The past few days I have been in a daze, feeling glossed over, mechanical. The off-and-on rain hasn't really brought much of a cooling effect. Today I slept away most of the day's middle hours, deciding to eat a true breakfast at around 5PM. Part of this could be the fact that the past few nights I've been up until around 2AM which is pretty drastic for a bookworm like me. The good news is that I've been out up so late because I have made friends with Chinese people. From now on I will just call them Chinese friends. There really is no bad news about this even though that may have sounded like a lead-in, but let me continue...
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Monday, August 29, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
foreign expert
So...somehow over the past month I wound up magically transforming form mere American citizen into a foreign expert....
In case I don't know what this means, it means I GOT A TEACHING POSITION!! Yes, the theory of hard work and persistence paying off has now been confirmed to be occasionally correct instead of just being anecdotal. That is, of course, unless this was all just a coincidence and there is actually no correlation between diligence and success. Either way, I signed a contract with Hángzhōu Diànzǐ University in Hángzhōu, Zhèjīang Province. I feel a great sense of relief having secured a job but I also have realized the exigency of my final pre-trip responsibilities.
In case I don't know what this means, it means I GOT A TEACHING POSITION!! Yes, the theory of hard work and persistence paying off has now been confirmed to be occasionally correct instead of just being anecdotal. That is, of course, unless this was all just a coincidence and there is actually no correlation between diligence and success. Either way, I signed a contract with Hángzhōu Diànzǐ University in Hángzhōu, Zhèjīang Province. I feel a great sense of relief having secured a job but I also have realized the exigency of my final pre-trip responsibilities.
Friday, April 1, 2011
fruit time!
JOB OFFER!!
Straight from contact with a university in Hángzhōu. The offer seems OK and I have talked to a few people from the school who say it is a great place and teacher friends at other schools envy them. Of the handful of schools I've talked to, this one has had the most and most prompt communication with me. However I would still like to see what other schools might offer. The offer I received is good for two weeks so I have some time to decide what I want to do, maybe even longer depending on whether or not the deadline was a tactic of some sort or if it was legitimate.
Either case, I feel pretty good about it. Always though, it could be psychological, wanting it to work out, wanting to think I received a decent offer. Harder to be objective when you are really hoping for something. Man certainly has the capability to delude himself.
Hopefully I can eek out some more later, maybe it will be more interesting instead of such a straightforward account.
Straight from contact with a university in Hángzhōu. The offer seems OK and I have talked to a few people from the school who say it is a great place and teacher friends at other schools envy them. Of the handful of schools I've talked to, this one has had the most and most prompt communication with me. However I would still like to see what other schools might offer. The offer I received is good for two weeks so I have some time to decide what I want to do, maybe even longer depending on whether or not the deadline was a tactic of some sort or if it was legitimate.
Either case, I feel pretty good about it. Always though, it could be psychological, wanting it to work out, wanting to think I received a decent offer. Harder to be objective when you are really hoping for something. Man certainly has the capability to delude himself.
Hopefully I can eek out some more later, maybe it will be more interesting instead of such a straightforward account.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
no thanks Wendy
The past few days I have felt I'm starting to make another breakthrough concerning my move to China. I have been applying to numerous university positions, pretty much any locations where I have been able to find direct contact with the school. I'm very excited.
The "direct contact with the school" thing has become more important to me as people have repeatedly warned to be wary of dealing with recruiters, companies schools hire to find teachers. Recruiters are known to use bait-and-switch tactics to lure potential teachers in with a nice-sounding job but when the teacher arrives that job is no longer available...but the recruiter has a different job available. The replacement jobs are where many teachers' horror stories come from...small towns away from civilization, bug-infested apartments and salaries nowhere near the original quotes.
The "direct contact with the school" thing has become more important to me as people have repeatedly warned to be wary of dealing with recruiters, companies schools hire to find teachers. Recruiters are known to use bait-and-switch tactics to lure potential teachers in with a nice-sounding job but when the teacher arrives that job is no longer available...but the recruiter has a different job available. The replacement jobs are where many teachers' horror stories come from...small towns away from civilization, bug-infested apartments and salaries nowhere near the original quotes.
Friday, February 25, 2011
jobs
Spending hours a day looking for jobs in China is a hell of a lot more fun than spending hours looking for jobs in America. Somehow it is exhilarating. Eventually I have to tell myself to stop saying "one more page" as I wade through pages of job postings. Half of the stuff I've looked at so far is shit but it's still kind of like opening presents on Christmas.
I've applied for a handful of jobs in Hángzhōu, Qīngdǎo and Tiānjīn. I will probably have an interview sometime Saturday with a school and their recruiter. So with the possibility of having a job soon, it is time to get some more last-minute details in order.
I've applied for a handful of jobs in Hángzhōu, Qīngdǎo and Tiānjīn. I will probably have an interview sometime Saturday with a school and their recruiter. So with the possibility of having a job soon, it is time to get some more last-minute details in order.
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