Job Discussion Forums

[lmarkotan]

Hi everyone,

I am a non-native speaker holder of an Australian passport, currently teaching English and Conversation in English at a high school in Slovakia. I have spent 8 years in Australia did my Masters in IT and recently have finished an online 100h TEFL course. This is my second year as an English teacher.

I wonder what are my chances for a teaching job in China. I have registered with this recruiter http://www.horizoneslchina.com. Does anyone know the company? Can it be trusted? How would I find out?

[tomstone]

You can get a job teaching English in China, but your best bet is to avoid recruiters. Contact the schools directly.

[XiGua]

You'll be able to find jobs, but probably not great ones. I have one friend who wasn't a native speaker and she had a volunteering gig for not much money. Granted that might have been her choice.

Chances are if you go through a recruiter they're going to lie to your school about your qualifications and where you're from anyway.

[daCabbie]

Where are you originally from, are you married and do you like basketball? These can make a big difference as to getting hired. But I don't think you have any reason to be concerned. China is full of non-native English speakers.

NetworlESL is a clean-cut outfit. I have used them twice for placement. No lies or BS. They will put you in direct contact with a school and that's when the lies will start. You can try doing direct contact hire but a recruiter can save you some time.

Good luck in the search. Remember you don't have to take the first job that comes your way. You might not realize it but you are a commodity and you need to shop yourself around to find the best deal. If anything sounds fishy just drop it and find another offer. The rush is on to get teachers for the new semester. In a week or so people will start to return or not return from vacation and that is when FAO's know if they have to hire more teachers at the last moment.

Welcome to China!