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Posts: 5

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Q: Should I use a recruiting agency?

To find a job teaching English for the first time, is it better to go through a recruiting agency or find your own employment?

12 years 7 weeks ago in  Teaching & Learning - Other cities

 
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Posts: 3025

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It will depend on your need for a job, that would be my guess.  While some employers may be reluctant to pay the recruiting fees, it will get you more exposure.  One draw back is that some agencies do expect a percentage of your salary as their fee, and I would stay away from those.

I do have found when I was into it that word of mouth, and referrals, worked fine for me.  I also looked at internet ads, there are many for almost each major city in China, and a few towns too

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12 years 7 weeks ago
 
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It depends... are you a native speaker? Is your passport from one of the sought after countries? How old are you? Do you have a degree? Is said degree related to education/linguistics/English? Do you have a CELTA/TEFL certificate? Do you have your heart set on one city?

If you're a native speaker with the right passport (US/UK/AUS/CA/NZ), a degree and (ideally) a TEFL certificate, most private training schools will bend over backwards to attract you and finding a university job should be pretty straightforward, too. You really shouldn't have to go through a recruiter who may not have your best interests at heart.

If you're non native or don't have a degree, then a recruiter may well help open new jobs up for you that you would struggle to find by yourself.

Personally, I would be very reluctant to go through a recruiter.

MissA:

Hi Anna, I see that you actually did answer all these questions in your profile. Ooops. As a tertiary educated, tefl certified American with some language skills already, you're probably more competitive for jobs that you realise.

You really don't need to go through a recruiter, approaching schools directly will probably be better. You'll get a better idea of what the job will actually involve, I think.

If I were you I'd only go through a recruiter if they were recruiting for a particular job you REALLY wanted and you were really, really, really set on one particular location. Good luck!

12 years 7 weeks ago
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12 years 7 weeks ago
 
Posts: 2604

Shifu

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You should stay away from recruiting agencies for a number of reasons. They can be picky since they are recruiting and they see so many candidates. They will eventually pick who they want and you might have just wasted your time. If you can find employment by yourself do that first. 

As was mentioned word of mouth or referrals can be the best way to land a job in China. You can expect it to be competitive if you go through an agency and they like to be picky. Your looks will play a role in you getting hired over another person also. Some of the agencies would rather have the look then the brains which is something new to me too. Good Luck!

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12 years 7 weeks ago
 
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Hey Anna,

I'm an American recruiter.  I can help you out if you need job placement.  I have a couple of immediate available positions.  Contact me if you have any questions. dante.sinsuneducation@gmail.com

Cheers,

Dante

HugAPanda:

How much do you charge?

12 years 7 weeks ago
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12 years 7 weeks ago
 
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Be VERY CAREFUL of recruiters. Avoid them if they 1) Ask for a fee (some try to charge as much as $1,000!), 2) Tell you that they or the university will get you the working visa AFTER you have arrived. 3) Are evaisive when it comes to houseing, pickup, etc.

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12 years 7 weeks ago
 
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Anna, you're a white American... most schools will take you just on that alone!

No, you don't need to bother with an agency, though many jobs will come from an agent that the schools have contracted to find someone. As long as the agency just gets you in contact with the employer, then backs off, it shouldn't be too bad. Just remember to check your contract. Remember to check the various ESL forums, and the <city>expat.com website to find out more information about a place you're interested in.

Unless you're really trying for a higher end job, most of the rest of your qualifications and experience won't make any difference. A) not really relevant, and b) no-one will care anyway past the degree, passport and face.

With your quals, you could EASILY start in the well-known schools - EF, Disney, etc.

Whatever you choose - exercise caution!!! As has been said, it's easy to get a job here - so be patient, and check things out.. so much easier to do that BEFORE stuff hits the fan when you get here. (and, we're here to help - so if you get something, ask! Laughing out loud )

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12 years 7 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1197

Shifu

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It couldn't hurt to use a recruiter. They have connections and know about the latest jobs while you most likely don't. They get paid by the school when they find your job so it's in their best interest to find you a good one and quickly.

Shining_brow:

Slight edit: It's in their interests to find you ANY one and quickly.... they're not going to care if it's good or not, legit or not.

12 years 7 weeks ago
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