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Recommended recruiters
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jijor



Joined: 03 Mar 2014
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 8:06 pm    Post subject: Recommended recruiters Reply with quote

Can anyone recommend recruiters or schools to apply to? After being burnt in China, I'm a little nerve racked. Smile
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 8:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're nerved racked now, think twice about looking at jobs in ultra-restrictive Saudi Arabia if your only option is to get work through with a contracting company (usually via a recruiter). These contractors tend to be sketchy, so that's who you'll need to research and not the recruiter. On the other hand, solid qualifications can get you hired directly with a university.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Racked or wracked? I've never known, but I vote for wracked.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

spiral78 wrote:
Racked or wracked? I've never known, but I vote for wracked.

Ha! Or just plain wrecked! Razz
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jijor



Joined: 03 Mar 2014
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 12:43 am    Post subject: racked or wracked or wrecked Reply with quote

Probably a little of all three. (I knew there was something wrong with my fingers when I typed that!)

I'm not that nerve wracked. Just irritated by China.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 1:10 am    Post subject: Re: racked or wracked or wrecked Reply with quote

jijor wrote:
I'm not that nerve wracked. Just irritated by China.

Those irritations are very likely to continue in Saudi Arabia as well.
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jijor



Joined: 03 Mar 2014
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 2:39 am    Post subject: Pay Reply with quote

I can put up with a lot, as long as they actually pay.
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jijor



Joined: 03 Mar 2014
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:28 am    Post subject: Re: Recommended recruiters Reply with quote

jijor wrote:
Can anyone recommend recruiters or schools to apply to? After being burnt in China, I'm a little nerve racked. Smile


We've already discussed part of the original post. Let's talk about the other half.

Can anyone recommend recruiters or schools to apply to? First hand experience would be helpful.

Thanks.
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plumpy nut



Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 8:46 am    Post subject: Re: Recommended recruiters Reply with quote

jijor wrote:
jijor wrote:
Can anyone recommend recruiters or schools to apply to? After being burnt in China, I'm a little nerve racked. Smile


We've already discussed part of the original post. Let's talk about the other half.

Can anyone recommend recruiters or schools to apply to? First hand experience would be helpful.

Thanks.


They're all bad. You will be provided at least with a gutter to live in and your basic salary. Expect nothing more period.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You're likely to only get a trickle of responses to your question, if at all, because what you're asking for (recommended recruiters) generally doesn't equate to getting on with a decent employer. To clarify, recruiting agencies can be fine; however, they usually recruit for sketchy contracting companies---the actual potential employer (their client) that you need to concern yourself with. Also, be aware that some of these contracting companies do their own recruiting.

Aside from the British Council, Berlitz, Wall Street Institute, and a few other private language schools, you won't find much in the way of job opportunities similar to those in Asia. Employment for both male and female EFL teachers in KSA mostly consists of teaching in a university foundation year program. If you're male, there's the oil/gas industry as well as job opportunities with military/government contracts.

As mentioned before, if you have solid qualifications/experience, look into direct-hire EFL positions in one of the Kingdom's many universities. Direct hire means the university does its own recruiting and hiring. Although direct-hire teachers work alongside teachers employed by contracting companies, there's a big gap in terms of benefits and salary and quality of life/work. See "The skinny on direct-hire university opportunities" (http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=103722).

By the way, for the many EFL teachers who work for these companies, nerve wracking can be an appropriate label for their employment situation as well as day-to-day living in ultra-conservative/restrictive Saudi Arabia. Look through this forum for threads about ICEAT, EdEx, Al Khaleej, AETG, Interlink, SBC, Al Shabaka... Most of these outfits employ teachers to teach in university foundation year programs, while others focus on supplying teachers in other industries. So if money is all you're concerned about, then go with whichever company offers the best benefits and salary (with the expectation they'll deliver on that contract).
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fledex



Joined: 05 Jun 2011
Posts: 342

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:28 am    Post subject: Re: Recommended recruiters Reply with quote

jijor wrote:
Can anyone recommend recruiters or schools to apply to? After being burnt in China, I'm a little nerve racked. Smile


It would help to know what was nerve racking and burning about China. Then we could steer you away from anything similar in Saudi. For some, working in China or Korea is a holiday in between Saudi gigs.
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jijor



Joined: 03 Mar 2014
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:17 pm    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

Thanks Nomad Soul. That was a very informative post. I've been in Asia and SE Asia for close to 7 years, but I have no experience with the Middle East. I'm going to read the linked post you wrote now.

To answer Fledex, my experience in China just wasn't that great. Many people go there and have the time of their life. I didn't. Everything from arriving and being told they changed their mind about reimbursing my flight, to violating contracts hours, to playing math games that cut my pay, to suddenly announcing that I needed to rent my own apartment and negotiate my own lease... in Chinese!

Eventually, I simply became uncooperative in many situations (after my second year in the country), and could see them coming from a mile away. When I first started on my journey out East, I was under the impression and intention of simply honoring my contract, doing a good job, keeping my head low, saving money, and getting a recommendation at the end of the contract... perhaps even resigning.

I chose the East because I like to write and paint, and I thought it would give me a steady income while I pursued creativity.

So, now I'm at the point where it does boil down to money. I'm not necessarily against working in China, but I can't really bring myself to drop yet another grand on airfare, plus relocation costs.

This experience has also left me with gaps in my work history, although I do have a couple written recommendations.

Without going into too many details, many of which I've forgotten, that's my story in a nut shell.

PS: I've also had to replace about 3 laptops that were stolen, but I can't replace all the writing I've lost. Then there's the months pay that was lifted from my bag on the bus back from work to my apartment. (I'm not the only one by the way. A few other teachers I know where robbed likewise.)

After-thought: If I could find a recruiter or school that was highly recommended by multiple expats out not in Beijing or Shanghai, I would be tempted to apply again. I guess that's why I started this thread. The personal experience of other expats is important, instead of applying blind to who knows who.
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fledex



Joined: 05 Jun 2011
Posts: 342

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ideally, you would do best to go with a contractor from your own country doing business in Saudi. This way you'll have recourse if things happen to you like they did in China. These are military contractors, oil companies, NGOs, and perhaps other companies that have contracts in KSA. Direct hire jobs with universities can be OK, but some things may change after you get to Saudi from what you expected in the contract offer. You'd have to start another post to ask about a uni when you have an offer. The Saudi contract companies that many recruiters will send you to will probably lead to similar problems as you had in China. I haven't run into a good recruiter for Saudi yet. But, I've heard of some in England that people liked. I don't know the names.
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jijor



Joined: 03 Mar 2014
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:08 pm    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

Thanks for that. It's good to know that recruiters aren't the best bet wherever you go. I hadn't thought of using a local recruiter, because YES, they would be subject to ethical laws as we understand them.
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fledex



Joined: 05 Jun 2011
Posts: 342

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Thanks Reply with quote

jijor wrote:
Thanks for that. It's good to know that recruiters aren't the best bet wherever you go. I hadn't thought of using a local recruiter, because YES, they would be subject to ethical laws as we understand them.


I meant working for a "contractor" from your home country is a good bet. The contractor is the one who will be paying you and placing you at a university or company in Saudi.

Where a recruiter is from doesn't really matter. Recruiters could be recruiting for good or bad employers. All the ones I've come across have been recruiting for bad contractors or universities. Some contractors do their own recruiting, and they may also have recruiters working for them.
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