[danieljordanm]

Hi! Just a few questions, if any one can help me at all it would be really great! Me and my partner have just done a TEFL course and really want to teach English in HK (were both English native), how easy it is to get English teaching jobs? Also would the employer in HK be able to help us with visas etc. One of my friends is out in HK for a few month now (but he won’t be there when I go there) and he went to HK without a job and got one when he was there, it possible to get a job before you go because I don’t want to go all the way to HK and not be able to get a job! Many thanks to anyone that can help with anything!

[killahbad]

I can't say you'd come out here and snap a job up right away as it depends on details about yourself and whether Schools/Language Centres are looking to take on staff.

I'd say the best bet is to do what I did - E-mail a Resume and covering letter to as many school and language centres as possible stating that your coming over on such a date and would like to see if it would be possible to arrange an interview for that period. It may be a good idea to add a good picture of yourself as thats what many places requested from me.

I received my TEFL through a company called i-to-i back in the UK and on completion of the course i gained access to a database of schools and language centres across the world including 20+ for Hong Kong - Maybe ask the company you got your TEFL from if they have anything like this or any contacts here.

TEFL's do help get teaching jobs here but experience is the main thing that places are looking for as many of these TEFL course can be done in only a weekend etc.

On getting an interview some places may request you come back and do a demo lesson at a later date.

[danieljordanm]

Thanks for the reply. I haven’t actually done the TEFL course yet, I’m starting it next month, I’m going to do the 80 hour online course and two extra courses of extended grammar and teaching English to businesses. Ideally I want to teach or be a teaching assistant in a school or language centre or something like that, but I do really want a job before I go to HK. Even though HK is my first choice I heard that its much easier to get a job teaching English in Shanghai, I’ve also been thinking about Thailand because I was there for a year last year. How realistic is it to do my course next month and be working in HK by the end of the year because I don’t want another winter in England!

[killahbad]

I was e-mailing companies from August 2007 and did my TEFL in Jan 08 (told the companies i was applying for that I was in the middle of taking the course)
I have done the 20 weekend course and have bought the grammar and got the business one for free for doing the recommend a friend thing but still am yet to do the 2 extra online bits.

Hong Kong is a country that attracts of higher qualified teachers so it does porve to be more difficult than Shanghai & Thailand but then the i'm sure it would prove a better stepping stone to any other job if you have teaching experience in Hong Kong.
Just apply via e-mail now like i did and see how much feedback you get from schools.
The teaching job I have is my first one, so it can be done and originally i thought i'd have to start as an assistant or something too.

[Jon.E.Kong]

I applied to about 20 schools via email while I was in Canada, and most of the offers I got weren't so great, or the pay was quite terrible. I have a Bachelors Degree and a TESL certificate, but most places here just care about experience with kids.

My girlfriend had already moved here, so I came over without a job (Aug06), and within a week I had a much better job than from the email, 2 offers actually. That was almost 2 years ago.

Now I'm a class teacher (as of Aug07) at an International school here. Just goes to show how far even one year experience goes in HK.

I would recommend you apply for as many jobs as you can starting now, most schools have already found their staff for next year, but they will keep looking into the fall. It is also easy to get work once you are here, but you can't be as picky. Learning centres are constantly hiring as people are constantly quitting, but I would highly recommend you get a job at a school. The benefits are usually much better.

[danieljordanm]

Thanks for your replies. I’m going to start applying to school as soon as possible, as I only will have a TEFL course I’m going to volunteer as a teaching assistant in the UK before I come to HK for some experience as it seems that experience seems quite important! I’m not going to be picky looking for jobs, I don’t really mind what kind of institute I work in whether is a school or collage or even if I have to work as a teaching assistant. I’m still just abit wary of going all the way to HK without a job, even though that does seem like the best option!

[Jon.E.Kong]

Originally Posted by danieljordanm

I’m not going to be picky looking for jobs, I don’t really mind what kind of institute I work in whether is a school or collage or even if I have to work as a teaching assistant.

It's a good attitude to have, but if you CAN be picky do be picky. Depends how many offers you may get. Also I wouldn't advise the teaching assistant route, unless you enjoy getting paid in crackers. Other than University I don't even know if it's possible to be a Native English teaching assistant. All the way up to Secondary, teaching assitants are almost always locals who speak Cantonese. If you're an English teacher, you will only have your own actual class if it's at an international school of somesort.

[killahbad]

I knew a girl that came over after her A-levels and she had no TEFL and jumped into an assistant teaching role over here she got paid adequately - enough to survive.

Her college/school in the UK set her up with the first job then she got her second via This site

I tried to find some teaching assistant experience in the UK before I came out but it proved to be more difficult than first thought - Although I did notice that local colleges did the childcare courses that alot of young mums seem to sign up for.
Nursery Schools also run childcare courses too.

[carang]

HIGHLY unlikely that you would get a job at an international school UNLESS you are a qualified teacher(BEd). they have hundreds if not thousands of applications every year, and it is the school that can be picky.

you should be able to get something at a language centre, although for the most part you would need to have experience in order to obtain a visa. (although it is not unheard of for someone with only a little experience to obtain a visa, visas are not "thrown away" and immigration can sometimes be a bit of a pain.)

[jayinhongkong]

What scares me is the multitude of punctuation and grammar errors I see above. :P