Job Discussion Forums

judyandherhorse · Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 36 Location: Australia

Hi All,

How do you know if the job you are applying for in another country is dodgy or not? This is my main concern, as I have been offered MANY jobs from MANY countries without much concern from them (i.e they dont seem to care about seeing copies of my degrees...).

Makes me wonder...

Question

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Schools that hire from abroad aren't wildly concerned about your credentials in advance because they are aware that you quite likely aren't really coming in any case.

johnnyenglishteacher · Joined: 11 Aug 2006 Posts: 41

If they're serious they'll offer you a contract before you go out there, or at least show you an example of one.

TheLongWayHome · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 1016 Location: San Luis Piojosi

Wait, aren't all TEFL jobs dodgy? I'd go for the one that seems to be the least dodgy, and buy a return flight. Worst case scenario - you go on holiday for a month.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

No, all TEFL jobs aren't dodgy. Though some percentage of entry-level ones may be.

DNK · Joined: 22 Jan 2007 Posts: 236 Location: the South

Holiday for a month in India sounds fantastic, except for the fact I can't afford it Razz

All I can say is that the companies I've applied to in Japan have generally requested a diploma, TEFL cert (if applicable), etc, many upfront, and that includes the known shifty place I went for.

lemonsong · Joined: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 11

No easy answer but I've always said that a good way to check a place out is to request phone numbers or emails of as many people as possible who work there, or have worked there.
Not failsafe but can be helpful.

Sgt Killjoy · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 438

Well, you can indeed do a few things to avoid getting a dodgy job.

1) The simple method is to google the name of the school. You may have to go through several pages, if it's a big school, but you have a good chance of finding anything negative written about it on the net.

2) Do a search of Dave's old posts.

3) Check out a school rating site like TEFLWatch.

If you can't find anything negative after checking 1,2 and 3 then you can breathe a small sigh of relief. Consistently bad schools are usually talked about in depth on the net.

If a school can clear 1,2, and 3, I wouldn't stop right there, I would then advise asking the right questions. I'm sure other posters can advise you on the right questions to ask before signing on the dotted line.