Job Discussion Forums

abigolblackman · Joined: 05 Jan 2011 Posts: 15

Is the British Council still looking for IELTS examiners. I just completed all the requirments but I am no longer seeing posts up on the board. I can't imagine too many people meet all the requirments and they would have no need to hire more.

vikeologist · Joined: 07 Sep 2009 Posts: 600

They're always hiring.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-aboutus-jobvacancy.htm#examiner

Songbird · Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 11:02 pm Post subject:

But whether or not they get back to you is another matter Rolling Eyes

!

I applied for examining back in November, they called me up for an interview, asked me to go in for a weekend of training and told me I will find out the results of the exam within 2 days, ready to go in the next weekend for a little more training and the start of examining.

They dragged their heels and called me FRIDAY NIGHT to tell me I hadn't passed and needed to go back in for training. Oh, and that noone was in the centre to put me through it. Could I come back the following weekend?

Went back in, by now it was mid- December. Again did the test, again told to only wait 2 days. This time I refused to chase them up. I finally got an email in MARCH telling me I also didn't get through this one, and to go back for retraining. I never replied.

I expected so much more from the British Council!!

vikeologist · Joined: 07 Sep 2009 Posts: 600

Which region was that, Songbird?

Songbird · Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 4:51 am Post subject:

South/ Guangzhou

DirtGuy · Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 529

I can't speak for your situation but only for mine. Beijing was the center I went through and it went like clockwork. I'm working for them now despite barely passing the training and am enjoying every minute of it. Very challenging but also very profitable.

DirtGuy

tangal · Joined: 11 Nov 2012 Posts: 47 Location: Da Nang Beach

vikeologist · Joined: 07 Sep 2009 Posts: 600

I'm fairly impressed with the BC. IELTS is such a huge operation; the amount of information, emails and everything else is a bit overwhelming.

I'd guess in my area there's well over 100 active examiners plus another 100 administrators each weekend and reams of procedures that need to be followed.

I'd give the BC about 9/10 for their helpfulness, response times. (I would score significantly less because I've been embarrassingly inept at figuring out train tickets and hotels, the difference between different dates, and making sense of the avalanche of information that I now need to juggle. I don't think they have time to mollycoddle people.

I wonder whether there's a sense in which the objective of the organisation is to keep things rolling. They sometimes refer to the whole thing as a service industry, and their clients are the candidates (not the examiners). Perhaps if I become a hindrance they'll kick me to the curb.

But locally the staff, the Examiner Trainers, the other examiners, the admin people have been lovely. Everybody has been supportive and encouraging. I'm really enjoying working for them, but God, is it stressful at first.

DirtGuy · Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 529

but God, is it stressful at first

No truer words were ever spoken. I'm struggling with trying to get everything right and live in constant fear I will screw things up so badly they boot me. Every time I fix one error, I seem to commit another. They must be really hard up to keep giving me assignments.

DirtGuy

it'snotmyfault · Joined: 14 May 2012 Posts: 527

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Still advertising positions in BJ and Chongqing.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-aboutus-jobvacancy.htm
I think the point made elsewhere about the package (including airfare and accom etc) still hold.