Laowai wants to work for the Olympics

April 18, 2007 6:37 AM

Are there Beijing Olympics jobs for wet-behind-the-ears graduates?

I am currently teaching English in central China and am looking for future adventures. I assume that there is a sympathetic explosion of jobs that comes with the explosion of media, atheletes and tourists.

I have scoured their site and haven't found much, and I'm not interested in volunteering. I am curious if any hivers have worked or volunteered for past Olympics and what the experience has to offer.

I have done a couple of internships--one in DC--and an Econ degree. By Summer 2008 I should be fairly conversational in spoken Mandarin--there is no way I could make it as an actual translator by that time, though.

posted by anotherbrick to Work & Money (4 answers total)

You might be able to land a job with a company scouting housing for foreign tourists before and during the games. My friend did this in Barcalona in 1996 and says that there are always companies doing this around major sporting events. I would guess the same is true in China, although I would not be able to tell you where to start looking for these types of positions.
posted by parmanparman at 6:57 AM on April 18, 2007

I have a friend who worked in Barcelona for one of the architects involved with the olympic stadium/village, right after she graduated from college (details - she was american and went to a school in the US. She spoke spanish. I have no idea how she got the job). Maybe you can get a job in some sort of project management or procurement with one of the contracting firms building olympics-related facilities.
posted by necessitas at 7:53 AM on April 18, 2007

Sites like that's Beijing, City Weekend, and Craigslist have all got job listings, so that might be a start. Parmanparman's housing idea isn't a bad one, I think.
I'm currently doing some Olympic-related work here for a company that deals with a company that deals with the Olympics. Might be worth looking for something similar -- I got my job because I'm bilingual, but I'm sure there's stuff out there that won't require it.
posted by bokane at 7:54 AM on April 18, 2007

NBC interviewed at the University of Torino as things got closer, about 4 to 5 months out. Watch carefully around those areas. I interviewed but ultimately decided that it wasn't going to be possible.
posted by lilithim at 10:59 AM on April 18, 2007