies, universitites ?

[Ariadne]

I agree about mentioning just one passport when applying for jobs. Use the Irish one.

Although some might disagree, I suggest that you secure a job before traveling to China. Do it right and come in with a Z visa.

.

[dialogger]

Agree with suggestion that you omit the German part meantime. As in all job apps make yourself 'easy to hire'. Unless of course you are applying to a Foreign Studies uni. There's one in Beijing - not sure if there are others.
Also agree that first up come over with everything legit - visa, firm job etc.
There will be time enough when you are savvied up to try other approaches but then again you won't need to.
Also also agree it's a bit early to get a firm offer as universities at least are still thinking about who among existing staff they will invite back. BUT getting in line won't hurt.
I can give you directions to a uni that is always desperate to hire for various reasons which I won't go into here.
They make a feature of having hired non-native speakers from Western Europe but I still wouldn't mention your German background.
PM me if you want more details.
Remember most 1st and 2nd level Chinese cities have multiple universities so once you are in town and established you can call on the Foreign Affairs office of a few of them and make some plans for next and following years. I did this once and got 2 job offers from 3 approaches. Fronting in person works wonders anywhere and you are a better bet than a prospective teacher who may or may not show.
The Chinese have some issues with dodgy FTs. It's not at all one way!

[teachaus]

[quote="dialogger"]
Also also agree it's a bit early to get a firm offer as universities at least are still thinking about who among existing staff they will invite back. BUT getting in line won't hurt.
quote]

I have been looking for University jobs in the last couple of weeks and have 4 possibilities (3 firm offers) in the town I am looking in... The best options at least to me have come through direct contact with the Universities who haven't advertised rather than trough ads or recruiters (though I used them too. So I think that it is worth starting to look especially if you know the part of the country you are interested in and don't neglect to make direct approaches to universities/schools there. I know I read somewhere that most of the jobs are never advertised.

[dialogger]

I notice from prev posts that teachaus has been looking in Harbin which may be not as desireable as warmer climes.
Still if you're getting positive responses that's the main thing.
The best thing OP can do is present as a native speaker as he/she may have been putting out unnecessary 'static' with the German aspect.