Post by Raoul Duke on Jul 23, 2004 7:14:11 GMT 7
The English schools don't like to admit this, but in most places the job prospects for English teaching services are still those of a seller's market. A lot of schools struggle hard to fill their faculty posts- especially public schools and private schools that cater to kids. They of course won't tell you all this- they'll carry on about how lucky you are to have landed such a swell job. But the fact is that there are a lot of schools out there desperate for foreign faces to fill their class assignments.
There are exceptions to this, of course. Jobs with schools in the most desirable locations and/or offering superior compensation are going to be competitive, even if you have a Master's in TEFL and 10 years of experience. There are a lot of foreign teachers in China these days.
But in a lot of schools if you are available and foreign (which, sadly, in too many places is synonymous with 'white') then it's hard NOT to get hired. Be warned that places with such misguided and myopic outlooks are perhaps more likely to eventually give you an unpleasant experience here.
If you want to rise above the bottom of the barrel, looking solid and professional is definitely a must. These schools are going to be looking a lot harder at you, and are going to expect a bit more of you than simply being part of the European gene pool. It is possible to screw up a job application in these places. I've been on both sides of the hiring equation here in China. From what I've seen, and from what other managers have told me, the best ways to make sure your resume ends up in the trash can include:
1) Using bad English. If you're going to sell yourself as a teacher of the language, for God's sake demonstrate some ability to use it yourself. You simply can't imagine the slush that comes in as a result of a job ad.
2) Not meeting the qualifications specified in the job ad. If the job ad specifies that you definitely must have a college degree, and you don't have one, you're pretty much wasting everyone's time by submitting a resume anyway.
3) Asking questions that are plainly answered in the job ad- or in the web site that the job ad points you to. Nothing screams "Moron!" quite like asking how much a job pays, when the pay is specified in the ad. And companies post info on web sites precisely so they don't have to answer the same questions 10,000 times. Employers like people who can read...start by reading the ad before responding. Employers like people who can follow instructions, too...apply the way they ask you to.
4) Being unable to meet the basic structure of the job. For example, I had one applicant who wanted to start a 7-week Summer class 2 weeks late so he could finish a house closing. I invited him to hit the road.
5) Being too demanding up front. "Dear Sirs, I'd like to apply for your position but that salary isn't nearly big enough and you should double it for me. And you need to provide me a special apartment out in the cleaner air on the edge of town and send a car for me every morning. Etc., etc., etc., blah, blah, blah." Establish some communication before talking turkey. Many schools have some wiggle room for negotiation with a good teacher, but you've got to be reasonable. Schools have constraints on what they can pay you and give you as benefits. If the advertised deal isn't at least fairly close to good enough, you're probably wasting your time by responding.
6) Trivializing the work. Managers want teachers who will view their job as a JOB, to be taken as seriously as any other job anywhere else, not simply a gateway to travel or language lessons or gong fu classes or getting married or whatever it is you're really coming here to do. I'll wager that NONE of us came here primarily to teach, and we all have other agendas, but you still have to give the job the importance it's due.
7) Being weird and/or whiny and/or unhealthy. Using your cover letter to express expectations that the school will help you find a good wife, or complain that the rest of the world has been unfair to you for your while life, or mention how you hope that your advanced Chronic Fatigue Syndrome won't be an obstacle to living in China, probably isn't the best idea.
If you can stay away from these things (which based on the applications I've reviewed or heard about must be harder than it seems) then most school managers are probably going to be absolutely thrilled and delighted to hear from you.
There are exceptions to this, of course. Jobs with schools in the most desirable locations and/or offering superior compensation are going to be competitive, even if you have a Master's in TEFL and 10 years of experience. There are a lot of foreign teachers in China these days.
But in a lot of schools if you are available and foreign (which, sadly, in too many places is synonymous with 'white') then it's hard NOT to get hired. Be warned that places with such misguided and myopic outlooks are perhaps more likely to eventually give you an unpleasant experience here.
If you want to rise above the bottom of the barrel, looking solid and professional is definitely a must. These schools are going to be looking a lot harder at you, and are going to expect a bit more of you than simply being part of the European gene pool. It is possible to screw up a job application in these places. I've been on both sides of the hiring equation here in China. From what I've seen, and from what other managers have told me, the best ways to make sure your resume ends up in the trash can include:
1) Using bad English. If you're going to sell yourself as a teacher of the language, for God's sake demonstrate some ability to use it yourself. You simply can't imagine the slush that comes in as a result of a job ad.
2) Not meeting the qualifications specified in the job ad. If the job ad specifies that you definitely must have a college degree, and you don't have one, you're pretty much wasting everyone's time by submitting a resume anyway.
3) Asking questions that are plainly answered in the job ad- or in the web site that the job ad points you to. Nothing screams "Moron!" quite like asking how much a job pays, when the pay is specified in the ad. And companies post info on web sites precisely so they don't have to answer the same questions 10,000 times. Employers like people who can read...start by reading the ad before responding. Employers like people who can follow instructions, too...apply the way they ask you to.
4) Being unable to meet the basic structure of the job. For example, I had one applicant who wanted to start a 7-week Summer class 2 weeks late so he could finish a house closing. I invited him to hit the road.
5) Being too demanding up front. "Dear Sirs, I'd like to apply for your position but that salary isn't nearly big enough and you should double it for me. And you need to provide me a special apartment out in the cleaner air on the edge of town and send a car for me every morning. Etc., etc., etc., blah, blah, blah." Establish some communication before talking turkey. Many schools have some wiggle room for negotiation with a good teacher, but you've got to be reasonable. Schools have constraints on what they can pay you and give you as benefits. If the advertised deal isn't at least fairly close to good enough, you're probably wasting your time by responding.
6) Trivializing the work. Managers want teachers who will view their job as a JOB, to be taken as seriously as any other job anywhere else, not simply a gateway to travel or language lessons or gong fu classes or getting married or whatever it is you're really coming here to do. I'll wager that NONE of us came here primarily to teach, and we all have other agendas, but you still have to give the job the importance it's due.
7) Being weird and/or whiny and/or unhealthy. Using your cover letter to express expectations that the school will help you find a good wife, or complain that the rest of the world has been unfair to you for your while life, or mention how you hope that your advanced Chronic Fatigue Syndrome won't be an obstacle to living in China, probably isn't the best idea.
If you can stay away from these things (which based on the applications I've reviewed or heard about must be harder than it seems) then most school managers are probably going to be absolutely thrilled and delighted to hear from you.
