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Job Placement Agencies for Mexico??

 
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Michelley



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 4
Location: CA, USA

PostPosted: Thu Sep 11, 2003 5:39 pm    Post subject: Job Placement Agencies for Mexico?? Reply with quote

Has anyone ever used a job placement agency to find work in Mexico or other Latin American countries? I know of one, innovative-english.com that claims to find you work, and if you like the offer, you pay then $200 for the placement. They have found me a job in Cuernavaca, but they still will not tell me who I'm working for and the pay is only 3500 pesos a month for about 25 hours per week. Is that normal? Should I trust the company? I'd appreciate any advice.
--Michelle
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some waygug-in



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 8:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's up to you, but I think you are wasting your money. Don't pay anyone to find you a job in Mexico. It's easy enough to just go there and look around on your own. 3500 pesos a month is about a standard for the really cheap language schools. Ask yourself if you can live on that, it's only about $300 us a month. Don't be fooled into thinking Mexico is cheap. 3500 pesos doesn't go very far, especially if you are new to Mexico and are just setting up.

Here's a site that may help you do some searching on your own: http://www.worldwide.edu/ci/mexico/fschools_adult.html

I have never been to Cuernavaca, but I'm sure there are plenty of schools there if you look in the phonebook once you arrive.

Here is a site that will give you some more information on various schools:
http://www.iie.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Research_Publications/Archives/Bilingual_Schools_in_Mexico/other.htm

One other thing, make sure you have enough "emergency" funds that you can access in case things don't turn out. Don't expect to make money in Mexico. You will be lucky to break even, especially if this is your first time down there.

Good luck
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dduck



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 422
Location: In the middle

PostPosted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to give you a flavour of what's possible.

I get paid 2600 pesos a month to work 23 hours a week. I also have to get up twice a week at 5.30, and twice a week at 6.30. I spend about 6 hours on buses for which I only receive minimal expenses.

I pay a fortune for rent - more in fact than I would for a flat in Scotland; I end up paying out around 5000 pesos a month.

I was very naive before I came to Mexico. I thought it would be easy to get a job, with a contract and work papers that paid a cost of living wage. I've found that there are lots of cheap schools that don't care about qualifications or experience: "I've got this friend who speaks good English, and she wants to teach..." As a result most of these jobs pay absolutely rubbish wages.

If you're a North American, it's tempting to seek adventure in Mexico via teaching English. I'd now advise that nobody views it as an adventure. You should come prepared, financially, academically and spiritually in order to avoid these cheap schools and in doing so make the experience a stable, and profitable one. Otherwise go somewhere else.

I've travelled around, and I generally don't suffer from culture shock. I was shocked to my socks when I started working here.

Iain
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Ben Round de Bloc



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946

PostPosted: Sat Sep 13, 2003 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I get paid 2600 pesos a month to work 23 hours a week. I also have to get up twice a week at 5.30, and twice a week at 6.30. I spend about 6 hours on buses for which I only receive minimal expenses.

-dduck


Actually, that doesn't sound like that bad of a deal to me at all, except for the wage on which you're getting royally ducked. I get up every morning before 5:00 in order to get to work on time, and most nights I teach until 9:00 p.m. It's been that way most of the entire 8 years that I've been here. I make more money than you do -- quite a bit more, in fact -- but then I'm currently teaching 31 hours a week. I'm quite happy and comfortable with my situation.

I'm North American and even after this much time here, I still view working and living in Mexico as an adventure much of the time. Granted, it's not for everyone, but I wouldn't advise against it.

Conditions are different throughout Mexico depending on location, of course. In the city where I live, I suggest to newbies that they need to earn at least 50 pesos per hour and work at least 25 hours per week if they hope to come close to breaking even financially and if they're willing to live quite conservatively. I also advise them that they shouldn't pay more than 1,500 - 2,000 pesos monthly for rent on that income.

Iain, I never have figured out why you accepted that job in the first place, given the conditions and wage. Not that it's any of my business, but I'd be interested in knowing, should you care to share.
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some waygug-in



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Sun Sep 14, 2003 12:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I get paid 2600 pesos a month to work 23 hours a week. I also have to get up twice a week at 5.30, and twice a week at 6.30. I spend about 6 hours on buses for which I only receive minimal expenses.

I pay a fortune for rent - more in fact than I would for a flat in Scotland; I end up paying out around 5000 pesos a month.

Ay Dios mio! How do you do it? Well, obviously you must have money saved up to help you out??? You sound like you are having quite a time there, actually it sounds like you are experiencing what I went through at about 6 months there. I actually became very paranoid, and afraid that everyone was out to scam me. Being a gringo, usually they were.

I hope your apartment is nice, for that price it better be. I hope you are not being hit with "unexpectedly giant utility bills" like I was. Or having to pay for other flatmate's calls to God knows where. Are you planning on staying on there much longer? I am just wondering if you couldn't find a better job now that you have some experience. There was a school called "ShamroK" in Juriquilla that paid decent wages. Also the "Professional Language Institute" on Berardo Quintana pays about 6,000 a month for full time teachers.

Not that it's any of my business either, I just hope that things turn around for you. Have you thought about Korea?
I know I have ranted about how much I hate Korea, but you can at least make money...... Just a thought.

Suerte
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dduck



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 422
Location: In the middle

PostPosted: Sun Sep 14, 2003 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ben Round de Bloc wrote:
Iain, I never have figured out why you accepted that job in the first place, given the conditions and wage. Not that it's any of my business, but I'd be interested in knowing, should you care to share.


I started looking for a job around May/June time. Not the best time of the year to be looking. I'd had a number of interviews with schools, a few of them suggested that I come back in August - not what I wanted to hear, at all! Several of them asked me if I had any experience; I felt ashamed when I had to answer that I was a rookie. Coupled with the fact that I was a British rookie, it wasn't long before I started to feel desperate to land something just to get me started. When I wandered into my current school I was delighted to hear that they prefered 'English' teachers (I eventually explained my origins).

Now, I've been working here for 3 months, I was really disillusioned to begin with, but as the buddhists say "That's good"; I've learned a lot about teaching in this time. Everything is experience - good and bad. My tourist visa is runs out at the end of next month, so at least I've have SOMETHING of interest on my CV when I start my next round of interviews. One step further forward. Smile

Iain
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dduck



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 422
Location: In the middle

PostPosted: Sun Sep 14, 2003 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

some waygug-in wrote:
Ay Dios mio! How do you do it?

I'm like a dog with a bone; I have my teeth into it and nothing is going to make me let go. When I was doing my CELTA in Edinburgh, I communted 4 hours a day back and forth from Dundee, 20 hours a week. I wanted to do it that badly.

some waygug-in wrote:
Not that it's any of my business either, I just hope that things turn around for you. Have you thought about Korea?
I know I have ranted about how much I hate Korea, but you can at least make money...... Just a thought.
I've been thinking about Korea and China lots, I've also been considering going back to Europe - so I don't have to put up with this visa nonsense - perhaps Spain. I've still got a few weeks to decide. Confused My head hurts.

Iain
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Ben Round de Bloc



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It seems that this thread has kind of gone off topic. Sorry about that. Embarassed

Back to the original question, I think the value of using a job placement agency depends a lot on the individual. Some people feel perfectly comfortable with and actually enjoy the challenge of looking for a job on their own. They have no qualms about heading off to a new place alone or maybe with a partner and then seeking out job possibilities in that location. Others feel more comfortable using a job placement agency for its organization, support, and the time it can save.

I've heard rave reviews from some who've used job placement services, even regarding some placement services which I considered quite costly for the amount and length of services they provided. I've met people looking for EFL jobs on their own who were very ill-prepared to meet the challenge without lots of help. It probably would've been worth the investment for them to have had the assistance of a job placement service.

Quote:
. . . and the pay is only 3500 pesos a month for about 25 hours per week. Is that normal?

- Michelley


Michelley, I'm not familiar with Cuernavaca. I don't know what the cost of living is like there, or what the EFL job market situation is in that location. The figures you mentioned, you'd be working for about 35 pesos an hour. Even if that's after taxes, I think that's near the bottom end of the pay scale in most parts of Mexico. In the city where I live, it would be extremely difficult to make ends meet on a monthly income of 3500 pesos.

Then, too, I'm sure a job placement service has to consider a client's credentials, qualifications, and experience, and those factors would greatly influence the types of jobs the placement service could provide. For example, if someone has very limited training and experience, he/she can't expect a job placement service to perform miracles.
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Guy Courchesne



Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 10:57 pm    Post subject: a shoulder Reply with quote

Ben, I'll take that as a show of support. You're absolutely right about what a placement agency can and can't do.

One thing that separates Latin America from much of the world. Very often here, business is done not by a handshake, but by ersonal relations. Deals are commonly done at the taco stand, at the fonda, or generally after discussing family for a while.

This kind of thing shows up when trying to locate a job, when trying to find housing (Mark's quest?), when simpy trying to negotiate a purchase. this is something that was hard for me to learn in my time in Mexico, but having learned how to do it, I'm amazed at the opportunities it's presented to me.

Hence, the work I do.

In particular, 3500 pesos per month is absolute break even level for a teacher in Cuernavaca, assuming a monthly rent of about 1000 pesos, and NOTHING to pay statesside. Luckily, the original poster has been offered a second part time job in the afternoons (first one is mornings), in order to fill the gap. All the result of personal relations...
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michelle yu



Joined: 25 Jul 2003
Posts: 10
Location: Asia - China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan

PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2003 1:22 pm    Post subject: Principle Reply with quote

Hi,

I would recommend against paying a recruiting agency a `finders` fee. Usually, the recruiting agency is paid directly from the school for finding them an employee.

There are a lot of ethics and arguements that have been presented on both sides.

Plenty of agencies out there will find you a job without making you pay for it.

Do your research and your homework, and in all likelyhood you could probably find a better job on your own.
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Ben Round de Bloc



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946

PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2003 1:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few more thoughts on the topic. One has to keep in mind that there's a whole range of recruiting/placement agencies.

Some do little more than provide a list of schools in a particular city along with a list of inexpensive hotels to stay in while looking for a job. Anyone with a bit of common sense and access to the Yellow Pages of a local phone book can do those things for him/herself.

Other placement agencies have contacts in the cities where they send teachers. In this country contacts are very important. Not only do these types of agencies arrange local contact people to help job-seeking teachers find their way around, but they also have contacts in various schools, which means a better chance of being hired.

Before enlisting the services of a placement agency, I'd check to see exactly what they provide and don't provide. I'd also try to get in touch with others who've used those services to get their feedback.
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KerriKP



Joined: 13 Oct 2003
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 5:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just got back from five years in Tampico, which is expanding so rapidly, it is entirely worth looking at for work. I found the job through this site and communicated directly with administration, which didn't always like to share the small details, but they did when prodded. I would think the fact the placement agency has some sort of problem telling you where you'll be working constitutes a red flag.

Another reason Tampico is worth it - as a starting wage I was paid double the wages being quoted here.
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