I'm too good for that job

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.

People know I went to China, but they really don't ask me any questions,

Sad, innit. A wealth of information at their fingertips, and they don't give a shit.
Same in Australia, BTW, although there seems a bit more awareness because the Boss can speak Chinese. I'll know for sure next month.
It's probably a bit more obvious for Fudgy and Raoul, because they both returned to backwoodsy, iggerant peon, places, where no-one can find China on a map anyway, but bigger cities, which are alleged to be civilised, are probably just as bad. TIFA, as they say!

Glad yer got back to a state of "normality" Fudgy. Teacher of the year? Werry excellent!!

I kind of got the same vibe.  It was more of a suspicion than anything.  I always get this vibe of either "you left the greatestcountry in the world?!" or "you're dumb because you tried something different."  Coming home kind of sucks.

Congratulations on getting teacher of the year by the way.

I get the "You're dumb because you did something different" vibe from a lot of people at uni in the UK. They generally go on to tell me that China is a very bad country. "Have you been to China?" "No, of course not." "Ok, shut up then."

One guy at my work (well ex-work now) informed me that people who go to work abroad are losers trying to escape their "real life". This guy is in his late 40's and has worked at the same retail store for 20 years. In the 7 months that I worked there I was promoted to a position higher than him Who's the real loser???

I also notice that no one has any interest not only in China but in any place outside of this crappy little city

It's funny because when I tell people that I'm moving to China they all say, something along the lines of "When you get back you can get a good job because there is some real demand for people who know that culture." (Well, that or "Didn't you know that China has 40 different riots a month? Thousands of people die in those but it doesn't make our news because there are so many people over there." I swear, that is almost verbatim what someone said. )

It's funny because when I tell people that I'm moving to China they all say, something along the lines of "When you get back you can get a good job because there is some real demand for people who know that culture." (Well, that or "Didn't you know that China has 40 different riots a month? Thousands of people die in those but it doesn't make our news because there are so many people over there." I swear, that is almost verbatim what someone said. )

People over in the USA at least seem to be crazy about learning Chinese. I've heard of tons of Mandarin immersion programs, starting in preschool. My parents, who are in their 60s, have started trying to teach themselves Mandarin (mostly so they can communicate with their son in law) and everytime they mention they have family over here they get the speech about what a marketable skill Mandarin is and how "hot" China is right now.

I think it is kind of a myth though. Being fluent in a second language is always a great skill to have, but very few people can actually turn it into a career. Although I do know a guy, whose Chinese was pretty awful if you ask me, who has somehow managed to get himself a job as a Mandarin teacher for elementary school kids in the public school system back home. This, I think, probably says more about the public school system than my friend's Mandarin skills.