Upward Mobility, Clear Practices and Expectations - Associate Director of Studies English 1 Employee Review

The expectation for my job was set very early in my employment: if you work hard, you should be noticed and rewarded accordingly. My employers are yet to let me down. This is the first job that I can say that I fully trust my bosses' judgment and word. If they promise me something, they hold up their end of the bargain. As someone stepping into the world of ESL teaching with limited experience in education, I was very pleased to see the thoroughness of the training program set up in Hefei. I had about a month of pedagogy and practical training, including targeted observations of successful teachers. Since I started, the training program has continued to develop, and some newly-arrived colleges I work with told me that in their 10+ years of ESL teaching, they had never received the training they wanted until arriving in Hefei. I've always felt very respected and that my opinion mattered, even as a brand new teacher talking with the big bosses. What I've found in general is that if you have good, open communication skills and are willing to put in the effort to improve your teaching--and make your intentions clear to your manager--you can move up in the company. After a year of teaching, I told my boss's boss that I was interested in continuing with the company, and he clearly told me the different routes that were available. They promoted me to a Senior Teacher position to help assist other teachers. I did well over the year and stated my intention to continue moving up, and they promoted me to an interim Associate Director of Studies position with the intention to move me to a new school as the Director of Studies within a year. But also looking outside of my own case, I feel like my bosses' ability to see hard workers and reward them accordingly is on point. They constantly work to develop new teachers and to continue developing experienced ones. There are teaching workshops all the time (at least 1-2 per month) to help teachers develop specific skills in and out of the classroom. Within management, we receive training on a monthly basis about how to continue developing teachers, working with and managing people with different learning styles and varying attitudes, and being able to communicate with others in the most effective ways. I feel confident that the skills I gained as a manager with this company will help lead me to success in future jobs. My background and career is not in teaching. I have continued signing new contracts because of the relaxed-yet-professional environment, the continued development in managerial skills, and the characters I'm surrounded by.