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van_6000
Joined: 07 Feb 2012
Posts: 35
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 Posted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 7:01 pm Post subject: anyinfo on Working Smart Global Petroleum Recruiters? |
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I was wondering if anyone has ever come across this recruitment agency. They require copies of passport and certificates early on in the recruitment/evaluation process. I am not sure if this is a bad sign (danger of identity theft etc) or if it is actually common practice with agencies and/or employers (as in the case of the employer's withholding the employee's passport for the duration of the contract).
Their website: http://www.working-smart.co.uk/wsldev9/default/default.asp
Also, their current offer is open to candidates from all nationalities. Would this not be a problem with visa considerations?
[I for one welcome such opportunities, since I hold a non-native speaker's passport, despite the fact that English is actually my native tongue -- long story -- but I was told that one needs a passport from the English-speaking countries to obtain a work visa in the Middle East in general]
I would be grateful for any info. |
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sicklyman
Joined: 02 Feb 2013
Posts: 930
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| Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 5:16 am Post subject: |
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do they recruit teachers? I couldn't find teaching positions on their dropdown list of professions.
In any case, copies of passports and certs at an early stage was what my recruiter wanted. How else can the employer decide whether to invite you for interview or not? |
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van_6000
Joined: 07 Feb 2012
Posts: 35
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| Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 10:28 am Post subject: |
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| sicklyman wrote: |
| do they recruit teachers? I couldn't find teaching positions on their dropdown list of professions. |
Thanks, sicklyman. Yes, they seem to be. I received a recruitment announcement from the Serious Teachers website and, immediately after I applied, I received a reply from the agency in question. I must say, both the reply and the site appear to be quite detailed and professional. But then, anyone with a laptop can do that.
| sicklyman wrote: |
| In any case, copies of passports and certs at an early stage was what my recruiter wanted. How else can the employer decide whether to invite you for interview or not? |
Of course. However, I have also sent such copies to others before, but only after my initial email and CV had been examined over a reasonably long period of time and presumably deemed worthy of further consideration. In this case, however, I think they have not even read my CV yet. Perhaps I am being paranoid, who knows?  It's just that I have read other comments in other threads about this issue and its corresponding identity-theft possibility.
Having received some very good advice in the recent past from people here regarding the Middle East, I am very apprehensive with agencies that appear to be willing to give me a chance (I realise this statement is self-defeating) since I do not hold a native-speaker's passport and have only 30 hours of TEFL. I do have over ten years of teaching experience in Taiwan, and a Ph.D. in US history, but I was told that these will not get me a work visa.
This agency requires its successful candidates to start immediately (mid-December) and places them in Jeddah and another town which i cannot spell at the moment (Buryada or something?). It also asks candidates to indicate expected salary instead of offering them a range of salary itself. These things make me a little nervous, but I am desperate enough to pursue this |
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van_6000
Joined: 07 Feb 2012
Posts: 35
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| Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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..
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In fact, on the issue of stating salary expectations, I would like to ask if anyone could advise me on this. I have read related threads but they had to do with salaries in general, not with a prospective employer asking you how much you want to be paid (ask too much for them and they drop you; ask too little for them, and you bury yourself -- and how do you quantify the "for them" part?)
Should I say around three thousand USD per month? Or should I be humble and ask less due to my non-native status and only 30 hours of TEFL certificate? And how much less would be construed as the threshold between being humble and being non-confident?
I would usually expect to have to bother with such queries after someone offers me something or at least at some later stage on the application and evaluation process, not that early on. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 12:41 pm Post subject: Re: anyinfo on Working Smart Global Petroleum Recruiters? |
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| van_6000 wrote: |
| They require copies of passport and certificates early on in the recruitment/evaluation process. I am not sure if this is a bad sign (danger of identity theft etc)... |
Identity theft? Every time you check into a hotel abroad you're required to provide your passport info for documentation/copying, so...
The fact that this recruiter requires you to indicate your desired salary isn't a good sign. I suspect they'll low-ball you based on your nationality---perhaps the main reason you're ambivalent about sending a copy of your passport. Anyway, given you have a 30-hour TEFL cert and a non-related degree, you might want to think about leaving Saudi Arabia off your list unless you're willing to work on a business visit visa for sketchy contracting companies. |
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van_6000
Joined: 07 Feb 2012
Posts: 35
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| Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 1:45 pm Post subject: Re: anyinfo on Working Smart Global Petroleum Recruiters? |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| The fact that this recruiter requires you to indicate your desired salary isn't a good sign. I suspect they'll low-ball you based on your nationality--- |
Most probably. But, I would not mind being given a lower salary, as long as it's not too low (1500 euro per month would be the lowest for my purposes) and as long as there is no major scam involved, i.e., something that would entail my being dumped somewhere without accommodation or getting deported for working illegally or ending up in jail. I realise that going with agencies , especially in my case, is too big a risk, but I thought I'd check that agency out by asking people here since that agency's name has not thus far come up on any black list.
| nomad soul wrote: |
| perhaps the main reason you're ambivalent about sending a copy of your passport. |
No, I would not mind telling people about my passport. They will have to see it at some point anyway. The only reason I tried Saudi Arabia as a prospect again was that this company openly advertised that they are hiring all/any nationalities and that they seemed to be recruiting for companies rather than schools. I thought, therefore, that if my passport is an issue, this will become clear right away, either by their negative reply or by their ignoring me altogether.
But they said there are many new colleges (vocational) opening up in many parts of Saudi Arabia and thus there is an urgent need for teachers . The contract would be for two years, tax free salary, free medical, etc etc. Anyway, the company seems to be British.
| nomad soul wrote: |
| Anyway, given you have a 30-hour TEFL cert and a non-related degree, you might want to think about leaving Saudi Arabia off your list unless you're willing to work on a business visit visa for sketchy contracting companies. |
That's what I thought too, based on the info you guys had provided me in the past. I just wondered if this particular company is actually already known to people. If they are as notorious a some well-known names, then at least I would be certain about not taking the risk. I am not sure if risk-taking based on lack of negative info is a wise approach but, you know, desperate times... |
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rollingk
Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 212
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| Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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There are still people teaching ESL in universities who are not native speakers and without passports from anglophone countries, however their pay is often less than half that of native speakers. I'm assuming tech school rules would be even more relaxed in this regard. And who knows, maybe they want to flash your PhD around as part of a management team . This often happens, but again, your salary will not reflect your position.
I remember some years ago, KSU decided they only wanted native speaking teachers in the ESL classroom, so they promoted at least half their non-native teachers to management positions, having of course to move native speakers from these management posts back into the classrooms. This was another one of those get tough rules that didn't survive more than one semester. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:56 am Post subject: |
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| "I want advice about going to a town but cannot spell the name." MOD EDIT The town is Buraida. Great place for a Naivnik. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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Ah Scot... spelling these unfamiliar Arabic names isn't even easy for some that have been in the area for years. 
VS |
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van_6000
Joined: 07 Feb 2012
Posts: 35
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| Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| "I want advice about going to a town but cannot spell the name." Does your Mummy know that you are out ? The town is Buraida. Great place for a Naivnik. |
She probably does by now. She pushed me out there into the scary big world so I can learn how to spell Saudi town names and impress everybody. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Be prepared for job offers of 3000 to 5000 SR ! That is because of your nationality |
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van_6000
Joined: 07 Feb 2012
Posts: 35
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| Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the advice, Scot. Yes, I know, even my other country of interest, Turkey, seems to be ready to offer me similarly low salaries due to my particular situation. But once I get my CELTA, things will improve a little. The trick is getting out of this rock I'm stranded in (no CELTA or TEFL of consequence here, as far as I know) long enough to get a job that can enable me to go on a CELTA course of consequence.
If this particular agency has not been already blacklisted by forum users here, it might provide me with the chance I'm looking for. That's why I'm trying to see if anyone has any info on it.
Of course, the other problem then would be that agency's requirement for a two-year contract. But then, from what I have heard, such agencies do not even provide iqamas anyway -- only business visas. |
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