Job Discussion Forums

[CFTU-Beijing]

Yes, indeed there are honest and ethical agents and recruiters in China and abroad. There are not many but finding them is like finding the proverbial "needle in the haystack." Let's put it in perspective... In all of China there are only 329 registered/licensed teacher recruiters and agents. Yet there are over 300,000 teaching job ads placed every year by over 2,000 self-professed agents and recruiters. They fall into four basic categories:

A) Honest and ethical
B) Dishonest & Unethical
C) Identity thieves
D) Greedy (taking more than a 20%-66% monthly commission of teacher
salaries.)

All four categories advertise openly and covertly (blind ads) on the internet and on multiple ESL/TEFL forums which lends them credibility and wide viewership. So how to find one of the 329 licensed/registered agents or recruiters?

There are 4 easy and FREE ways to filter out all the bad apple agents and recruiters as follows:

[1] BEFORE you send copies of your passport and visas to any agent or recruiter, send them this form letter and ask them to complete and return it to you with all the blanks completed

http://www.englishpost.com/data/attachment/forum/201303/15/172204rq6jrrzvqnnzhiir.jpg

Honest agents and recruiters will not onject to transparency and be proud to prove they are legitimate. If they refuse to fill in all the blanks or fail to return the letter, move on and avoid all further contact with them as they are probably scammers. The letter is self-explanatory.

For those who do return the letter, be sure you verify the information online, especially the registration, which you can do at the below links or by asking a CFTU volunteer to run a check (just send an email)

Shanghai AIC: http://www.sgs.gov.cn/lz/etpsInfo.do?method=index

Beijing AIC: http://qyxy.baic.gov.cn/zhcx/zhcxAction!query.dhtml

Guangzhou AIC: http://www.gzaic.gov.cn/GZAIC_Portal/WebUI/credit/qiyeInfo.htm

[2] You can google search the name of the agent with the words "problem, scam, complaint" and see what if anything pops up.

[3] You can check the various CTA and CFTU blacklists at www.ChinaScamBusters.com and http://www.zimbio.com/Shanghai+China/articles/4lF4npQruDh/2013+School+Agent+Blacklist+Published+China

[4] You can post an inquiry here at Dave's ESLCafe to ask others if they had any good or bad experiences with a particular agent.

But here are a few things to remember to obtain from whatever agent you plan to use (Just in case things go South)

A) Their full and complete legal name as per a scanned color copy of their government id card (if Chinese) and a full color scan of their passport (if they are foreigners)

B) Contracts that are in English that are signed, dated, and sealed on each page which specifically address working locations, hours, days, pay, insurance, visas, release letters, and who pays for all of them. You need to have a hard copy original in your hands BEFORE coming to China along with your Z visa.

C) Verifiable office address and land-line telephone numbers of the agents since more than 80% operate only from disposable mobile phone numbers and free email addresses like hotmail.com, 126.com, 163.com, sina.com, gmail.com, yeah.net, qq.com.

Lastly, if any agent tells you to come to China on an L, F, or M visa to work RUN! You can only legally work in China with a Z visa and that Z visa needs to be provided to you along with a signed contract BEFORE you buy your plane tickets. Scam agents won't care about your legal problems, deportation, fines, nor reentry bans if you get caught working without a Z visa. Whatever they say verbally, make sure it is in writing in your contract or take a pass on that agent.

Follow the above advice and you will greatly reduce your chances of being swindled. And NEVER give copies of your passport and visa to anyone other than a "direct employer". If you need to know why, you can read this article: http://open.salon.com/blog/china_business_central/2013/03/13/phony_china_recruiters_now_target_5000_expats_monthly_1

Screen Print No: ESLCAFE-13.9.21.13

[CFTU-Beijing]

P.S. This is just one of many horror stories you can find on the internet just by googling "China teachers targeted for scams"

http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/vagabond/posts/13379-too-many-scam-agents-recruiters-in-china-be-careful-fellow-expat-foreign-teachers

Somewhere on this forum is the story of American teacher Katherine Cox and how she was swindled out of 66% of her salary. Find, it, read it, and learn from it. If you cannot find it, here is thebeijinger's version of the fiasco: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/vagabond/posts/13379-too-many-scam-agents-recruiters-in-china-be-careful-fellow-expat-foreign-teachers

Here is yet another tale of woe: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/posts/show/13383

Screen Print No: ESLCAFE-24.9.23.13

[BlueBlood]

CFTU, I am only interested in uni jobs. I plan to contact the respective colleges directly, assuming I can find a contact there.

Ergo, I need not bother with agents. Is that correct?

I did reach out to one agent in my desired destination. She seemed nice but immediately tried to steer me to language mills and grade schools.

[CFTU-Beijing]

[Denim-Maniac]

[muffintop]

[Banner41]

[CFTU-Beijing]

No my friend we do not even know who Blueblood is. We have no psychic powers as you suggest. But over 700 of our members work at universities and those that completed our 2012 annual teachers survey indicate the standard average uni wage in China is 6,000 yuan per month. You can read the annual report (survey results) for yourself at www.ChinaForeignTeachersUnion.org

Screen Print No: ESLCAFE-27.9.24.13

[Denim-Maniac]

[muffintop]

[Kysorb]

I can tell you right now thai if I recieved that letter from anyone looking for a job where i work. I would never reply back to them

Honest people are typically offended when someone basically calls them a scam artist even before the interview.

[Kysorb]

I can tell you right now thai if I recieved that letter from anyone looking for a job where i work. I would never reply back to them

Honest people are typically offended when someone basically calls them a scam artist even before the interview.

[CFTU-Beijing]

[muffintop]

[Javelin of Radiance]

I'm always suspicious of people who speak of themselves as some form of "collective." They're either a bit off their rocker, or some kind of intergalactic menace. In this case, I know which one I'm going with