Monday 21 December 2015
The Max Sleigh 梁悦信 Interview
Hi guys, hello from Kirkcudbright, Scotland. Yes I've flown from London to Dublin, then drove over from Ireland to Scotland via Belfast (and the ferry to Cairnrayan). This long road trip explains why I have not blogged these last few days but otherwise I have managed to edit my interview with Max Sleigh last night and I have finally uploaded it to Youtube this afternoon. This great guy fascinates me because we worked together recently on that Chinese TV programme and he was the host - to get the part, Max had defeated many other native-speakers of Mandarin and when you consider that this is a British guy who learnt Chinese as a foreign language, then that is pretty awesome. We had so many fascinating discussions about learning Chinese that I decided it would make an awesome interview - and sure enough, he was so much fun to interview. Many thanks for reading/watching.
Hi Limpeh FT, I happen to chance upon your blog and am very amazed by your wealth of experiences and thought provoking insights.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am raised in Singapore but have spent a considerable amount of time in the US Australia and France. So yes, i pretty much share the same sentiments as you with regard to Singapore and Singaporeans.
Anyway, to avoid digressing too much, I ll just like to solicit some advice on looking for a potential teaching job in the UK.
Im a fully trained MOE teacher, who was on the scholars track but left the service upon completion of my bond because I dont see much point in théocratie ng in an environment that encourages mediocrity and overtly dissuades critical and creative thinking.
I ve sent my resume to several recruiting agencies in thr uk and have managed to receive two calls within the same day of application to further discuss the interview dates and my availabilty to commence teaching. But here s the problem: I dont have a valid work Visa so it would be very difficult for these agencies to recommend me to schools.
Would you suggest that I head down to London for an interview on a tourist VISA ? Alternatively, if I have to apply a Visa, which , in your opinion woukd be the most suitable? i m aware of the various tiers that thr UK offers.
Thanks. Ive sent an enquiry to the uk.gov website but Im not too sure how long they ll take to respond.
Once sgain . many thanks
Clemence
Hi there, thanks for your comment.
DeleteI have no doubt that you will be able to get employment as a teacher in the UK given your credentials, the key thing is to understand how the process works when it comes to getting the work permit. The thing you have to bear in mind is that the recruitment agencies are not the one who will be able to give you the job - they can get you as far as the job interview and then the rest is up to you to ace the interview. And yes, for that, you will need to be here in the UK in person - it is not the kind of thing that they can decide over Skype; it is rather old fashioned in that sense because you will be up against other candidates who will be able to turn up at the school in person for the interview and impress the decision makers (the school board, the staff, even the parents etc) in person.
Hence we have a chicken & the egg situation: as a Singaporean, you need the work permit that comes with the job offer. Here is how it works: the employer (ie. the school) likes you enough to grant you the job, they then apply for the work permit for you. That is how it has to work - I am afraid you are dealing with recruitment agents who are freaking clueless and don't realize that they are going to have to overcome that hurdle this way. There is just no way you can get that work permit without having that job offer.
So in short, the recruitment agent you are speaking to is clueless / stupid / useless. Sorry. Here's the chronological order for you:
1. you go for the interview
2. you get the job
3. the employer arranges the work permit for you
4. the work permit is that issued for the job you have secured
5. you then 'land' in the UK with the work permit to commence employment
Does this put you at a disadvantage? Slightly, I think - because the onus is then on the school to take care of the application of the work permit on your behalf and if they like you enough and want you enough, then they will do it (and yes they do this regularly for teachers like you).
I really cannot see any other alternative in terms of you coming to the UK for an interview to secure the job (and then sorting out the work permit AFTER you have secured the job).
The UK.gov website is highly unlikely to even respond to your email because their standard protocol is to tell people it is not possible to do so.
So to summarize:
1. You CANNOT apply for a visa without a job offer - at least not under your circumstances. These independent visas are not for you right now, you need a work permit.
2. Beware of recruitment agents who are clueless idiots - I have come across a few in my time. These people are everywhere.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hi Limpeh FT, I happen to chance upon your blog and am very amazed by your wealth of experiences and thought provoking insights.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am raised in Singapore but have spent a considerable amount of time in the US Australia and France. So yes, i pretty much share the same sentiments as you with regard to Singapore and Singaporeans.
Anyway, to avoid digressing too much, I ll just like to solicit some advice on looking for a potential teaching job in the UK.
Im a fully trained MOE teacher, who was on the scholars track but left the service upon completion of my bond because I dont see much point in théocratie ng in an environment that encourages mediocrity and overtly dissuades critical and creative thinking.
I ve sent my resume to several recruiting agencies in thr uk and have managed to receive two calls within the same day of application to further discuss the interview dates and my availabilty to commence teaching. But here s the problem: I dont have a valid work Visa so it would be very difficult for these agencies to recommend me to schools.
Would you suggest that I head down to London for an interview on a tourist VISA ? Alternatively, if I have to apply a Visa, which , in your opinion woukd be the most suitable? i m aware of the various tiers that thr UK offers.
Thanks. Ive sent an enquiry to the uk.gov website but Im not too sure how long they ll take to respond.
Once sgain . many thanks
Clemence
Wow!!! Max speaks really good mandarin!!! Is he an alien? Heehee... I don't speak that well and was often laughed at by my China colleagues. But they are always impressed by how I'm able to converse in English but I don't laugh at their poor English. How irony! Someone did pointed out to me that it's a shame a Chinese and can't speak mandarin well. Though I do feel that way most of the time, I did try really hard to speak well. And they find me too fake!!
ReplyDeleteHi Katie, oh my goodness I get the exact same thing with the Chinese people I worked with - they totally rip into me for speaking Mandarin as a second language, but when I actually once snapped and told one woman that she spoke English poorly so she has no right to criticize my Mandarin, gosh she got soooo defensive about how English is a foreign language for her that she learnt later in life but somehow as a Chinese person I am just expected to speak Mandarin as my duty - right, that's her words, duty 责任. Go figure. I think Chinese people are very conscious about our really strong Singaporean accen - and it is true lah, the same way Singlish is very distinctively Singaporean, Singaporean-Mandarin or Singdarin is very distinctively different from standard Beijing Mandarin and you'll be amazed how much I have to adjust my Mandarin when dealing with PRCs. i am used to that code-switching process, cos I have had to do it for years with my English.
Delete