Job Discussion Forums

traveller57

Hello,

I was just wondering if it is customary in the Gulf for employers to offer jobs to candidates before they obtain satisfactory references? Would they require the references of all the people that you list on your resume or just some? Also would they tell you if you are missing any references? I'm just a bit perplexed that an employer would offer you a job without first obtaining the satisfactory references they need.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

It is very hard to generalize because it depends very much on which employer. What country are you talking about? Is this an entry level job or do you have advanced degrees with tons of experience? Lower level employers have lower standards... and higher have high standards.

There are lots of scams out there these days, but thus far most of them seem to be related to the UAE. The ones to really watch out for are the ones that hire you without even an interview. Laughing

And then, ask you to send money.

VS

traveller57 · Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 2:08 am Post subject:

The employer is HCT in the English faculty. I have received an offer already and have received flight details to go in August. I'm generally happy with the recruitment process, but was just curious to know why this employer would offer a job before securing references?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

If you are referring to HCT in the UAE, they are one of the better employers. I worked for them some years ago and they accepted my letters of recommendation. I don't really know if they checked them or not. I never asked my referees. Laughing

But, my hire was late May like now, and time may be the issue. Apparently your credentials looked good enough for them to take the gamble and get the paperwork rolling. You are on probation for a few months, and they are usually very quick to figure that out if they made a mistake.

If it is HCT in Oman... ummm... their standards are... lower... and getting hired is pretty easy.

VS

traveller57 · Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 2:53 am Post subject:

Thanks VS. I meant HCT in the UAE. I do have the standard qualifications of MTESOL + 6 + years in academic English classroom settings. Perhaps I'm prying, but I was just curious to know the ins and outs of the recruitment process. They also wanted me to produce 'letters of work experience' to substantiate the work experience I had written on my CV. Did you have this experience too? I do have most of the letters (to prove 6 years experience) I need but would they overlook not having some of the letters in situ? The ones I don't have are in high school settings, one of which was overseas, and it would be a pain to have to ask for those now.

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

I had never heard of these letters Embarassed

until about 4 years ago when someone who came from Asia mentioned them. I wouldn't worry too much about those you don't have so long as you're well documented in other respects.

I know HCT called my references after offering me the job - heck, they wanted to know if I could get there in less than 3 weeks Shocked

as they were short of instructors.

Perhaps too you name rang a bell with some other EFL teacher in the HCT system and they were able to comment positively? It's a possibility.

In any case Congratulations

traveller57 · Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 5:47 am Post subject:

Hmm, to my knowledge the only person I know associated with HCT is a former instructor who I met at a conference here in Oz. I didn't mention her at all to my interviewers! Thanks anyway Helenl for your advice. I'm sure HCT will tell me if they still need some or all of the references.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

traveller....

All the employers in the ME want these "letters of experience" and for many places, they will set your pay level. These are not done in the US, so I had none, but fortunately my first real teaching was in the ME after my MA. (prior to that I had only volunteered)

Some employers, like Kuwait University - and commonly in KSA, have their pay as a base + so much for every counted year of experience. You only get credit for those years for which you have the letters.

HCT

johnslat · Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 3:05 pm Post subject:

Dear veiledsentiments,
I'm not so sure about "letters of experience" being required in Saudi. It may have changed since my day (1980 - 2003), but I was never required to produce any.
Regards,
John

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Hi John... We have had people asking about them on the Saudi board in the last months (mostly Americans like us who had no idea what they were asking for) and there was discussion of just this very problem... no letters... you end up at the bottom of the pay scale.

VS

Gulezar · Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 483

Yes, I had to produce letters for Saudi and recently for the UAE. This is all in the last few years. I didn't have to bring any such letters ten years ago. Now all the schools have these "transparency" clauses to place the staff on a rank and pay scale.

Linguist · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 202

wordsmith · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 44

What happens if they can't contact your references? I'm concerned that my references may have moved on.

traveller57 · Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 5:03 am Post subject:

You would want to have referees who can be contacted on the email addresses and telephone numbers you provide on your resume. It's also good to check with the people you have nominated that they are fine with this. You need to be confident that they will give you a good reference, otherwise its not a good idea to put them in your cv. I would ask your prospective employer once they have given you an offer if they have received the references, and if not, you may have to chase them up.