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Is this legit??

 
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sara_daoud05



Joined: 04 Feb 2013
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 9:55 am    Post subject: Is this legit?? Reply with quote

Hi forum!

I was emailed from TEFL caribbean a few weeks ago:

http://teflcaribbean.com/

Has anyone had any experience with them? The website looks good (minus a few spelling errors in the FAQ??) and the jobs look fantastic, I'm really keen. However they do charge to place you in a job...they way they explain it sounds reasonable, however i've always thought reruiters that charge you are to be avoided.

Really deflated, would love to hear if anyine knows anything about them or has had good/bad experiences.

Thanks!
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nomad soul



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

PostPosted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know nothing about this company nor TEFL in the Caribbean, but yes, there are quite a few mispelled words and grammatical errors throughout their website.

From a couple of their job postings:
Quote:
Another opening in Montago bay in a school which has been associated with us for a long time and have never had any negatove comments from Teachers we have placed there in the past. The salary is a little less but keep in mind that living in Jamaica can be incredibly cheap and still exciting.
....
Four Teachers needed in this language school right on the caribbean ocean with a breathtaking view to the harbour of the city. Relatively small classes sizes (max. 15 students mostly young female adult students) to ensure a better learning experience. Note that most young locals have only very little basic knowdledge in the Ebglish language so Applications with intermediate/good spanish knowledge are given preference for this opening!

Even the so-called testimonials from teachers they've allegedly placed have some language errors. For example:
Quote:
"We would like to send out some appreciations to your staff members with special thank's to Gloria and Estefan on location for walking us through through some complications at the beginning which have all been resolved quick and professionally as expected."

From their FAQs:
Quote:
Why should I pay to get a teaching job ?
Simple question- Simple answer: Because it can be very difficult and frustrating to determine reputable schools from questionable ones. Our Placement Service offers you the security of knowing that you will be working for a school with high standards, a fair salary, and a good reputation. All of the openings are available exclusivelt through us and we are taking care of the entire hiring process for our associated schools in the Caribbean and we also evaluate the Applicants
....

How much do I have to pay for your Placement Service?
First of all we do not charge anything before we don't have a clear statement from any of our associated Schools with the intention to hire you as their foreign Teacher. We will contact the schools after you submit your Application and get back to you once we have received positive feedback. For our entire Placement Service we are charging 1000 USD of which 35% are due upon our acceptance (Administrative-Application Fee) and the other 65% will be deducted from your first monthly salary in the school. However, we are only dealing with high quality schools offering a competitive salary and attractive benefits for our Teachers.

Not impressive at all. But really, most of the destinations they list are English-speaking countries, so there's probably not a huge need for ESL teachers. Regardless, the Golden Rule for getting a TEFL job: Never pay money to a recruiter or job placement agency.
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cassava



Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 175

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 1:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sara:

This whole project is a scam. The perpetrators are intent on grabbing as much money from you, based on all kinds of bizarre lies.

If you are interested in teaching in the Caribbean, contact the Ministry of Education of the country where you would like to work. The officials there will guide you through the application process. Do not deal with any other source.

There is very little need for ESL teachers in the Caribbean. Although there may be a few positions for teachers with university degrees in English who are qualified to teach the subject, such jobs are usually quickly filled by graduates from the local universities. In fact, there is a glut of teachers of English in the Anglophone Caribbean at the present time.

Nevertheless, I think that if you are qualified to teach blind or deaf children, you may find positions in places like the Bahamas. Furthermore, if you hold qualifications to teach technical subjects, and can also speak Spanish or French, your chances of finding work may improve.

It is important to do some digging and to rely only on official government sources. The private fly-by-night schemers are simply trying to enrich themselves at your expense. Do not deal with such people and never pay them any money up front. Good luck.
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 1:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Modern day pirates of the Caribbean are called scammers...nowadays they try to loot peoples money promising jobs as English language teachers...in the past they were content on finding gold and treasures beneath the caribbeans ocean depths. If you are seeking an EFL teaching job in the Caribbean. on a particular island country...go to the resorts and knock on their doorsteps and submit your resumes to the hotel or resort HR department of your choice. Good luck! Shocked Shocked
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esl_prof



Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nomad soul wrote:
Not impressive at all. But really, most of the destinations they list are English-speaking countries, so there's probably not a huge need for ESL teachers. Regardless, the Golden Rule for getting a TEFL job: Never pay money to a recruiter or job placement agency.


This . . . plus numerous other red flags.

I looked up the owner of the site domain here:

http://www.whois.com/whois/teflcaribbean.com

It's registered via a privacy protection service, which is yet another red flag.

Also, the domain name has only been registered since July 23, 2014. One would think that a business that claims to have offices in four different Caribbean cities would not have waited until six weeks ago to establish a web presence.

In any case, as Nomad Soul has already suggested, you can find ESL jobs in the Caribbean easily enough without paying a recruiter.
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esl_prof



Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

EFL Educator wrote:
...go to the resorts and knock on their doorsteps and submit your resumes to the hotel or resort HR department of your choice. Good luck! Shocked Shocked


You might also check with some of the Binational Centers in the Caribbean:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=108214
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Filmstar



Joined: 13 Dec 2012
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:11 am    Post subject: Tefl Caribbean Reply with quote

I've also had a response from them offering me $3,800 + free accommodation in Nassau.

I checked online and Nassau is an English teaching country.

Sure, there may be refugees etc. but really...?

The red flags stated above and the date of the domain name registration has persuaded me not to take it further.

What's that old saying? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Still on the hunt for sun, sea and sand!

I agree though. NEVER pay upfront for a tefl job.

Most schools are desperate for teachers and will PAY YOU to get there!
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Modern Day EFL Scammer Pirates Of The Caribbean...movie coming soon to THeATRE near you. Seriously though if you are searching for sun, sea and sand the Caribbean does offer this...but unfortunately for tourists not EFL teachers. No money no honey goes a long way there! Shocked Shocked Shocked
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esl_prof



Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt

PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Tefl Caribbean Reply with quote

Filmstar wrote:
I've also had a response from them offering me $3,800 + free accommodation in Nassau.


Given the sizable Haitian immigrant population (and the much smaller immigrant population from Latin America) in the Bahamas, there's a huge need for ESL. No one has cashed in on that yet because, well, there's really no cash to be had teaching English to immigrants.

The Bahamas does depend on lots of foreigners to fill teaching vacancies in K-12 education (both public and private schools) and those jobs are largely taken by teachers from other West Indian countries (e.g., Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana) and a handful of Westerners from anglophone countries. You can make enough to live comfortably but nothing like the fabulous offer quoted above.
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jukboo22



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 2
Location: Bangkok

PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 2:31 am    Post subject: BEWARE of the "TEFL Caribbean" recruiting scam Reply with quote

I was contacted by whoever is behind this operation after I showed interest in a job posted on Dave's site. I was told that, if I paid $1000 ($350 up front, and the rest to be deducted from my salary), they would find me a good job. After some weeks, I was informed that there was a school in "Charlotte" -- not actually the correct name -- in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and that I'd get $3500 monthly for teaching just 15 hours a week. Incredible.
I smelled a rat for various reasons. The person who always wrote to me, a supposed "Cathleen Schmidt," told me that everyone in the office had been off for two weeks, so that was why I had not heard from them for a while.
Every e-mail I got from this person was very badly written. Every first sentence of her or his e-mail began with a lower-case letter. Every letter was shot through with bad grammar, redundancy, and illogic.
When I began to challenge the writer, she or he then changed the terms of the deal twice. The first revision was as follows: "Some schools cover the placement fee themselves, so we can find you something ..." And then that was changed to: "Most schools cover the fee."
When I more strongly expressed my serious doubts about the legitimacy of this operation, the writer scribbled something about how I was "bery unpolite." This "Cathleen Schmidt" is supposed to be a well-educated and professional in the field from Canada!
I have not been able to find "TEFL Caribbean" on Google.
Interestingly, they have a FAQs page attached to e-mails, and this shows various charming staff members, but it is simply impossible that a Canadian named "Cathleen Schmidt" was writing me those sub-literate letters, and the fact could not have been clearer that she or he or they are up to something very dirty and illegal.
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esl_prof



Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt

PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 3:09 am    Post subject: Re: BEWARE of the "TEFL Caribbean" recruiting scam Reply with quote

jukboo22 wrote:
Every e-mail I got from this person was very badly written. Every first sentence of her or his e-mail began with a lower-case letter. Every letter was shot through with bad grammar, redundancy, and illogic . . . it is simply impossible that a Canadian named "Cathleen Schmidt" was writing me those sub-literate letters . . .


Apparently sub-literacy is a prerequisite for becoming a scammer these days. If a group of underemployed English teachers ever got together to run a scam operation, they'd blow the competition away. Smile
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 3:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes it seems the"EFL Pirates of the Caribbean" are up to no good....am still searching for gold from a "sunken EFL Pirate ship"...,,, Laughing Laughing Laughing
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