Hired in Shanghai

There was a minute back there, in between endlessly trolling the job boards and ironing my suit for the umpteenth time when I believed I was crazy for quitting my comfy teaching task and coming back to Shanghai without anything lined up. My prospects appeared bleak and I was depending on savings and extorting trainees in random tutoring gigs to get by. Now that I've been operating at a new job for about a month now (yay!), I have a little more point of view.

Like job searching throughout the world, in Shanghai the job hunt needed time and decision. I tried to find 2 months, sent out about 50 resumes, went to 12 interviews, received 3 task offers, and finally protected my existing position. Phew! Below are some things I found out along the way.

Browsing Online Task Boards

I narrowed down the job boards that I checked regularly to the few that I could rely on for genuine job leads.

eChinacities.com

eChinacities is probably the most widely used English language task board in Shanghai. There are regularly brand-new jobs posted and the categorization of tasks by type (for instance "sales and marketing" or "writing and modifying") make it simple to browse. Generally you're required to send your resume through an online kind, however it's instantly emailed to the possible company.

ShanghaiExpat.com

Shanghai Expat likewise has regularly good task posts. Watch out for the sponsored listings at the start. As you scroll through listings, it may appear that there aren't many new posts. If you keep scrolling, you'll find that the unsponsored postings start after the oldest sponsored posting.

Creativehunt.com

It doesn't have as many listings as eChinacities or Shanghai Expat, Creativehunt does have quality job listings for positions in innovative fields.

enjoyshanghai.com

It's hard to search and irritating to send a resume through their interface, but enjoyshanghai boasts lots of task advertisements.

Other job boards that were often practical include Shanghai craigslist, ChinaHot.com, and matchdragon.com.

Searching Directly on Business Sites

As I was searching through task boards, I frequently discovered positions that weren't rather a great fit however seemed like they were with appealing companies. It was constantly worth going to the company's site to see if it was offering other positions.

I also found other methods of discovering foreign business who were more likely to employ a foreigner like me. I looked up business connected with the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and went straight to their websites. I likewise spoke with good friends in sales positions in Shanghai who had foreign customers. They could not provide an intro, but they were able to clue me in to companies in Shanghai I might be interested in.

Highlighting "Crucial" Info in My Cover Letter

You constantly hear that the cover letter is your make or break minute in any application. Sure, I'll take it. I in fact found that the most essential details to highlight in my cover letter was that I was female and spoke English. The former was because my name (Camden) is gender neutral and potential employers got confused when they called me. I demonstrated this by signing my name with a Ms. The latter was since speaking English fluently was one of my most valuable possessions in the Shanghai job market. I demonstrated this by not writing a bad cover letter.

Sincerity

I fretted that my post-university job history appeared erratic and without focs: 2 years working in the States and 1 year teaching English in China. I tried to think through some verbose validations to provide employers. Eventually I just told the truth. I worked in the States but wanted to live abroad. I took the teaching task for fun. Eventually I enjoyed Shanghai but didn't like mentor. The end.