Job Discussion Forums

[muubagsh]

I have not been able to find information anywhere about how recruiting works in China. Everyone seems to hate recruiters, and it makes sense that it would be better to find a job by myself rather than from someone who will take a cut from the actual employer. Since I have been looking into jobs in China, pretty much everyone who responds when I apply to jobs seems to be a recruiter.

Does anyone know what recruiters typically make when they find a teacher for an employer? Do they get paid a lump sum for finding someone, or do they get paid regularly during the teachers contract period? Any idea how much?

[Simon in Suzhou]

There are 2 different jobs which are often confused on this board. A RECRUITER helps you find a job and takes a one-time fee from the school when you are hired by them. An AGENT generally has you sign a contract with them, rather than the school, and takes a percentage of your income FROM YOU every month for the first year of your contract.

Agents are pretty much scum of the earth and the only reason anyone should ever deal with them is if they are from a non-native English speaking country and can't get a teaching job legally by other means. They do nothing for you that a recruiter would do except steal money from your paycheck.

Recruiters are hit-and-miss. I don't think everyone hates recruiters. I have used a couple of recruiters and they have been fine. They don't really do anything but introduce you to the school. Any recruiter claiming to offer lots of special services is probably BS. Once you are hired they will be gone. I'm not sure how much they get for a placement fee. I've heard the equivalent of one month's salary, but this may vary.

I'm not convinced that "going-it-alone" without a recruiter is always preferable. A lot of schools simply will not hire directly, and ALWAYS use recruiters. This doesn't mean they are a bad school or should be avoided. Don't expect that by finding your own job and bypassing the recruiter that the school is going to give you the cash they would have given the recruiter. It's not going to happen.

For job-seekers, I would suggest contacting schools directly AND contacting recruiters to have the most options.

[talentedcrayon]

I am curious about this too. For Korea I've heard they make between $150 to $1500. That is a pretty wide spread. But, I think around $1000 is the number that gets tossed out the most.

Personally, I don't see why they earn so much. There are loads of people who want to teach and only so many jobs available (especially in Korea). Although, for China there are more jobs than teachers. For some of the worst positions I can see how a recruiter (especially one who lies through their teeth) is worth quite a bit to a shady school. Even better are the recruiters who can explain away poor online reviews of schools.

[wangdaning]

I think it is fairly standard for them to get one month's pay of the recruit's salary. I have never used a recruiter though, so cannot say for sure. I know, after house hunting the last few weeks, that is the same the rental companies charge. One month's rent.

Not really worth it for either party, makes you wonder what value they have. Seems like usury and middleman crap. Got a new place to live privately. Same way I would go about finding a job.

[Bud Powell]

The recruiters that I know and have worked with are paid the equivalent of one month of the teacher's salary. ONE TIME. This does NOT come out of the teacher's pay. Schools have a fund from which they pay the recruiter. Often, schools that use the services of a recruiter will turn the job over to one or more foreign teachers and pay them the finder's fee.

Though some recruiters actually do disappear never to be heard from again, EVERY one of the recruiters I've used stayed in touch with me. Some found extra work for me (before the clampdown on illegal work), some found summer work for me. Others actually straightened out problems with new FAO's who had no idea of the bounds of their authority over the teacher or who did not provide accommodations as promised.

They're not all bad.

My advice is to look at many job boards (and to apply to as many schools as possible). See who handles the most schools. Then, if possible find out something about the schools. You'll probably find that a. recruiters that handle many schools often specialize in one type of school and b. the ones who handle the most schools are usually more professional and return emails faster. The ones that have good relations with the schools can get photos of the accommodations (if they don't have them already).

The best recruiter that I have worked with had photos of the campus and photos of the apartment that was a lot like an extended-stay hotel. The pay was good, but I was looking at another school at the same time. When I balked at her position, she told me that she thought that I was a good fit with the school and that she'd give me a day to think about it. I did, and I went with that school. She didn't twist my arm (something to watch out for). No school is perfect, and there were a few things that were less-than-perfect, but the situation was a lot better than I was accustomed to. I averaged less than ten hours of class time per week per semester.

Those who do work with a recruiter should stay in touch and report things that shouldn't be. Without feedback, they can't improve your conditions if they turn bad, and they can't improve conditions for those who go there after you leave. Feedback is important to the good recruiters.

One other thing: some recruiters work together under a company name. One that comes to mind is 502 (or something like that). It isn't an agency. They're more like a cooperative, and some work in the same office but often have both an office phone as well as a cell phone. If you can't reach them on their cell phone, you can call the office, and someone will sometimes answer and cover for them.

I am speaking from experience with recruiters who placed me with public universities. Those who work private schools may be a different bag.

[jm21]

The recruiter I worked with helped me deal with some issues I had with the FAO after I arrived in China. I still lost a some money to the little *beep* paying for things I shouldn't have but not as much as I would have. She also helped put pressure on the school to chanhe a few provisions in the contract. I still have her skype ID but it's been passed on several times within the company. A turnover rate of 4-5 peiple per year makes me have some sympathy for them.

[Shanghai Noon]

My first school paid the recruiter ¥4,000. My next school paid 25% of the first month's salary. Most schools simply don't have the manpower to sift through 500 applications per day, so it's more economical for them just to pay a recruiter a few thousand per head.