Job Discussion Forums

[liebkuchen]

I'm currently in China teaching oral English at a university since September. I've been offered to stay on at my uni for another year which is what I wanted as I really like China, my city and the uni but long standing yet controlled depression (my gp was all for me going) has been getting progressively worse despite doing what I can to eat well, sleep well and exercise. I can't guarantee becoming sufficiently well to cope with another year in China within the 2 month summer vacation so I need to start thinking about job hunting in the UK from this summer.

What can I do to help smooth the job hunt on my return? Will employers accept the email of my fao for references or should I try to get a paper/email scanned testimonial as well? Does anyone have advice on how to sell tefl experience for non-teaching jobs?

Thanks

[Perilla]

Hi Liebkuchen,

I don't think you could have chosen a worse time to head back to the UK. At least you don't seem to expect anything much from the UK's TEFL sector, which is horrendous.

Looking at your options I'd say a lot depends on how flexible you are with regard to location and job type. Re using your TEFL experience for other types of work, think about what areas you might look at and how your teaching/overseas experience might give you an advantage.

Yes, probably a good idea to get good hard copy references from your China employers - they may come in useful at some point.

Best if you can keep the coming year's work offer as long as possible. You may change your mind, especially when you get a better idea of how messed up the UK is.

[nomad soul]

Liebkuchen, you might post this in the UK forum to get a clearer picture of what the job market is like from teachers already working there.

[Zero]

Heading to the UK to start a job hunt as a means of quelling depression. Why does that not sound like a recipe for success?

[liebkuchen]

I'm accutely aware of how poor prospects in the UK are at the moment but if I don't come back to the UK and take the time to get well, I won't be in a fit state to work anywhere, the UK or abroad.

Knowing that I've organised my references will help in that its one little thing not to worry about, regardless of where I end up working/unemployed.