Job Discussion Forums

[mk177]

hi,

I have recieved two contract offers and I am unsure whether they seem decent or not.

1) Native English Speaker Recruitment Project (Jane han)
In Foshan. She will not provide the name of the school. It is from 27 Auust till 27 November, but apparently i can extend for 3 more months, which i may like to do. Working hours per week are no more than 20 hours.

To remunerate the intern during the internship a total monthly amount of

������������� 5000 RMB, you should get 4500RMB from NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER RECRUITMENT PROJECT through bank account, and the left 500RMB should be given by the school you serve. we will send your salary to your bank account before 10th of next month.
Accomodation provided which she will not provide pictures of. Need to ive 1 month notice to terminate.

2)Wenshan, Yunnan. 23 hours a week. 4500 a month. from sept 1st to dec. 25th. 4500rmb a month. Accomodation provided. Duties:Duties: The duties to be performed by the Employee include: 1. To teach oral English according to the textbook 2. Lesson planning and preparation as well as curriculum development
3. Assisting with administration including intake and placement of students and recording attendance
4. Counseling students 5. Participating in the school�s social program including Extra Curricular Activities (ECA�s) 6. Participating in Employee training programs and workshops organized by the school 7. Participating at promotional and marketing activities organized by the school
8. Attending all scheduled meeting where his/her presence is required unless those meetings occur during the Employee�s holiday or the Employee�s day off
9. Other tasks assigned by the Education Department and our school in his/her working hours.

NEITER RECRUITER WILL SEND ME DETAILS SPECIFICALLY OF TE SKLS, BUT BECAUSE I AM DESPERATE NOW SOULD I JUST ACCEPT?
I have also contacted ASTON RECRUTIMENT but they are takin a while to call me for an interview. what would you recomend and are there any more q's i should ask these recruiters. As the schools i have applied to online have not replied.

Thanks

[IT2006]

[dharma86]

Don't give in to desperation

[nickpellatt]

Is there a reason why you are only looking at very short term contracts?

Generally ... as already suggested, these offers arent great ... and not being given full details of the school is something I wouldnt like myself. HOWEVER, if you are only looking for, or willing to accept, short term contracts, it may be that you will have to take a leap of faith and take something that people looking for one year or longer contracts wouldnt consider.

These arent great offers, but considering the contract length.... they could be worse. Lots of people do go down the route of taking 'voluntourism' type trips, where they have to pay for the priviledge of a 3 month Chinese adventure. Compared to that, this isnt so bad.

Do share you reasoning behind seeking this type of work though ... it adds context to your query about how suitable these offers may be. I do know of some places that will take short term teachers ... and simply offer free accom and food in return for a couple of hours of conversation classes per day. They bill them as cultural exchange programs. They might be worth considering if you are really looking for just a short stay, travel and adventure.

[nobleignoramus]

I think the Wenshan job is paying handsome money considering its remote location and the fact that Yunnan salaries generally are well below national standards.

But it puzzles me too why they would recruit shortterm temps rather than fulltermers.

One possibility is: They count on replacing those foreign faces at every term's end with newcomers and thus hope to save on airfare and holiday pay. Also it is possible that they are thus saving on registration costs.

It's usually less reputable employers that resort to this sort of tactics. Beware.

[nickpellatt]

I was wondering if it was more a case of the applicant seeking short term positions, rather than the offers only being short term vacancies. I have 'met' a number of people looking for such roles, and I think this is why 'voluntourism' companies etc do so well.

[mk177]

Basically i can only teach for 6 months as i have to be back in UK by March.
I understand these job offers werent the best but i recieved another contract from a recruiter for Suzhou, in Jiansu, which i have heard is beautiful.

It is 18 45minute periods a week. I have recieved the contract and there are some areas that concern me:

3. Teachers are required to make a detailed teaching plan for each specific class. The teaching plans include teaching aims and demands, necessary teaching procedure, such as warming up, presentation, language points, drills etc. and assignments (homework) to end the class with.

So do i have to prepare lesson plans? As i dont think i can.

2.Teachers are expected to use the textbooks designated by school and fulfill the given teaching assignment. In line with the teaching requirement of the school, foreign teachers should work out a semester teaching plan with the aids of Chinese teachers of English before the end of the first week and submit the plan to the Foreign Language Teaching Center, the Primary School or Junior & High School section and Kindergarten concerned . With the approval of the Foreign Language Teaching Center and the Primary School or Junior & High School section and Kindergarten concerned, foreign teachers can compile and choose other supplementary teaching materials.

also:

16. Foreign teachers are expected to participate in activities concerning school enrollment, after-school English activities and school organized English corner activities.

Also accordin to the recruiter i cannot contact oter teachers there as the other teachers dont like it. is this normal?

Accomodation is provided as well as 3 meals. 5000RMB a mont. And for 6 mont contract, 4000 dollars provided for airfare. And i should come on a toursit visa

is this better?

[vikuk]

Is this another Goldwyn Zhang offer?????
Whatever job you're taking - find out what visa they're offering.
Plenty here teach with the wrong visa - but as free agents. Teaching under a recruiter with an incorrect visa is a potential throat-cutting act. It could work out - but you're taking a big risk on it.

The worst of the recruiters prey on folk who are desperate for a short contract - and its the kind of cheap-meat they find that errodes so much of the professional away from the China EFL business.

And anyone coming onto a teacher's forum asking for help to find a teaching job then saying -

[mk177]

No it is from Long Long?

I understand ur comments but what i meant to say was that if I have to plan from the start 18periods a week alone, I possibly may be unable to do this to a quality which is fully expected of me, as this is my first experience.

So what does this mean in the contract? I have to provide evry lesson plan alone?

Also I will recieve 3000 a month holiday allowance. Does this sound reasonable?

The contract is 6 months

Also what is the correct visa? Is it ok to come to china on a tourist visa, and then the school will help to convert it to a work visa?

Thanks

[vikuk]

[mk177]

No TESOL or TEFL will be ok as long as you have a University degree.

and You will get paid back one-way ticket for a half year contract. It is 3,000- 4,000rmb in cash. We can provide teaching materials to you.

All the other teachers come to Suzhou Internaitonal Foreign Langauges School, can get a working visa when they arrive.

You maybe don't know to get a working visa before come is very complicated and hard. It will also have to take us at least 30 days to do that.

If you decide to come in July, Maybe we can do working visa papers to you, but now it is too later. I hope you can understand thant.

I have also other candidates for Suzhou Internaitonal Foreign Langauges School. I really can't wait now.

Logan Chuang

does this sound dodgy? Im thinking of taking the risk as i have not recieved anything else suitable really.

[vikuk]

Everything in China is dodgy - just get the recruiter to supply you with Email of one of the many teachers who has come over on the tourist visa - and hear the other side of the story(could be good or bad).
If the recruiter can't go through the simple task of supplying reference - then I wouldn't sign.

[Mister Al]

Getting a Z visa is not difficult as long as the FT meets the criteria and the school has the legal right to hire Foreign Experts. So he's talking crap. 30 days? Don't know about that. In Suzhou the school needs to apply for a FEC in Nanjing. Normally only takes a week. An FEC is required to be able to send you an invitation letter to apply for a Z visa, and to also help you get your Resident Permit, which must be applied for within 30 days of your arrival in China. The whole process until your arrive should take less than a month easily. Definitely try to get the contact details of a current or ex-employee. The lesson plan rule they mention seems over burdensome but can't blame an employer for asking for them per se. So it seems they want you to come on an L visa and believe them that you will be working legally soon after. It's not that uncommon in China. I have done that a few times and it all worked out fine. Others have not been so lucky. It's up to you whether you want to chance it and how you view your current situation.

[vikuk]

[Mister Al]