Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

Summer's coming up, soon. And people some people will start looking for summer jobs and for jobs that start next fall. Here's my 2 cents of job searching etiquette.

Read the advert carefully before applying
Do you have the experience? The qualifications? Are you the right gender, nationality, religion, age that is required? Can you fulfill the job duties, like testing students, planning English clubs, assemblies, student recruitment, timetables, etc? Can you work the number of hours, full-time, part-time? Be sure you fulfil what is required before you apply.

Do you really want the job?
If offered to you, would you accept it? Do you like the school? The city? What the place has to offer you? If not, don't waste your time or their and don't apply.

Be honest
If you don't know about something, tell the employer and ask if they are willing to train you. For example, they want you to place students, but you've never done it. Don't say that you have the experience, tell them that you've never done it, but are willing to learn.

Follow-up
Got an interview? or a job offer? Be sure to email and thank them. Even if you don't want to accept the job, be considerate and tell them. My school now is hiring and gave two job offers and hasn't heard from the people since. That's just rude.

Ok, that's it, I've said my piece.

[Lanza-Armonia]

Hey Again Nature Girl.

I'd like to add something. I, myself was asked to post an ad on a TEFL website for my school. I asked if the potential-employees would send me the following, full CV (not resume, there is a difference), official degrees and education crap including transcripts, and a photo.

The only reasonI asked for all this is cuz I iz gunna need it in the end anywho. I get hundreds of responces, many of which had the above missing. That just plain, pisses one off. So when applying for a job, China or elsewhere, send the damn stuff. It ain't hard damnit

<Takes a deep breath>

LA

[Gordon]

LA, you asked for official degrees and transcripts for people just applying for the job? That seems a little overkill to me. I can see if you are offering someone a job or are serious about hiring them. I would never send official degrees or transcripts to anyone unless I was certain I was getting the job and they were using it for visa purposes.

[Kitegirl]

As far as the advertisement goes - often enough it's the prospective employer who doesn't word the ad clearly enough - I've lost count of the times I've heard, "We love your CV, but we want an American" or similar.

And I can kind of get that you want the big picture before you seriously consider an applicant, but I want to be offered a job on the basis of my resume, and only then will I consider submitting such personal material as my degree, transcripts, passport or photo. Especially the photo issue offends me - it should be my resume that decides things, not the fact that I'm a ravishing blonde.
Right?

[ntropy]

I wouldn't send copies of certs, degrees, passports etc. unless actually offered the job.

[naturegirl321]

LA,
I don't know about the transcripts and degrees. But I have my degree on file, on the computer and can send that.
What is the main difference between a CV and resume? I just think that the CV has more personal info. That's what I consider to be the difference.

I thought of another thing, be sure that you can start when the school needs you to start.

One more thing to bare in mind. Someone on this board said that what employers want and what they get may be two different things. So I guess if you don't completely fulfill the requirements for the job, you could always just apply and see what happens.

[denise]

[Lanza-Armonia]

Sorry to be a pain guys but please allow me to explain.

The reason I asked for transcripts iz cuz I like to save time and I like to know where the person studied. I like to verify the degrees and all the cr=p. Then, when the job is offered, I can immediately get the letter of recommendation emailed to them to get a Z visa cuz I have already got the required material. thus saving up to and beyond two weeks.

Just a thought....'

LA

[Gordon]

The problem with asking for all that personal info is that you are losing lots of potential teachers who won't give you that info until they are serious about the job and/or job offer.

[Cleopatra]

I myself have the experience of applying for a job for which I did not meet the advertised credentials - and being accepted. Like in any job market, it's all a question of supply and demand. So, no harm in trying, is there?

I think it's asking a bit too much to expect applicants to send out copies of ddgrees and reference letters on an initial application. Obviously, emplouyers want to see these documents, but surely the applicant should have some degree of confidence that they both want and may get the job, before having to go to the trouble of digging out all those dusty degrees and phoning someone you worked for one summer four years ago.

I suppose from the employer's pointof view, they are weeding out people who do not genuinely want the job. At the same time,however, they may well be losing some excellent candidates who can't be bothered to go to all that trouble for a job they have no idea they'll get an interview for.

[shenyanggerry]

I used to live with a high tech headhunter. CV's ended with 'references available upon request'. References were only checked AFTER a company decided to hire the candidate if the references panned out.

Ditto for academic records although experience counted for more than education in most cases.

[chinagirl]

I agree with the previous postings about degrees and transcripts. There is no way I would send any originals to anyone without a job offer first. Scanned copies of my degree and transcripts would be the best that I could do. No one is getting my original degree/certificate, ever, unless I am holding it in their presence. Transcripts are not as big of a deal, but I would prefer to send a scan and then I'd be more than happy to send the original transcripts once accepting a job offer.

[Lanza-Armonia]

It would seem that I am the bad guy on this one. Just one comment. One person stated that an employer could lose a good candidate because s/he 'couldn't be bothered' to send the stuff. Doesn't that say something?

LA

[Sherri]

I've been in charge of recruitment for the last 10+ years in Japan. I do not need to see anything except the resume and covering letter in the first round. I don't ask for and do not need, photos, degrees, copies of passports, and please no transcripts! It is just not necessary and all the extra paper just bogs us down. Original degrees and transcripts are valuable, it does cost to replace them. Most universities will give you the first copy for free but after that you have to pay for official transcipts and documentation.

I wonder if the companies/individuals who request these official documents will also do the favour of returning them to the applicants who do not get the job?

[denise]