My plan was to walk down the street and knock on doors as a more efficient method of finding a job. This works in Vietnam but not in Taiwan. Your bet for finding a job in Vietnam is to employ this method. You can read my Water Bottle Chronicles to get a feel for the English education in Vietnam. Basically, they are desperate for teachers. My first Vietnamese job was obtained while in the USA by Skype interview and then there was the whole stress and expense of driving all over the state of California to apostalize and authenticate documents in order to obtain a Vietnamese work permit. I taught at a place for four months and though I submitted my documents the first day I was there, I never did see the work permit. Hence, it is not actually needed. I soon discovered that most schools in Vietnam prefer to pay cash, and then have you do what is called a Visa Run every three months. This is where you cross the border and cross back again. The first teaching job was kind of a nightmare and when employees couldn't take it anymore, they soon found out that you could just walk down the street and get a better deal. I was in a suburb outside Ho Chi Minh City called Bien Hoa. On my street alone, there were 8 English schools with new ones popping up every day. If you want a job, go there!
Taiwan is much more professional and walking down the street is getting me nowhere, so I signed up the website called tealit.com. I already have several interviews set up.
Update December 2016: I taught in Taiwan for 6 months at a locally owned buxiban (English language school) and have now returned to Vietnam, but this time in a beach town called DaNang. Walking down the street worked in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, but not in Da Nang, Vietnam. They are not desperate for teachers here! There are plenty of jobs but most are part time. It's okay. Arin and I are starting our own online English school. See my blog: Starting a business online.
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