Yeah...you'd think a bit of time abroad would be a positive thing on your resume, but it's not...at least not if you weren't a manager/engineer type. I'd always heard that teaching in China was resume poison back home, even back when times were a lot better, but I'm really seeing now how true it is. It's even worse, I think, when you're gone a long time, as I was. The lack of local work history becomes a serious handicap.
At least I've been giving some employment-background-check companies here a serious case of apoplexy.
I hope this isn't too much off the thread.Raoul et al:
Upon my return to the US, my five and half years in China was not a positive on the job market. I was disgusted, angry, and depressed (someone here knew that). For 10 long months, I must have sent out resume after resume; with a few interviews, which were agonizing because the whole China experience was seen as some pseudo-vacation gig of small interest to the interviewer.
One day I was out raking leaves, and told my wife, "well shit on it. I'll just return to China. This is ridiculous."
I hope I don't incur the anger of anyone here, but employers are not going to make an overseas call to check on your past employment.
They see all this time spent in China, and it makes very little sense to them.
Two words of advice:
1.As cliche as it sounds, keep your mind busy--I don't care what: reading, cleaning the yard, picking your nose.
2. Keep plugging away. The law of opportunity will eventually happen. If you close the door on it, you may never see it. It's out there, and the dynamics and odds of it happening are very great. The heavens will eventually open. Don't accept defeat. You can wallow in it, piss it, even kiss it, but don't accept it.
I finally found a job after 10 months; I teach in a high school, I coach the wrestling team, I was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2008, and life is so much better now. I bought a new car just last year.
But damn, I'll never forget those ten months. People know I went to China, but they really don't ask me any questions, and I don't know if that's a good thing, but I still could be unemployed, or have returned to China.