The 5 important things you should be clear about before coming to teach in China!

When you decide to work abroad, you must consider everything and prepare everything well before you leave. Since it is a new challenge and a new life. Most foreigners will not have families or friends along with. You will have to consider from these aspects then decide and start looking. Otherwise it’s only a waste of time.

Here are some suggestions for those who are going to find ESOL jobs in China.

First, before you come to teach in China, even before you start looking for ESOL jobs in China, you should make sure you have enough money to buy a flight and live in China for at least one or two months, sometimes even 3 months. That is the premise! Although a few schools is negotiable on the prepaid flight to China, most schools are not pleased to do so. It’s also a risk that schools have to take. The reason for affording to live in China for at least one or two months, even 3 months and more is that you might need to rent an apartment by yourself. It will depend on a specific school. You will get your salary in a month and it is not necessarily a month salary if you haven’t worked for that long. Besides, teaching in China will need a working visa, you should be ready to pay for your visa documents including medical check and non-criminal background check or even the cost of getting your degree to be authenticated by the Chinese Embassy. So you should save money for all those things.

Secondly, finding a reliable agent or school is very important. Now most schools recruit through agents, so it’s probably easier to find jobs through agents. Check what the agent is responsible for, you will know its type. If it’s an agent that is only responsible for recommending teachers to schools, rather than manage foreign teachers and arrange work visas for them, it’s a safer one. Some agents get paid from your monthly salary deduct. You should notice that before signing a contract. The other way is investigating the foreigners that the agents have helped before, this is more persuasive and trustworthy. If an agent is very patient to explain everything to you, and never ask you to pay they just do their best to look for schools and schedule interviews for you, it’s probably a good one. The most direct way is requesting to check their license.

Thirdly, arrange everything well in your country, like resigning from your current company if it’s a school, request a reference letter, which is one document to apply for ESOL jobs in China. If you are going to stay in China for a long time, you might need to sell or transfer your house and car. Consider whether your parents agree to let you go, whether they need your care. Only when they are healthy and happy, you can leave with ease and teaching in China happily.

Fourthly, check whether you have all the required documents to work in China legally. To work as a foreign teacher in China, the following documents are usually needed. Bachelor’s degree from native English speaking countries, TEFL or TESOL certificate, reference letter of two years’ teaching experience, medical check(no disease), non-criminal background check(clean), good English accent, authenticated degree by the Chinese Embassy(This one is becoming more and more needed since 2017). These are basic documents.

Fifthly, do always remember to request the release documents from your previous employer when you leave a school in China. This is especially important when you are going to continue working in China as a foreign teacher. If you have all the necessary release documents, your future employer will be able to transfer your visa, so you don’t have to get a new work visa from zero. That saves both time and money. Some schools will require the release documents even when they get a new work visa for you. This is actually about after teaching in China. It’s nothing bad to remind you before you come. Suppose you taught in China and are in your own country right now, but would like to come to teach in China again. You had better check with your previous employer in China, to ask for the release documents if they didn’t provide when you left. That will be helpful for your future enployment. Here are the sample release documents required to transfer z visa.

In conclusion, these are the five important things I think that you need to note before you come to China for ESOL jobs. Hope that helps. Wish everything goes well for your job searching!