Job Discussion Forums

Mysteriousdeltarays · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 27

I can't trust these people, They are constantly on holiday be it Tomb sweeping day, or May day or now apparently summer holiday.

They sent the thing with the wrong country on it. I just want to kill it. Start over again maybe with less sloth.

hells_kitchen · Joined: 14 Jun 2012 Posts: 18

China is clearly not the place for you, considering you can't handle this issue.

therock · Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Posts: 1266 Location: China

You can't cancel a invitation letter, you just reject the position. However bear in mind the invitation letter and work permit cost the school around 3000rmb, so if you reject the position now they will lose that.

Actually schools here are not really efficient in replying to emails, sounds like you expect a reply 10 minutes after sending.

Miles Smiles · Joined: 07 Jun 2010 Posts: 1294 Location: Heebee Jeebee

Send an email telling them that you have declined their offer. They'll find someone else. Whatever the School paid is part of their budgeted discretionary allowance. If the contract called for payment in cash, it's already been taken out of your hide anyway.

chinatimes · Joined: 27 May 2012 Posts: 478

Can someone clarify the need to cancel an invitation letter? I thought you could take the Z visa and get a job anywhere. Is the invitation letter really tied to only one school? Couldn't a second school pay whatever costs (3,000 RMB was mentioned) and get it?

The Edge · Joined: 04 Sep 2010 Posts: 455 Location: China

therock · Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Posts: 1266 Location: China

Babala · Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 1303 Location: Henan

If you plan to reject the first offer then don't apply for another school in the same city. Local governments are starting to clamp down on teachers who agree to a contract and then change their minds and take a second one.

dean_a_jones · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 1151 Location: Wuhan, China

The school will likely be annoyned because of the money, and it may hinder your chances of getting a job in the same city/province.

As others have said, you will need to email the school and tell them you have decided not to work for them. You might be better off telling them it is due to something like a "family emergency" rather than you think they are generally crap.

You don't really go into the specifics about what other problems you have had, but plenty of schools are terribly slow at getting back to you via emails. The fact that they screwed up the name of the country on the letter is a problem (and might mean you cannot apply using it anyway) and probably not a great sign. Having said that don't be expecting high levels of efficiency and organisation from administration staff here, you will most likely be disappointed if you do.

choudoufu · Joined: 25 May 2010 Posts: 3325 Location: Mao-berry, PRC

you can send a nice letter declining.

dear school,

the invitation letter you sent me required me to apply for my z-visa in
[oceania]. as i live in [eurasia], this letter is not valid. unfortunately,
there will not be enough time for me to wait for a new invitation letter
to be sent....blah, blah, blah. thank you so much, but i must decline
your wonderful offer.

sincerely,

mr. sadly

JamesD

Miles Smiles · Joined: 07 Jun 2010 Posts: 1294 Location: Heebee Jeebee

I've had my name misspelled and part of my name left off the letter. I've also been sent the letter at the last minute. The slow pace shouldn't be a deal breaker. Sometimes, the person who is authorized to apply for the letter of invitation isn't even on the job.

You DON'T want to receive the letter and then apply for the visa too soon. There's either a 30 or 90 day window (I don't remember which it is now) in which to enter China after you receive the Z visa. If you apply too soon, get the visa, and find out that it will expire before the school even wants you to arrive, you've shot yourself in the foot.

No matter what your reasons for not wanting to teach at the school may be, you DO owe the school the courtesy of a letter declining the invitation. It's the adult thing to do.

chinatimes · Joined: 27 May 2012 Posts: 478

JamesD · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:13 am Post subject:

I understand how the letter works, I was just asking which situation applied to the OP. Is he in his home country or not?
In some areas the issuing office requires using the home country which is not the fault of the school. If he is in his home country and they used another then it's a whole different issue.

vikeologist · Joined: 07 Sep 2009 Posts: 600

OP Tomb sweeping day was a hell of a long time ago.

If someone has put the wrong country on the letter of invitation, they may just be burying their head in the sand. If for instance they've put USA on the letter, but you're in Korea, they, or you, has just cost the school 4,000 kuai. The PSB or Police won't reissue it with a different country, at least not for free, at least not without some kind of reason to do so, at least that's been the experience of everybody I know so far, but who knows?

. There might be an admin person praying for you to tell them that you're going somewhere else.

What can seem like incompetence can just be the cultural norm. On the other hand, many of us are desensitised to what may be real institutional incompetence.