It is hard to get a job. I learned that after I was honorably discharged after serving my first term in the Navy. There are countless books, websites, and coaches to aid jobseekers in interviews, resume writing, and networking. Sometimes it turns into a grind. Sometimes when you find a job you realize it is not a good fit and then you’re struggling to find another a job. It happened to me.

I was working a so-called “real job” two years after my very eventful stint in the navy. It was at a good company and many people coveted the job. I decided to start looking for a new job and remembered my friend told me about teaching English in China. I decided to start looking for a recruiting company that could place me in position. I got my first job in Shandong province.

The job was challenging at first. Children complained they were bored, the parents said I was not practicing enough, and I lacked energy. I was still not deterred and tried to improve. After my second year I started questioning myself.

“I cannot do this forever”.

“I’m over thirty”

“This is what recent college graduates do.”

I was only working twenty hours a week, but I felt like I was not working a real job. Real jobs are forty hours a week or more, they are hard, and you do not get random days off because your students are taking exams in their other classes. I am trapped between my desire for freedom and my urge to fit the mold of a responsible adult.

On the other hand, I am making an honest living. I am gaining valuable work experience, and attempting to learn one of the most difficult languages for English speakers. If I manage to learn proficient Chinese it will make starting a business in China easier. I will have another skill that I can use which makes me more appealing to employers.

While I try to decide if I will find get a “real job” I get to travel around Asia. Meeting people I have things in common with is easier now. Even though I am a foreigner in East Asia I have met other people that share my passions or at least want to get to know me. This has improved my self-esteem and how I view myself. This is partly due to meeting like-minded foreigners, the friendly culture of the Chinese people I have met, and the fact that I feel confident teaching.

I also ask myself “Why does a job have to be difficult and make me somewhat miserable for it to count as a “real job”.

Many English language schools have reviews posted on sites such as www.glassdoor.com. This website has reviews from actual current and former employees. I was offered a job at a school very quickly and I became suspicious. The school had mostly negative reviews. Details included receiving low pay and lack of support with accommodation. Eventually I decided to work in China.

I used a recruiting agency that had pretty good reviews on the website www.gooverseas.com . My first job was at a training school or cram school as they are called in many East Asian countries. There were no hidden hours; I was also paid on time. The downside was I had to do make-up classes for holidays; and sometimes I was not told about new classes in advance. This is quite common at many training schools in China. I decided I wanted a bit more time off. WeChat was very useful to find my next job.

WeChat is a popular social media application that can be downloaded on your mobile phone. WeChat is similar to Facebook; users create a profile, message other users, and join groups WeChat is how I found my second job. A foreigner, like myself, posted a job for a well renowned private school in my current city. I could get less biased and honest answers about the school. Similar mobile social media is kakaotalk in South Korea and Other users will have to send you an invite to join WeChat groups. You can find users that can add you to WeChat groups can be found on forums and websites for specific places in China.

Another resource, for reviews and questions about specific jobs, are forums and websites for individual cities. Shenzhenparty.com is a website that post jobs, housing, and entertainment in the city of Shenzhen in China. There are usually forums on these websites where you can gain more information about potential employers and make sure your time abroad is a good experience.

When did you first come to China?

The first time I visited China was in 2009. I was here [Jinan] for about ten days in high school. I had a Chinese classmate and he asked me to visit him. At first, I wasn’t interested. I was more interested in going to the U.S or Canada. I went to China for ten days and it opened my mind. The environment, the people are so different from Switzerland. I joked with my friend that one day I will speak in Chinese with you. I went to Canada for business school, but there were a lot of Chinese people there so I always had the opportunity to practice Chinese.

What was your first job in China?

When I came back to China the first thing I did was to join a startup incubator [in Shanghai]. Our boss was from Taiwan and it was an online real estate platform connecting buyer agents and selling agents. After a year and a half, she went to the states to continue the business. After that I joined another real estate company that was selling U.K and U.S properties for investment purposes to Chinese investors.

How did you find a job in Shanghai?

Real estate has been my passion for many years. I just called up the company and said that I was interested in what they are doing and that I’d like to learn more and get to meet them. The meeting kind of turned into an interview. If someone is passionate about something and genuinely shows an interest in other people’s work, that usually comes across really well. So yeah that’s how I got the job.

How did you decide to start a restaurant in Jinan, Shandong?

After two years in Shanghai my high school friend [from Jinan] called me up and said let’s start something together. He had a lot of contacts in the food and beverage industry, and I have always liked food. First, we opened a western restaurant that was French and Japanese fusion. That went pretty well, and then we decided to open up a fast food restaurant which is now Papa Randy’s.

This is way better than fast food?

(Alex smiles) ThankYou

What was something that you were not used to dealing with working in China?

In terms of working in China figuring out what the customer wanted or really meant was the most difficult. The Chinese are not as direct as I am used to. In Switzerland people say it’s good if something is good and bad if something is bad and we let the other person know. Chinese people are worried about losing face and other people losing face, so they say things in an indirect way.

I heard that it’s important to have connections in China, also known as guanxi, in business. They are very important in Chinese business. Do you feel that networking is more extreme in China?

Having connections with the right people can have a big impact towards your bottom line for instance. Through your strong connections you might be able to negotiate a much lower rental fee than originally advertised or you might be able to import produce at a lower price. Thus , one can say that business practices are far from being standardized, industries are still in the process of standardizing these practices, it’s a lot vaguer unlike in the west where one conducts business strictly black and white according to the terms stated in the contracts one signed with your business partners.

What advice would you give a foreigner who wants to start a business in China?

I was lucky opening my business as a foreigner because I had a Chinese partner. As a foreigner it would be a lot harder as opposed to a Chinese person with a lot of connections. That definitely helped me out a lot. Partner up with a local Chinese person that you can trust.

Alex and I decided to continue speaking after the interview about becoming an entrepreneur. I asked if he felt like he was living the dream. “No, I am still getting to the dream. Ninety-nine percent of your life is a process. The goal is a moment in your life. Focus on making the process as enjoyable as possible.”