Coming in August - need some good advices

[j.shiniji]

Hi, I decided to move on from my boring banking career in San Francisco and try teaching in Taiwan. I am an ABC and need some good advices....to get a teaching job in Taipei. I am stay at my friend's house til I find a job. Any good advice and suggestion??? Many thanks!

[Antonio]

Best advice would be to always keep your doors open.

• Don't turn your bank on banking. Some teachers teach for a while, then when they decide to return back to their own country, they find it hard to get a job again. Keep in contact with your current employees and on good terms. That way, on your return to San Francisco, you can possibly get a job with the same company again.
• Decide where you want to teach first before looking for the job.
  - Rural
  - Suburbian
  - City
• Ask to speak to current teachers
• Do an online search to see if the school has a bad / good reputation.
• Buy a laptop before heading abroad. That way you can then still keep in contact with friends and family easily via skype etc. It will also easen the homesickness as you can still read your favourite newspapers online etc.
• Try to learn some of the local language from the very beginning. That way you will also enjoy yourself more.
• Bring things to Taiwan that you can't get in the country. Are your feet larger than 28.5cm? If so, you wont be able to buy shoes in Taiwan.
• Ask as many questions as possible to employers so you know exactly what you are getting invovled with.

That should sum things up....

[j.shiniji]

Hi Antonio,

Thank you for your tips. Is it better to search for job when I get to Taipei? Because I submitted few resumes and have no reply. Is this common? Or is this because I am American Chinese. If so, is there any ABC teach in Taipei City or any school?

Apologize for so many questions.....

[gfell]

An ABC can definitely find work in Taiwan, however it's preferable to be caucasian. Many schools in Taiwan prefer caucasian teachers.

So I would recommend not to put your photo on your resume. If you get a teaching job prior to arriving to Taiwan, then great. If not, don't worry, as your chances of finding work increases so much more when you arrive to the country.

Yes it's common not to get replies regardless of skin colour. Schools and recruiters are always very busy and will often only reply to candidates that match their criteria or if they have a job available.

[j.shiniji]

Thank you.

If I arrive at beginning of August, that wouldn't consider late or be a problem for the finding a teaching job?

[Antonio]

An arrival for the beginning of August will be fine. Plenty of jobs going in August, September and October.