Job Discussion Forums

[racayadi]

Objective advice/news about them? Notes in Buxiban are all negative... have not been able to find anything else.
Supposed to have interview with them end of February..

Your insight will be helpful.

[clark.w.griswald]

Historically that company does not have a good reputation; hence the negative comments that you refer to.

In fairness to that company however I am not aware of any negative comments about them since February 2003.

I have recently been in contact with the company and I was reassured by what they told me and the fact that the guy in charge converses in excellent English and the content of what he had to say.

I would advise you to be as cautious as you should be with any new company, but I wouldn�t think that their history should necessarily be a reason to stay away from them. My concerns would be with ensuring that you are placed legally (an ARC in the name of your actual employer), that you do not pay a deposit upfront, and that they can actually deliver on what they promise as I think that historically these have been problems with this company.

Most importantly of all, let us all know what your experience with them is so that we have more up to date information to act upon.

[Ki]

I am unable to tell you anything about that particular company itself. Just one more note of advise. Never, ever, sign with a recruiter. Make sure that the contract is with the school itself. That should eliminate half of your problems there. After all, apart from sending you to a crap school in the middle of nowhere with a lower than average pay, the recruiter cannot screw you if you don't sign with them. It also makes sure that they aren't skimming any cash off the top of your monthly paycheck.

[racayadi]

Clark, Ki! Hi, thanks a lot for confirming my thoughts and additional details found after reading blogs and forums...

I'll update this note as soon as I interview with them..

A great 2006.

[SanChong]

Signing a contract with a recruiter directly where you are actually employed by them is never a good idea (IACC, for example).

However, using a recruiter as a way to connect with schools and then sign a contract with a school directly can be a good idea.
It can give you more choices and such...
Just make sure the agent is providing you with all the information you ask for about the school.

As for Columbia, I haven't heard much one way or the other.

Good for you for doing the proper research!!

[matchstick_man]

They have a high teacher turnover. They have a dress code. You teach adults and correct all of their spoken mistakes which possibly undermines their self-confidence or maybe helps them speak better English. The pay tends to be low.

My info may be out of date as I met a group of teachers who worked there early last year and was interviewed by Columbia a couple of years ago. The interviewer has long since moved which may or may not refect on the school.