Looking for in a Job in Shanghai Part 1: What I DIDN’T Want

I’ve spent the last month sending out scores of resumes to potential employers in Shanghai. Ever since I decided to quit my teaching job, I’ve been looking for a job that’s a better fit for me in the long run.  What’s a better fit? Initially, it was hard to say. At first, I became a bit of an expert at weeding out the jobs I knew I didn’t want.

“English native speaker to help our students learn” – nope. “Good looking females with any skills” – uhh no thanks. “No compensation but 20 rmb/day provided for food and transportation” – definitely not!

There is a lot of opportunity in Shanghai for those who are willing to search for it but a good deal of that opportunity just wasn’t exactly what I was interested in. English language job boards primarily consist of teaching jobs, which is fantastic if you’re looking to teach English. Unfortunately, I wasn’t.

There are a few jobs for people with a western face, which is a nice way of saying a white face. Sure, I’m from a western country. I just don’t have the “western” face typically associated with Americans. And if I did, would I really want a job where the only prerequisite was a specific appearance? Probably not.

Internships and traineeships are heavily represented in the English language job market. I thought I might need to intern for a few months in order to secure a full time position, but wasn’t sure how many internships actually led to offers. And, you know, a salary might be nice.

I was able to pretty quickly browse the job boards and eliminate the positions I knew I didn’t want. Anything teaching related, anything written in poor English, and anything based on appearance was immediately eliminated. Eventually my elimination process helped me to start recognizing the jobs I did want. More on my job hunt to come!

Read more about how I got hired:
Chinese-Japanese-American and Unemployed
Interview Questions
Hired in Shanghai