Job Discussion Forums

matty101 · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 4

Greetings All,
Has anyone ever heard or dealt with an outfit called START consulting service co.ltd. located in Wuhan,Hubei,China?
I was surfing the job board last week and sent them an email to see about possible positions.I told them I will have a TESL cert by the first week of december and have a 2 year college degree.Am an Americian ,40 years old without formal teaching training,just abit of literacy and reading volunteer work with local organizations.
I will be doing my certification in eastern europe and ,to be honest ,had hoped to start there,but it seems rather difficult being a non-EUer.
I was emailed back by a Robyn Lu who wrote that they would have no problem placing me in a position as the new semester starts in feburary.
I'm not really concerened about salary ,just enough to live on and travel locally ,and of course enough to get to another job if I decided to move on. My main concern is if this outfit is reputable. Of the 3 I wrote they were the only ones to reply,which I gave a gold star for..LOL.
Anyway would love any imput ,advice,words of wisdom,,possible other contacts,or just general heads up about working in China in general.
Thanks in advanceand hope everyone is well and happy wherever they maybe.
Matty

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

Check out www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=16950

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

It is yet another agent, and my advice is: hands off!

matty101 · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 4

Thanks tw ,Roger for the info. Unfortunately haven't found anything very useful as of yet. If anyone knows of any reputable recruting agencies,if there is such a thing, would love to hear of them.Anyway thanks again and best of luck.

orangiey · Joined: 30 Jan 2005 Posts: 217 Location: UK

Hi, we are in Wuhan and where recruited by START (Robyn Lu in fact) from the UK and we have had NO PROBLEMS with them and unless Roger has personally dealt with them I would ignore him.
They sorted everything for unless including meet and greet from the train station when we arrived. They keep in touch and have even found us little extras if we wanted extra cash. You don't pay them anything the school does, go for it, we did and have never looked backed!

sdisunshine · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 11

Hi Matty,
Im off to Wuhan next Monday, and dealt with START Consulting. They seem grand to me, though i found it hard to trust anyone. I had told them I wanted to teach at Uni only and they got me a job... all the companies ive been dealing with before kept sending me offers for primary school teaching...
They ve sorted everything for me so far, and I hope all goes ok once there. They ve been really quick sending me the invitation letter + foreign affairs stuff for me to have my visa processed. I would say u can trust them.
Will let u know how it goes next week!

matty101 · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 4

orangiey,thanks for the reply .Its good to get feedback,good or bad ,when making such a big decision. Great to hear that all is going well with you two.Would love to hear more about working/living in China,if you have the time.Where abouts in the UK are you from? How long have you been in Wuhan?Anyway thanks again,your imput has been very helpful.

sdisunshine, congrats. on the new position.First time teaching? In China?
Would be wonderful to hear how everything works out with you.Please do keep me informed if you can.Thanks for you help and best of luck.

Thanks everyone.
Matty

sdisunshine · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 11

Yep it's me again, almost a year later. Still tecahing at the same university in China, and as Im looking at jobs offers again, i thought i could say something about START Consulting, the recruiters who offered me that job.

They've been really nice with me, even though i never heard of them again after I arrived in China. Maybe as I never contacted them again! You def can trust them, but of course, you never know what you're gonna get. One teacher might be really happy with the job, and another one really disappointed. Just depends on your expectations id say. And as I came with no expectations whatsoever, I had nothing to be disappointed about! Im more picky now...

clark.w.griswald · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2056

Thanks sdisunshine for the update.

So many teachers come here seeking information but then never report back offering information. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

orangiey · Joined: 30 Jan 2005 Posts: 217 Location: UK

Hi Guys
I'm still in Wuhan, stil with Start and intend to stay with them next year. Hope that's good enough for any doubters

teachinator · Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 13

So I'm thinking of applying with Start Consulting and have seen a couple of positive references to them here. One thing that puts me off in their application process is that they want the candidate to FAX them, among other things, "a doctor's report about your health condition." On the one hand, it's reasonable that they want to know their candidates are likely to remain vertical in the classroom throughout the school term. On the other hand, that's just about all the medical info I think they're entitled to. How did others handle this request? Would a statement from a GP saying, "I believe this person to be in generally good health" suffice?

orangiey · Joined: 30 Jan 2005 Posts: 217 Location: UK

I went to my GP got a general letter to the effect of 'I examined ...today and in my opinion is in good health...blah, blah'.
I told my GP it was needed for a job application and he charged me �10 (in the UK the NHS doesn't cover such 'extras').
I think it's for the Hubei governement department not just Start but that you need to comfirm with them. Robyn is a very appraocable and if you have any concerns just ask her.