Job Discussion Forums

[Jazziz23]

Just a heads up. I was contacted by this school with an unsolicited message offering employment. The owner Ron Nathan arranged to talk via Skype and then kept putting it off.

We were supposed to do an interview today, I got a message saying he can talk in 15 minutes and then all attempted calls and e-mails went unanswered.

So this guy is a fraud. I just saw that he is posting on the jobs forum within the past few days:

http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/index.cgi?read=29624

Anyone else have dealings with this guy or company?

Not sure how he managed to stay in business for "7" years, as he says but I would avoid this one.

[teacher X]

They have 175 teachers and only one location?
Now, obviously they may send teachers out to offices and such places, but even then, I can't imagine them hitting such a high mark.

So now lets assume that you'll be spending most of your time working in the homes and offices of students (because I can't imagine that they'll fit 175 teachers in one building). You're on a 34 hour contract, which means that you'll be hopping all over Moscow and working 34 academic hour weeks, which obviously wont include travel time.

This leads me to believe that you'll probably be working closer to 50 hours per week if you include travel time (assuming that the transit between classes is only 30 minutes)

[Sashadroogie]

And all for a measly 65,000 rubles a month? Very competitive...

Better off with a McSchool, doing 20something hours and then making up the rest with better paying private students. Running around this city will wear you out at the best of times. But when doing it for buttons, it is even more disheartening. Don't waste your time with this outfit.

[Jazziz23]

yeah, I heard back from Ron.

His exact words: " I apologize. We have 200 teachers and it's a very hectic time."

So my thinking is if you have 200 teachers why do you need to hire more unless turnover is so high or you have so many big contracts coming in your staff can't handle it.

And if you are that successful shouldn't you have an assistant or DOS do the hiring process and you as owner sign off? Even all the mcschool outfits do this.

This guy is lying through his teeth!

[Sashadroogie]

Sounds fairly disorganised. No excuses for that.

But, refresh my memory, Jazziz. Have you worked in Russia ever? I remember some posts about your applications to various schools, but am just curious as to whether you actually accepted any of them here. Mainly, because when one works here, one quickly learns that time-keeping and orderly execution of tasks etc. are all more the exception than the rule. And strangely, many non-Russians who work in schools here become worse offenders than the locals.

So, this fellow from Dialog may not be a liar, and probably isn't any more of a fraud than the rest of them. Just rubbish at time management.

Maybe that's as bad...

[ecocks]

Wouldn't a school with 175 teachers have some name recognition among the long-term crew like Sasha, Maruss and the like?

Only other thought that occurs is that perhaps they are doing a lot of Skype work? There are a couple of Skype outfits with hundreds of teachers on-board.

With this much difficulty on the front end, what would it be like working for them? Especially for Sasha's "buttons" analysis?

[Jazziz23]

It could be a mix of Skype and real teachers but who knows. Either way a school that big should have some organizational structure.

Remember, this guy the "owner" sent me a message out of the blue offering work then backtracked. Seems like odd behaviour. maybe he's bored or has too much free time.

[Peg Leg Pete]

Ron certainly hasn't got 175 teachers. Usually he has half a dozen native teachers at the most - all on dodgy business visas and working illegally. The salary is paid under the table and they often make "mistakes" with the money.

Often they promise native teachers to their clients but use local teachers with the native teachers teaching different classes each week.

Ron speaks with forked tongue - he'll promise you all sorts but never deliver. He has a dodgy work visa himself that if ever investigated would bring ELC to an end - I know because he showed it to me.

I decided to have nothing to do with him. Heard too many negative things and, having met the guy, I simply wouldn't trust him.

[Sashadroogie]

Jeepers, this fellow's ears must be burning right off him.

[Jazziz23]

hey Pete, thanks for confirming what I thought. He didn't sound too honest when I talked with him, and his main draw was paying teachers more. But he couldn't back it up.

Maybe you should report him to the authorities.

I wonder how long he's managed to stay in Russia for so long. Did he solicit you for work as well?

[Peg Leg Pete]

Ron's always looking for victi.... teachers. However, if you ask questions about pay, hours, visas etc he soon gives up.

Never worked for him. Know two who did - one left because his pay was always wrong. The other moved on in search of a legal visa.

[tuco]

So he always underpays? What salary did the people you know end up receiving? What were their hours like?

I saw two reviews online left by local teachers. One was positive, the other negative. I can't access them right now; the site where I found them is down.

There's also a 3-year-old review written by one of their corporate clients. Apparently, the teachers constantly complained about the administrator, and lessons were sometimes conducted in the kitchen...

[Peg Leg Pete]

Ron offered me 1500 Rubles a lesson and upped it to 1700 rubles but I declined. Don't know what others were getting, but often what they were promised was different to what they were paid each month. I only know what I was told - that teachers were often having to ask for the correct money.

Hours appear to be erratic. He promises a great deal, but I just didn't believe him. Seems I was right.

They have an office somewhere - well, I heard it was two rooms and one of them was the kitchen.

They have no DOS/ADOS set up. It's Ron and his other half and an ever changing army of administrators.

I do know that they lost a couple of corporate clients because they didn't have enough native speakers - they charged the clients for them and then sent local teachers who were paid less.

[Jazziz23]

You know what's really funny is in the job posting he says he'll be doing interviews in London and New York! ha, I doubt he will be flying to those cities at all, it would exceed his yearly budget.

why do these guys try to make it sound like they are bigger than they are. anyone with common sense can pick them apart.

[TESOLguy72]

Thank you for posting! I read this thread just before a Skype interview with Ron Nathan. The interview was brief and bizarre. He kept asking, 'Can you hear me now?' but I could hear him fine and told him that about five times in twenty seconds. I couldn't see him, though. The reason? No video capability.

He began by asking where I'd been teaching lately. I said he should know that from my resume. There was a pause and I asked him which version of my resume I submitted to him, an electronic one on another website or one through my email. He said, 'One through your email.' I said, 'That's interesting, because I never sent you a resume at all.'

His email to me, which asked if we could Skype, said, 'Sorry for the late late reply, but we're still looking for teachers....' I actually did think I might have sent him an email application, but then I checked and I hadn't.

He then wanted to know where I was living. I said the UK. He said 'Where exactly?' I said, 'Scotland.' 'Where exactly?' he wanted to know. I said, 'Do you have any questions about teaching?'

And that was it. He "hung up" or we got disconnected. I told him he'd failed the interview. By email I said he was a fraud. He answered, 'Sorry, I got disconnected. I'll be in London this weekend interviewing candidates if you're still interested.' Yeah, sure, and I'll be London visiting the Queen.

If you experience Ron Nathan, please share.

And, thank you for sharing. It's important that people stay away from crooks like this guy.