How NOT to Apply for a Job Teaching English in China

Schools advertising extremely competitive positions in highly desirable locations will probably receive well over 100 applications over the course of a single 30-day ad placed on a busy EFL job website. Despite what some will tell you or would like to believe, today, the EFL industry in China is rapidly becoming a buyer's market.

China is no longer the "untamed, mysterious, unknown, adventure" that it was even ten years ago. Thanks in great part to the economic meltdown and crippling mortgage crisis in America, employers today are beginning to receive applications from highly qualified educators who just can't make a living or get ahead back home.

Opportunities for those who are basically unqualified are shrinking everyday in China and are becoming increasingly more limited to the most challenging locations and poorest-paying positions in the country. If you want to be seriously considered for a highly competitive EFL position in China, the following is a list of what you should definitely not do if you would like to be short-listed and eventually offered that job. Each point, below, has been derived directly from actual teacher correspondence based on a recent pool of EFL job applications.

1. First and foremost, do NOT withhold or fail to send all requested information and supporting documents.

Approximately 35% of all job applicants actually do precisely this and it is the number one reason they never hear back from the employer. If the school has gone through the trouble of listing exactly what they want before they will even consider your application, then either provide it to them or don't bother to apply at all. If you don't have all the requested documents, then collect them before you apply.

Some foreign teachers are reticent, for one reason or another, to send the cover page of their passports. The reality is, in China, the passport cover page is the very first document the employer will look at: It verifies current nationality, specific place of birth, and age. If you omit the cover page of your passport, the chances are great that your entire application will be sent to the trash folder.

Having verified that the applicant is a native speaker and "the right age" (and that varies considerably depending on school type, position, and location), the next document that will be opened is the recent photo. Assuming you look the part (that is, you look white enough and are relatively attractive), then, and only then, will most Chinese employers even look at your résumé. Personally, I don't recommend attaching candid casual photos of yourself that were taken while you were giving the baby a bath in the kitchen sink or that were taken at the beach or park. Although these could be perceived as indications of "friendliness" (or that you love children), they could also suggest too much of a casual attitude or disrespect, depending entirely on the sensibilities of the individual employer. Generally speaking, passport photos (head shots) taken in business attire are best for this purpose.

2. Do NOT throw away your only chance at making a good first impression by asking if you should really apply for the position, e.g., "I don't have a degree yet because I had to drop out of college when my father got sick. Your ad says that you want a degree... is that really true? Should I bother to apply anyway? I don't want to waste your time or mine so I'm waiting for your answer."

Inquiries that request "pre-application assurances," such as this one, are a complete waste of both your time and the employer's. As it is true that many employers in China do regard a degree as far more of a preference than a strict requirement, apply for the job if you are interested in it and then address in the cover letter why you think you can still be a valuable teacher without emphasizing and repeating the fact that you don't have a degree—just don't be shocked, annoyed or discouraged if the school doesn't reply.

3. Do NOT send "teaser" or lead-in e-mails, e.g., "I am a highly qualified EFL teacher with five years of award-winning teaching experience in China. I have a degree and a TEFL certificate and I've worked with all age groups. I can provide you with sterling letters of recommendation. If you are interested, please contact me at your earliest convenience and I'll send you my information."

If you are genuinely interested in the posted position, then just apply for it outright. How much additional time does it really take to attach the few documents that have been requested? This approach just leads to a lost opportunity in most cases.

4. Do NOT make preliminary contingency demands in the first e-mail contact, e.g., "I'll consider applying if you can guarantee a minimum salary of 8,000 RMB per month and an apartment within one block of the main branch."

One such "pre-applicant" actually sent a checklist of conditions and indicated that he would only apply for the position if and when his checklist was completed and returned to him. I kid you not. His e-mail was promptly deleted by the school owner. If the advertised job sounds good to you, then apply for it unconditionally at first and explore details later. It doesn't make any sense at all to start listing demands until after the school has expressed an interest. Most advertisements specify a salary range. Indicating in your initial e-mail that you will only be interested in the position if you are offered a salary at the very top of the range (or, in one case, a salary greater than the posted maximum) is the same as asking that your application be discarded.

5. Related, do NOT use your first e-mail contact to ask for preliminary general or background information before actually applying, e.g., "I am thinking about teaching in the northeast of China because I'd like to improve my Chinese language skills. Can you give me some idea about what living in Shenyang is really like and if you think I would enjoy it? I heard there are serious problems with air pollution there, is that really true?"

Reputable and busy employers, with over 100 e-mail applications in their inboxes to sort through, are simply not going to take the time to attempt to sell you on their school or location, or provide you with background information that you can easily glean off the Internet on your own accord. Specific questions about location or such things as the availability of Western amenities should only be requested of other teachers at the school after the prospective employer has expressed a clear interest in you. Of course, and with tongue-in-cheek, one could use this as a very effective tactic for ruling out non-reputable and desperate schools. That is, if the school actually responds to this type of request for general information, run—don't walk—away from the school as fast as you can. In addition, it is probably not a good idea to advise the prospective employer that your primary interest in considering the position is so that you can improve your Chinese language skills, move closer to your girlfriend, have time to finish an online degree or novel, or—in one case—that you're interested in the school's location because it's where you would like to retire in six months (certainly not when the school has indicated a one-year contractual commitment).

6. Do NOT convey ambivalence or appear coy in the first e-mail contact, e.g., "As you can see from my CV, I am the DOS of a major school franchise in China and I couldn't be happier with my current position and my wife and kids are extremely comfortable here. But, I don't think it can hurt to explore other possibilities and maybe this could lead to an ongoing dialogue and more."

Although this is probably intended to set the stage for future negotiations, it is entirely inappropriate and self-defeating to inform a prospective employer that you are not particularly interested in the position you have just applied for. If you are that content with your current job then, by all means, keep it and don't waste the prospective employer's time. In the end, this comes across as terribly mendacious and even somewhat foolish. Obviously, you wouldn't be inquiring about a new position if you had found heaven on earth where you are now.

Related, and especially in China, informing a prospective employer about how wonderful you think conditions are at your present school is probably not the most effective way to get short-listed. If in fact you are just curious about the ad and are not particularly interested in leaving your current position, then find some other way of satisfying your curiosity about the job and only contact the employer if and when you have decided to apply with full intent. All this approach achieves is the loss of a possible job lead in the future.

7. Do NOT use the cover letter as an opportunity to promote other skills you may have that are not directly related to face-to-face teaching.

There is no point in boldly pronouncing how helpful you know you can be in redesigning the school’s curriculum, rebuilding their website, training staff, marketing the school, arranging educational trips to your native country, or helping them start a franchise when what they are really looking for is an oral English teacher. Not only does this not help your application, it often works against you as it appears you’d like to do anything else but teach. In this particular instance, more is definitely not better. It is enough to simply list any additional skills or talents you think might be desirable in your résumé and leave it at that. If the school has an interest in or a particular need for those additional skills, you can rest assured that they will most certainly question you about them.

8. Last but not least, do NOT attempt to mislead the employer about your credentials, qualifications, or nationality.

Don't count on cultural differences and the language barrier in an attempt to present, for example: trade or vocational permits; licenses in real estate, stock brokerage and business; in-house training certificates of completion, or; memberships in business organizations, chambers of commerce and trade associations as formal tertiary education or accredited academic degrees. Do not bother to attach any of these types of documents (unless they are somehow directly related to the job description, and only then as a supplement): Doing so is a complete and absolute waste of the employer's time and yours. The only educational documents you should attach to your initial correspondence are a digital copy of your highest completed degree from an accredited institution and a TEFL (or other teaching) certificate, assuming you have them.

Finally, about 10% of our recent job applications were from non-native speakers who are relatively new naturalized citizens of Western countries. They withheld their passports (because they indicate place of birth) and then presented themselves as "bilingual" Canadians, Australians, etc. If the school has advertised for, or is only interested in, a native speaker of English, then trying to distract them from the fact that you are not by emphasizing your new naturalized citizenship is a futile approach and a complete waste of time. The only possible way a non-native speaker may be able to level the playing field is by making a personal appearance.

Summary Points

Teachers who get short-listed and eventually offered a job approach their initial correspondence with the following in mind:

• They read the advertisement carefully and send all the required documents.
• They make certain that digital copies of the passport cover page, highest degree completed, and teaching certifications are easily accessible (formatted as either JPEG or GIF files) and clearly labeled with the applicant's family name appended as part of each file name. That is, the passport cover page should be named "McGuire-passport" and not "scan0434a." They send flattering photos of themselves in business attire. Related, they don't embed these digital copies inside of Microsoft Word and other documents (especially ones requiring uncommon applications to open) and, as a courtesy, they reduce the size of the graphic files by decreasing the resolution of each digital file to no more than 100 pixels per square inch.*
• They express both interest and availability in their cover page and briefly highlight why they think they are suitable for the advertised position without repeating everything that is already contained inside their résumés.

*There are literally dozens of free graphic resizing utilities available for download off the Internet. An 8 1/2 x 11 inch or A4 document when properly resized will be no more than 150Kb in size and will still be very legible and will retain its original dimensions.