Job Discussion Forums

[ajomatka]

Got a job with Bell for the coming summer with conditions that sound reasonable but here´s the BUT: Their HR department won´t answer my questions, I always get a reply from a different person and with all their sending documents and such they´ve been reeeeeeally sloooooow. I don´t know whether to think it´s incompetence, too big of a workload or a problem with reading comprehension but it´s making me nervous. Does anyone here have any experience dealing with their head office in Cambridge and if you do, what are they like? Thanks!

[john123]

I am not at all surprised by what you are experiencing. I guess I have not had much doings with their head office, but I can safely say that 'THAT' summer school was the worst time of my life, and that Bell is the worst employer I have ever had.

Be prepared for mystery nibbles into your pay at the end of the contract, toffee-nosed spoilt uni kids as so called house-parents and activity leaders, raving alcoholic DOSs, organisational incompetence (yes, kids sometimes had a whopping 45 minutes to look around London and then get back on the bus), under-age nonsense, child-minding, scary looking food, loud mouth course directors who have shady pasts, lack of space in the teacher's room, prison like guards monitoring your photocopying, bullying Spanish kids ...

Good luck.

[ajomatka]

Cheers! Would you mind elaborating on the where and when of your crappy experience?

[amisexy]

[quote="ajomatka"]Cheers! Would you mind elaborating on the where and when of your crappy experience?[/quote]

I agree.

Also, could you elaborate on what you mean by 'for mystery nibbles into your pay'

Thanks

[Captain Coddo]

I worked on several Bell summer schools thoughout the 1990s and it was a great experience - good pay, decent colleagues, and well organised.

Then the bean-counters got a foothold and there was no emphasis on quality anymore. Things went downhill rapidly, so I never returned.

I'd recommend Regent possibly, but they might have gotten worse over the years too. All summer camp schools nowadays seem to be keen to pay the worst rates and employ inexperienced staff, most of them not even out of college.

In short, avoid summer camps, unless you're truly desperate. It's much better to get something locally, so you can live at home or with friends and/or relatives.

[john123]

Dear Ajomatka,
Yes - 2009. Wellington College. I heard about one lady who escaped to the train station at 3.30am for a train way way up north. It was that bad.

Please, don't look for shreds of consolation or clarification. You surely deserve better than the treatment you will inevitably receive by working for this outfit.

Regards
John 1,2,3..