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skc
Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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 Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 12:21 am Post subject: feedback on jilin star international education institution |
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| i was wondering if anyone dealt with this company before and how was there experience like. |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:18 am Post subject: Re: feedback on jilin star international education instituti |
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| skc wrote: |
| i was wondering if anyone dealt with this company before and how was there experience like. |
May I ask who you are? I mean: Do you own or work for that company? Are you a new owner, or new representative of that company? Or, are you a foreign teacher? Other?
And, how/where did YOU hear about them?
It would help us to answer you if we knew your interest.
I lived in ChangChun during most of 2005 and a month or so of 2006. I don't recall that company, nor do I recall meeting anyone who worked for it. That's a while ago now though, so I could have forgotten...
However, you got me interested, so I G00GLED the name and looked at most of the first 20 links... The recorded home page didn't open, but I'm not sure if it's just a temporary problem, or only a problem for my computer, as the way it stopped was a bit strange...
Besides, that most of the links are old job ads which are from 2005-6.
Maybe the company went out of the ESL business after that time? Or, used other advertising means?
They say/said that they are an IELTS, SAT, GRE, etc. etc. training company. But, it seems most of their jobs are/were poorly coordinated agency jobs that meant teachers had to travel from one end of ChangChun to the other in a single day.
I found a teacher's BLOG that said he didn't really like working for them (back in 2006). For the above reason. But, he did seem to be a bit green/naive, so maybe he hadn't done suitable research before he took the position, or maybe he wasn't assertive about what he was willing to do.
The salary at that time was a bit low too (3500-5000).
To be fair, if they have new ownership now then maybe the situation is different as well.
Good luck,
LFA |
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Moon Over Parma
Joined: 20 May 2007
Posts: 819
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Moon Over Parma
Joined: 20 May 2007
Posts: 819
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 6:04 am Post subject: |
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| Read the comments on that site. The most recent one (at the top of the section) indicate more disappointment with the company. |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 6:32 am Post subject: |
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| Moon Over Parma wrote: |
| Read the comments on that site. The most recent one (at the top of the section) indicate more disappointment with the company. |
Yeah, that's the "BLOG" I was referring to.
But, I think you are mistaken. The top "Comment" is the oldest.
The 4th Comment is positive. Of course, we can't be sure whether it's a company manager, or not.
I'm not sure I'd call it a "horror story", not a good experience, but, perhaps he didn't do his research well, and he seemed naive. If I applied for an agency job, I would EXPECT that I would have to travel around town. He didn't seem to expect that, so of course he got a shock.
Some agency companies try harder to help the FTs by organising your day in a small part of the city, if not a single school. But, the BLOGger said he "sometimes" had to go crosstown. Not good, but not unusual either.
He also made the complaint about wishing that schools advertised 80hours/month, as opposed to 20hours per/week... Maybe it's a fair suggestion. But, many job ads advertise hours/month, it's not unusual. I'm not denigrating him for complaining, but it's not like that company was doing anything tricky on that point.
He made a good point to check if you are signing a contract for 20 "hours", or 20 'classes'.
The salary seems low (at least from the 2006 info), I'd push for more before I'd sign anything.
The Comments about not being paid completion bonuses, or airfares, are the big worries...
I gather he left there a couple of years ago. And, as I said, (besides the Comments on his BLOG - where only the 4th one seems to offer current info) I couldn't find anything about them that was current in the last one or even 1.5 years. So, maybe they have a new owner now??? One of the BLOG Comments said that a guy named Peter Guo (the owner or manager) wasn't the best guy... is he still there?
Of course, maybe they had some "problem" and were quiet for a while... and now they're back!
Do your research well. Take care.
Good luck to the OP. I'd like to see what his/her interest is.
LFA |
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Moon Over Parma
Joined: 20 May 2007
Posts: 819
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:11 am Post subject: |
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| lf_aristotle69 wrote: |
Yeah, that's the "BLOG" I was referring to. |
I'm curious as to why you place blog in quotes and all caps.
| Quote: |
| But, I think you are mistaken. The top "Comment" is the oldest. |
Yeah. My mistake.
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| The 4th Comment is positive. Of course, we can't be sure whether it's a company manager, or not. |
The vibe I got was the response came from a recruiter, though possibly unaffiliated with the company in question. Reading the linked blog, it's a great primer on avoiding pratfalls in dealing with buxiban and universities in China. Some of the author's most recent posts have a nice case-by-case breakdown of sleazy, sneaky things a potential employee should be aware of when it comes time to sign a contract. I work for a university and have no opinion of Jilin/Star and refuse to work in a buxiban on general principal. With that said, I read a lot of China-based blogs and remember that one being very specific about issues they had with the business the OP asked about. |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:35 am Post subject: |
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| Moon Over Parma wrote: |
| lf_aristotle69 wrote: |
Yeah, that's the "BLOG" I was referring to. |
I'm curious as to why you place blog in quotes and all caps.
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I was quoting myself from my previous post.
About the caps. I was always under the impression (assumption ???) that BLOG is the correct form. It's a kind of acronym after all...
Not a problem, if I'm wrong, just tell me. I'm happy to learn.
I've never worked for an agency either. Some, do seem to give reasonable remuneration (including transport) and make an effort to book appointments in a way that doesn't having the FT rushing from one location to another in a single day.
If I work outside Unis I prefer to stay in a single training centre... Unless an agency really had a sensational salary offer (that I could trust!).
Cheers,
LFA |
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skc
Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:13 am Post subject: |
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| i might be going to changchun to teach english there and i would like some feedback on this compagny before i make a decision on going or not. so fare it sounds like people had a bad experience with this compagny which isint encouraging. where there any positive sides for working for this compagny? |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:33 am Post subject: |
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| skc wrote: |
| i might be going to changchun to teach english there and i would like some feedback on this compagny before i make a decision on going or not. so fare it sounds like people had a bad experience with this compagny which isint encouraging. where there any positive sides for working for this compagny? |
Oh, I see.
I liked ChangChun quite alot.
Can you give us a web address for the job advertisement you have seen please? There might be some more info for us to let you know if things have changed.
The info that we have been talking about is really 2 years old. The company might have different management and be OK these days.
LFA |
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skc
Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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skc
Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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| no i didint, the person i meet up with is in canada. how where they exploitative. the person i talked to seem very honest and it seemed on the up and up, nothing exploitative about the compagny |
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kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:34 am Post subject: |
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I usually leave this to others but for some reason, I just couldn't help myself. OP:
| Quote: |
| i might be going to changchun to teach english there and i would like some feedback on this compagny before i make a decision on going or not. so fare it sounds like people had a bad experience with this compagny which isint encouraging. where there any positive sides for working for this compagny? |
i = I
changchun = Changchun
english = English
compagny = company
fare = far
isint = isn't
where = were
Granted, I understand that some of us type quickly and don't feel it's necessary to go back and proofread every single word to check for errors. This is a message board after all, not a dissertation on 3rd world hiring practices! But then, the next message is what got my mind's wheels turning:
| Quote: |
no i didint, the person i meet up with is in canada. how where they exploitative. the person i talked to seem very honest and it seemed on the up and up, nothing exploitative about the compagny
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i = I
didint= didn't
meet = met
canada = Canada
how = How
where = were
. = ?
the = The
seem = seemed
compagny = company
So, what's the beef? The same spelling, grammar and punctuation errors were made time and again, which leads me to believe the OP is either a) NOT a native speaker and needs to brush up on his/her English before coming to teach others the language or b) IS a native speaker and needs to brush up on his/her English before coming to teach others the language or c) is yanking our chain to see which of us would be first to call him/her out on the poor English or d)???? (you fill in the blank).
Obviously I never expect anyone's posts here to be 100%; mine certainly aren't. But, come on! To actually teach English, one has to have a modicum of ability and be able to easily catch most of their own errors when submitting the simplest of inquiries. Doe'snt that sound right?
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skc
Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:41 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks for correcting my mistakes. I know how to spell, I am not a good typer and... as you noticed I did not proof read what i wrote. I will try to make more of an effort the next time! |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:59 am Post subject: Ahhhh. Maybe I was wrong to defend them... |
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skc, Thanks for that link. In fact the most recent posts (from "Middleman", no less) are less than 2 months old.
skc, I have been wondering about your English ability myself. From your posts it seems you are in Canada and have been approached by someone acting on behalf of this (apparently dodgy) Jilin Star International agency company that farms out foreign teachers to other places to teach. Is that right? i.e. You could be sent to kindergartens, primary/middle/high schools, colleges/Universities, etc.
Hmmm. I think I was wrong to give Jilin Star International such a big benefit of the doubt earlier. And, clearly, the reputed con artist, Peter Guo (ex-lawyer and friend of gangsters), IS still running the show there.
The person named 'Middleman' (remember him/her from the only positive Comment from the teacher's BLOG?), seems to write even more in Chinglish on the Daves link above. As well as that, there are inconsistencies between his/her Daves' post and his BLOG Comment.
He/She is also very casual about the many unlawful/illegal activities that the Jilin Star company was accused of doing.
Withholding teachers' passports for 2 months!
Deducting monthly (?) security "deposits" (for the school provided (?) accommodation) from teachers' earned salary.
Final week of contract sackings and non-payment of final month salaries, bonuses and airfare allowances.
And, if an "ex-lawyer" is spending his social time with criminals, that pretty much sums it up!
It also pretty much sums up the system in many parts of China that an "ex-lawyer" (with gangster friends) 'has connections' in a PSB too.
I'm going to spread the word about the illegal practices of this company now too. I don't like to be conned!
I certainly wouldn't join this company based I what I have discovered here and elsewhere. But, if I was desperately in need of a job at short notice I might still go to their offices for an interview, if they were currently making a good offer and could write a clear and fair contract...
Be very careful!
LFA |
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tazmania
Joined: 22 Jan 2006
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm not sure I'd call it a "horror story", not a good experience, but, perhaps he didn't do his research well, and he seemed naive. If I applied for an agency job, I would EXPECT that I would have to travel around town. He didn't seem to expect that, so of course he got a shock. |
Well I guess It's a question of expectation.
At the time this happened I'd only been in China just over a year and had previously been working at a Public University where i'd had no problem whatsoever. I was not cynical and jaded as many of the poster on this forum and so actually thought perhaps they actually mean what they say.
I left there because I wanted to live elsewhre in the city, get some new experience - I certainly go that!
I did do my research on this company, I knew they were dishonest - but to be honest It was only ever meant to be a temporary stop-gap for me until the next year when I could get back into the public sector.
At the time there was basically no other opportunities available for me - and I didn't want to go home - so I took the offer.
They did initially try to pay me less and make me sign a 3 month 'salary-deposit' but i did manage to get this removed from the contract.
If you read the full story on the blog you'll see I was not in a good position and my visa status was uncertain, the police had my passport and (the only good thing he did for me) Peter Guo used his connections to get it back and get me a 1 year extention to my RP, despite technically haveing been illegal for over 2 months.
I did understand that there would be travelling involved working for verious schools, but I did not think it fair that on two days a week I had to take a 30yuan taxi accorss town in order to get to class on time. - they would not pay for any of the transport despite knowing the only way I could get to class on time would be to take a taxi.
Anyway I learnt a lot from the experience but I would never ever work for them, or anyone associated with them again. I have received emails from many other teachers who have been cheated in various ways - contracts renaged on etc- these are recent - so Star is still the same.
They have a canadian connection in that when i was there two of the foreign managers were Candaian- and although initially charming, after a while of my working there I realised just how nasty and vindictive they really were. |
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