Job Discussion Forums

[lucreziaborgia]

I have declined 3 offers in the KSA because I have no confidence in any of them; even to be able to perform my function as an ESL teacher.
I asked one of them - a university that is not Ha'l but seems to run a close second in terms of ire-raising characeristics - if I really needed to return to my home country for a visa etc. I am currently living and working in a country that is a near neighbour of one with a KSA Embassy hence it would be a simple and efficient process for me to nip across the border and have that matter attended to without a long haul flight, the associated inconvenience, expense and exhaustion.
I recieved a reply about 3 weeks ago from HR informing me that they would look into this and to stay posted. Last night, I received a reply stating that the KSA Embassy in Australia does not issue visas anymore and that agents now attend to that matter.
am currently located (SE Asia) to an agent in my city of origin, (Melbourne), with a money order included.
Who in their right mind would do this? I am continually amazed by the dumb expectations of these people! Have any of them ever travelled outside the KSA?
I have decided to stay where I am as I haven't the personal attributes necessary to live through and with the perception altering probabilities that seem to be a prerequisite for survival in the KSA. I can cope with the restrictions and behavioural expectations but I think the plethora of dumb responses and brute assumptions would eventually result in my udoing.
I'd need more compensation to live with this sort of mind numbing stupidity. You posters are made from sterner stuff than me.

[johnslat]

Dear lucreziaborgia,

"Have any of them ever travelled outside the KSA?"

To Bahrain, maybe - a few perhaps, to Bangkok. But these were not likely to be educational jaunts.

"You posters are made from sterner stuff than me."

Not necessarily - some of us have been more desperate, others of us haven't truly appreciated what we would be getting into, and still others of us, well, let me quote you again:

"Who in their right mind would do this?"

You don't HAVE TO be crazy to go to the Kingdom, but being so does give you a head start on any sane (but not for too long) teachers who might arrive.

Regards,
John

[Cleopatra]

[quote]I'd need more compensation to live with this sort of mind numbing stupidity.[quote]

I'm not sure what you want them to do. Decisions regarding visa issuance are made by the embassies and ministries, not by employers. You applied for a job, and they told you how you might best go about applying for a visa in order to secure that job. You've decided you don't want to go to all that trouble. Fair enough. But I don't see how you can blame administrators for explaining a procedure over which they have no control.

[johnslat]

Dear lucreziaborgia,

But of course, there are some who ARE made of "sterner stuff." (see above post.)
Regards,
John

[Middle East Beast]

[johnslat]

Dear Middle East Beast,

"I grow weary of claims of lots of happy teachers in the KSA . . ."

Well, you've come to the right place, then. If you look through the posts on the Saudi Forum, I'd be willing to bet big money you'll find a heck of a lot more from unhappy teachers than you will from happy ones.

Regards,
John

[Cleopatra]

[Middle East Beast]

[Cleopatra]

[Middle East Beast]

[desultude]

[johnslat]

Dear desultude,

"There may be happy cheery jobs with happy cheery instructors in the Kingdom. I never met one."

Well, "happy, cheery" may be putting it a little too strongly, but I was certainly content, and I truly enjoyed my work there.

But then, I had a very good employer - and I'm a kind of a weird guy, anyway. Not much of a social butterfly.

Regards,
John

[desultude]

[lucreziaborgia]

My new thread was not meant to unleash a fury.
By way of clarification, my exasperation is an outcome of feeling that ESL is not a respected occupation and as an outcome we are expected to jump through hoops that are in esse - offensive. However, in my brief experience as an ESL teacher, I understand the reasons we are all considered to be rogues and reprobates. The appalling lack of personal and professional standards manifest by many of my so-called colleagues are obviously the reason most countries have introduced draconian visa requirements. I am working in a SE Asian country that has recently tightened up its work permit requirements and I believe one of the reasons is to make it difficult for TEFLing dross to work here. This impacts on everyone including those such as me who respect the culture we are living in and the work we perform.
I imagine it is the same with the KSA.
However, I find it unbelievable that any potential employer would expect anyone to mail their passport back to their country of origin to an agent for processing. Apart from the risk involved in such a process (loss, theft), I would have expected the HR department of any university or recruiter to be sufficiently au fait with expat conditions to know that we have to have our passports with us all the time while we are living in a foreign country.
Do these people every pause to consider the implications that the loss of a passport would have on our lives? Are they going to compensate?
Are we considered to be that dumb and feckless. I guess we are; and that assumption appalls me.
PS. They have sent me another email today requesting my address in Australia. I assume it is proving difficult for this university to fill its quota of English teachers hence has not registered my rejection of its offer. Perhaps it might have more success if it raised its game as an employer and - petitioned the decision makers to review its visa acquiring requirements for foreign hire.

[Cleopatra]