Job Discussion Forums

[judogirl]

been there done that, nope landing on head doesn't feel good. niether does breaking toe, nose, finger, or tearing the crap out of your shoulder. check out this smiley, he looks like he's being dropped on his head.

[misslinz]

Oh man I got the exact same email from Andrew Lin as all of you! haha

[judogirl]

don do it man

[misslinz]

I think I scared him away when I was asking simple questions like the name of the school and what city I'd be working in... h ahaha

[the_p0et]

Enrico, you still haven't gotten your money yet?!

Email me & let me know where you left off last with him.

[enrico palazzo]

been over a year now.

what a scumbag.

[CDN Gypsy]

I too was in the middle of negotiating with Andrew Lin. I would send an email with my concerns and get short replies that didnt answer a damn thing I originally asked. After him, not telling me where he would place me--" its an hour from Taichung city"---- but really that could be anywhere. I explained to him what I wanted, and specifically where if possible, I wanted to see a contract but no way would he send it, just kept saying " SIGN when u get here"---ummmmmmmmmmmmmm no f$%^&*** thanks buddy.
BOTTOM LINE---DONT TRUST HIM, STAY AWAY FROM ANDREW LIN
Im sure he will change his name soon, but if you ask enough questions and dont get the replies and answers your looking for then its telling u something---YES I SAW WAY TOO MANY RED FLAGS THROWN UP when i was dealing with him. I finally wrote him one last email with all the concerns I posted in previous emails to him----Since then he has never replied because the BOTTOM LINE is HE CANT DELIVER

[Ki]

Let me first point out that I in no way indorse Andrew Lin. Nor have I had any conduct with him personally, second hand or in any other way whatsoever.

Would you really want to sign a contract from abroad, without first seeing the school, or them seeing you? If you did sign then what would that tell you about the school? That they were desperate? That they have a bad reputation locally? Would such a contract, (faxed to Taiwan perhaps?) even be valid?

Him not being direct is because there isn't any school that he can sign you with. This is not a person thing against him but particular with most recruiters here. Rather than place particular teachers with particular schools he is trying to just get you here and then place you with whichever school needs someone first. You would quite easily be placed in a small town in the middle of nowhere. I would rather see this myself than to sign a contract placing me there for ONE YEAR before I've even stepped foot in the country.

If you saw the red flags then good, don't bite the bait. His certainly isn't the only game in town to be weary of.

The only advise I can give is to make sure that you SIGN WITH THE SCHOOL. Don't sign anything with any recruiter. Not in Taiwan. Never. This can never be good.

[Zen-Poet]

Respectfully, I would like to offer an alternative opinion on this particular topic.

I was placed by Andrew Lin and in my experience he delivered on everything that he said he would with the sole exception of picking me up at the airport but that was due to extenuating circumstances and I was both notified in advance about it and reimbursed for my bus fare within five minutes upon meeting Andrew. I�ve been in Taiwan for almost a year now and have been, barring the usual ups and downs, happy with the school that he placed me at.

It is my opinion that the only responsibility a recruiter has to anyone is to find them a school that is looking to hire a teacher and sit them down in front of the owner(s). The rest is up to the potential teacher. That�s the service that Andrew offered me and that�s what he delivered.

From what I have been able to ascertain from reading this thread is that only one poster had any personal experience with Andrew, in terms of being placed with a school and, by their own admission, decided not to accept the position when (I assume) it was offered to them. While that person found their experience with Andrew to be a negative one, might it not have been more accurate to phrase it that way as opposed to making the sweeping generalization that he cannot and/or should not be trusted?

[clark.w.griswald]

I agree that comments from people who have actually dealt with the guy are important, and it is good to hear that you had a positive experience. It doesn't change my own personal opinion of him, but it does go to show that even recruiter that I think are not very good have their supporters. This helps to dispell the myth that we shouldn't deal with recruiters.

[Zen-Poet]

The purpose of my post wasn�t to change anyone�s opinions, merely to share my experience.

While I agree with your additions, in particular that a recruiter takes into account a potential teacher�s requirements, I am personally a strong believer in the �caveat emptor� principle. As such, I feel that it is the responsibility of a potential teacher (or in the broader context, any consumer) to do their own research and to ask their own questions. Granted, when asked a question any recruiter worth their salt must answer those questions accurately. In my dealings with Andrew I was very direct about what I did and didn�t want and while he was able to accommodate some of those requests himself (e.g. geographic restrictions � no Taipei, no Kaohsiung) he also advised me that some of my desired conditions (e.g. work hours of 1700 to 2100hrs, Monday � Friday, no Saturdays) were unusual and would involve direct negotiations with the school(s) owner(s) as he couldn�t guarantee those conditions himself. Andrew ended up having to send me to four different schools before we found a good match. I negotiated with the owners and we ended up with a mutually satisfactory arrangement and I have been with that school for almost a year now.

As for his references, although not all of them replied, the ones who did answered my questions to my satisfaction. However, I didn�t send them a generic question(s) (e.g. Can you tell me a bit about Andrew and your personal experiences?), rather I sent a long list of specific questions (e.g. What is involved in applying for a 60 Day Multiple Entry Visitors Visa?). If I may go off on a tangent for a moment, I would think that it would be difficult to satisfactorily answer a generic question like the ones I mentioned above as what I might think important and noteworthy might not be so to someone else; even if I gave what I believed to be a strong, positive response the person on the other end might think it worthless. However, back on topic, it is my belief that his references are valid and legitimate.

I hope that answers your questions, clark.w.griswold.

[clark.w.griswald]

[Zen-Poet]

The only questions that I asked directly about Andrew and his service were, �How long did it take for Andrew to find you the position that you ultimately accepted?� and �If applicable, can you tell me of a time after you had been placed where Andrew assisted you with a problem even though he had no further obligation to you?� Of the six responses that I received, four said they never had experienced such a situation and thus couldn�t answer the later question and two told me stories of how Andrew had helped them after they had been placed. Might they have lied? Sure, but while I am a cautious person, I do prefer to believe that people will, for the most part, be honest about things that they do not have a vested (read � financial/emotional) interest in.

Not being party to your correspondence with Andrew, I cannot fairly comment one way or the other but I acknowledge the validity of your opinion(s). At the end of the day, I am content with what Andrew has done for me; I cannot and will not speak for others. Differing opinions can and should be heard � that is mine on this particular topic; I hope that I have not given offence in doing so.

[Aristotle]

You need to be aware that their are numerous recruiters who use the name "Andrew Lin".
Lin is a very common family name on Taiwan much like Smith or Jones in England or the US.
Andrew is an English name and is not a legal name on Taiwan but a common alias for recruiters to use, predominately in central Taiwan.
Thus you may have been communicating with people who used different agents with the same name.
Hence the conflicting opinions.
There is no such thing as good recruiter on Taiwan.
Good luck!
A.

[clark.w.griswald]