What the heck is going on with teaching jobs??

I have a BS degree in teaching.  I have two years of teaching experience in China and many years more in the USA.  I have applied to over 20 different schools in the south of China, Guangdong, Fujian.  Mostly Universities.  I have replies from maybe 5 of them but nothing more.  What is going on?  Do they all wait until the last minute to hire teachers?  They go on summer break at the end of June.  I want to make my decision and start making plans.  You know?  Anyone shed some light on this please?        

I only worked at one school out of three (all in Guangdong) that planned ahead. My boss was very westernized and efficient. I'd tell you apply there, but it's probably too late for the next school year.

With 2 years teaching experience in China you should know, yeah, many wait until the last minute to hire teachers and hey the end of June is more than 2 weeks away. thats loads of time here. You really don't know that?

20 schools applied to is not many and 5 out 20 responses is not bad at all. If they've filled their need or are just not interested in you, they won't bother to respond with a 'thanks, no thanks' kind of email.

Some schools will not have a full-time person for doing the hiring. They will just have a teacher doing it that right now is really busy getting ready for exams.

Many places do not go on summer break at the end of June. Admin departments may work year round and there maybe summer classes etc. These schools may find it easier to recruit after their semester is over.

For some schools their priority right now is recruiting students not foreign teachers. They may not want to hire more foreign teachers until they have a better idea of how many freshmen are coming in next term.

You don't say where you are now. Schools often like to recruit within China before they look outside.

They say patience is a virtue. I personally wouldn't know.

Keep in mind that some schools may not be doing any outside hiring at all.  Or, they're doing things late, or they may not want to pay the salary of someone with your qualifications and experience, or they have a specific age/sex in mind for their foreign teachers, or you could be e-mailing an abandoned account.  There are lots of reasons why a school wouldn't reply to every e-mail they get from qualified teachers.

Open up your search a bit, reapply to the same schools or actually call them and ask them if they received your paperwork, etc. Sometimes the squeaky wheel that gets the grease will put you on your way. I secured a decent job that way. They hadn't started to vet prospective teachers but were about to do that. I was fortunate and they were able to conduct the interview on the spot. They were satisfied and offered me the job before we ended the call.

It really is a craps shoot here. Don't let it intimidate you. Some schools have already hired teachers but string along prospective applicants because they want to have the luxury of diving back into the well if one of their first line hires backs out. It's shitty, but it's the nature of the beast here. The job market continues to tighten, though. The bigger the school, the more aggressive they advertise: the more applicants they will receive. I agree with the poster who commented that applying to 20 schools is not a lot, but five replies reveals that one four had some kind of interest. With that kind of luck you should be able to find something. Simply broaden your search.

Often schools don't yet know what their needs are as they think many/most/all teachers will return. Additionally, they don't yet know how many teachers they'll require. I've had schools turn me down on day and return my call the next.

Many HR staff think they are fishing in a barrel. Then when time is short, they try to sink there talons on any big nose they see. I've had people tell me what a great teacher I am. Uhhm, thanks, when did you see me teach and how would you know?

Well, I am now in the USA.  Making phone calls would not really be an option.  I was offered a job at a Uni in Meizhou that sounds good, but its a smaller city so I am waiting.  I want a larger city.  We will see what the next two weeks hold. 

Well, I am now in the USA.  Making phone calls would not really be an option.  I was offered a job at a Uni in Meizhou that sounds good, but its a smaller city so I am waiting.  I want a larger city.  We will see what the next two weeks hold. 

Skype can help make phone calls an option at least works well for me.

I agree with Teacheraus. Skype is a necessity when dealing with international employment and when living abroad. I put down about 12 Euros every three months and rarely ever use up all of my credits. I talk with family and friends once a week for about an hour. It's a great value.

I think a couple of things are happening with the teaching market - apart from the timing issues already discussed.

The economic downturn has made it more of a 'buyer's market' than ever before.  New graduates and others who can't find work in their own countries are coming into the ESL market around the world, so universities have more options.  Just having a big nose and white skin is not always a guarantee of work anymore.

The higher ranked universities are also able to ask for better qualifications - it is no longer unusual for them to be looking for foreign teachers with post-graduate qualifications. 

Fewer students are sitting for the National Entrance exam - under 10 million this year for the first time since 2007.  Government has also placed a limit on the growth of universities. This decrease is likely to lead to the closure of some private universities or at least a contraction of their numbers and consequently staff requirements.  The economic downturn has also cut the number of students enrolled by universities who want to maintain their graduate employment statistics.

Primary and middle schools and vocational colleges are being expanded under the new education reforms -areas that traditionally do not employ as many ESL teachers.

The education system is maturing and it seems that will impact quite substantially in the future. 

I think a couple of things are happening with the teaching market - apart from the timing issues already discussed.

The economic downturn has made it more of a 'buyer's market' than ever before.  New graduates and others who can't find work in their own countries are coming into the ESL market around the world, so universities have more options.  Just having a big nose and white skin is not always a guarantee of work anymore.

The higher ranked universities are also able to ask for better qualifications - it is no longer unusual for them to be looking for foreign teachers with post-graduate qualifications.

The economic downturn has made it more of a 'buyer's market' than ever before.  New graduates and others who can't find work in their own countries are coming into the ESL market around the world, so universities have more options.  Just having a big nose and white skin is not always a guarantee of work anymore.  

100% true, I couldn't agree more

Fewer students are sitting for the National Entrance exam - under 10 million this year for the first time since 2007.  Government has also placed a limit on the growth of universities. This decrease is likely to lead to the closure of some private universities or at least a contraction of their numbers and consequently staff requirements.  The economic downturn has also cut the number of students enrolled by universities who want to maintain their graduate employment statistics.

Primary and middle schools and vocational colleges are being expanded under the new education reforms -areas that traditionally do not employ as many ESL teachers.

The education system is maturing and it seems that will impact quite substantially in the future.  

Though it may be dwindling, the demand is still huge and the supply falls far short. And as schools start comparing the quality of teachers, they become a little jaded and apprehensive at new teachers. That doesn't mean they are bad, but many schools get laden with sub-par teachers just looking for a job. Saddly, I've seen too many of these.

Even when I first arrived in China, I was turned down by some only because I had no Chinese experience. Funny, some of them are calling nowand offering more money

Well, I am now in the USA.  Making phone calls would not really be an option.

A $5 dollar phone card will give you at least three hours to China if not more.

While most of the unis/colleges I worked with (10 years) would renew FTs' as early as January and never later than May, and begin recruiting new teachers (if needed) beginning around April, this is not typical of a lot of schools.

Many schools don't start talking to their current FTs about plans for the next year until like June, and they don't have an idea of how many FTs they'll need until that happens.  So, they can't start the recruitment process until this time of the year, which makes it hard for teachers not currently in China who need to process everything and get visas.

The better schools tend to have FTs that stay on for years on end.  So they don't have so many openings.  Also, a number of schools don't like to deal with recruits they know nothing about -- they often will ask their current FTs to recommend people they think will be good fits.  They also depend on recommendations from other unis -- maybe one of their graduates is working at a different uni with a FT who is really good -- so they might recommend that FT to their Alma Mater.  Most unis prefer to hire teachers already in China -- they really like to be able to inverview in person, and check out the person's reputations from other places where they've taught in China.

Hey!  I was lucky and accepted a job in Xiamen, my preferred city all along.  I am now waiting to get my invitation letter for visa and then book flight.  Hope to arrive in mid or late August.  Anxious to get there!

openup - congratulations! I hear Xiamen is a fantastic city. Please keep us updated.