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Dangerous ad or not?

 
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Ben Round de Bloc



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 5:42 pm    Post subject: Dangerous ad or not? Reply with quote

Quote:
Post: Come and teach in [X-country] (Female teacher)
Posted by [John Doe] on 4/23/03

Would like to be a kindergarten teacher in [X-country]? Find me
and let me help you! I own 3 schools and know many schools'
owners. Easy to find position for you! I can evaluate and
match position for you!No charge so no worries! No
experience? It's OK.The owner will pay for your pre-
training fee(about 5 days intensive courses).First of all,
you have to e-mail me your resume and photo, it will be
helpful for me to convince someone to hire you! Write down
my e-mail and keep it, you may use it someday!
*****All the service to you is free, free, free!!******


The above ad (with specific references modified) appeared on a forum frequented mostly by regular classroom teachers. So far, the majority who have responded have cautioned/warned readers not to respond, because the ad could be dangerous for the following reasons:

1. The ad asks applicants to email resume and photo.
2. The ad specifies female applicants.
3. The service is free.

One person who responded suggested that this type of ad is just the kind that sex trafficking posters warn about.

As experienced EFL teachers, do you view the above ad as unusual or dangerous as is?
Question
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Mozilla



Joined: 16 Mar 2003
Posts: 90

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I call bullshit.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't say for sure that it's safe but it does not sound so unusual. Be careful of course, but I would not rule it out on the basis of the three reasons you've given.


1)To request a female kindergarten teacher would be seen as sexual discrimination in some countries, but in others it is just considered good practice.

2)Plenty of efl job ads request a photo - resume really goes without saying.

3)Most middle men/agents charge the school and not the candidate.
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Irish



Joined: 13 Jan 2003
Posts: 371

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 7:45 pm    Post subject: Hard to say Reply with quote

I agree with Katy. I'm no expert but I browse many job postings, trying to get a feel for just how useful (or not) my degree will be. Myself, I've seen those requirements for many jobs in Asia and Korea in particular. One must always be careful of course but, as Katy says, this doesn't seem out of line for Asia.

Could it be that the posting is for a country where employers don't normally ask for photos or specify female candidates?
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Stephen Jones



Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The ad is almost certainly genuine which is why you shouldn't reply to it.

The guy is going to get his cut out of placing you, and that cut will come out of your salary, directly or indirectly. In fact it is possible he is simply angling to get you to pay for a training course on the vague promise of the costs being reimbursed.

If he was a genuine recruting agency you would get more details.
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Kent F. Kruhoeffer



Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2129
Location: 中国

PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 6:51 am    Post subject: avoid recruiters Reply with quote

Hi Ben Round de Bloc:

It sounds to me like a cleverly worded 'front' for an amateur recruiter ... who will 'score' off of you one way or the other. Whenever I read "free, free, free", my immediate reaction is that it is NOT free. Stephen Jones is right about that, I think.

Maybe I shouldn't generalize here, but I'll do it anyway, for the benefit of any 'newbies' who may be reading this:

As a general rule, there's just NO NEED to go through a recruiter these days to land a good EFL job. With so many positions available directly from the employers themselves, I just don't see any reason to allow part of my salary to go into the pocket of a middleman or woman.

My advice is simple: if it looks fishy, smells fishy or tastes fishy, it's probably fish. Wink

Best wishes,
keNT
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lagger



Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Posts: 40
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Has anyone ever placed an advertisement for private students? Do you think it would be better to do it in their home or in one's own? Perhaps in a public library? I currently tutor it in my own home and someone I told was horrified and said it wasn't safe because you don't know who you're inviting in which got me worried.
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Ben Round de Bloc



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946

PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 12:17 pm    Post subject: Thanks! Reply with quote

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I had posted some of those same ideas on the thread on the other forum regarding the ad. However, the thread didn't last long. It's against policy on that forum to post ads without paying for them. Evidently, this was an unpaid ad. By the way, the ad was from someone in Taiwan.

I think what surprised me most about some of the responses on that forum was the borderline paranoia. I don't mean to downplay the importance of being careful, but the reactions seemed a little over the top to me. I saw it as a possible/probable scam. Many of them saw it as a guy trying to find out where they lived and what they looked like, so that he could find them and do whatever.

The majority of the regulars on that forum are public and private school teachers in the U.S. Many of them find it hard to believe that there are still countries where it's normal for employers to ask for photos and specify requirements such as age, gender, and nationality.

Again, thanks for the responses.

Best wishes!
Smile
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