Job Discussion Forums

[KateCee]

Has anybody used this company to get a job? How did you find the experience? My main concern is having to sign the contract beofre I leave? Why do schools insist on that? Don't they want to see what the teacher is like? I sure would like to know what the school is like.

They are based in Taichung & have an office in Vancouver.

Hope to hear some good stuff.

Kate

[michelle yu]

Kate,

The reason you have been requested to sign the contract before your departure is based on the following:

1. When a person signs a contract (the majority) they feel obligated to adhere to it. Meaning that `hopefully` you wont say yes to them, and then at the last minute change your mind and go with another recruiter.

2. Remember that you are dealing with an agency. That agency has to get paid, and more times than not, it occurs when the agency presents a signed contract to the company, or school, for which they are recruiting.

I hope this gives you a bit of a better understanding.

[killian]

i am talking with this same firm/individual right now. his adverts are all over cyberspace.

i'll keep you posted as things evolve.

he's on the ball so far. sent me a contract to peruse. contains blatantly illegal clause pertaining to witholding 5% of pay as a security deposit per month as a protection against my running away. deposits of any kind are not legal as per the laws of taiwan. contract is mostly "thou shalt not" variety, interestingly enough there is no mention of pay rate. alarm bells are going off,but i'll go to the interview as it is time for a change.

[Okami]

Why does anyone need to use a recruiter? Schools are begging for a decent teacher right now. My school went through 50+ interviews to find 2 good teachers(they're crossing their fingers and praying to the gods that they chose right actually).

First off, never sign a contract overseas with people you haven't met or seen. Yes Virgina, phonecalls do not count. If you checked, a similiar deal with a chain without the illegal withholding would be available. They have websites for you to apply at too. Agent=bad. If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand. Which brings me too...

Killian, why on God's green Earth are you thinking of using an agent? If you need a job or leads, you could of PMed me. I have an afternoon anchingban that needs a teacher right now, though it is a salaried ARC position. Friends don't let friends use an agent.

CYA
Okami

[TaoyuanSteve]

"Okami's" advice is sound. You should pay heed to it. Be aware that contracts signed overseas (and often here) aren't worth snot. Quite often things change when you actually hit the ground here. Agents are lying pond scum who don't represent your interests, only the interests of their pocket books.

When I came here, I trusted an agent. Of course I got burned. A friend of mine before me trusted an agent. Guess what? He got burned. Most people I've talked to who've used agents are less than pleased with the service. What's more, agents are totally redundant. It is so easy to get work here. REALLY easy. Finding a school you can trust is another matter. It's best to network with other foreigners here. If I were in your position, I'd take Okami up on his offer to arrange something for you.

[KateCee]

Thanks, all of you for your advice & support. I�ll tell you why I was responded to David (the contact guy for Dewey). He was the only person to respond to my application. Last week, I contacted this school, Learning First, in Taoyuan via e-mail (didn�t send a picture) as it was highly recommended by an alumnus from the TESOL school I attended. The very 1st phone interview went very smoothly for � an hour until she asked me describe myself physically. I almost felt her do a double take when I told her I had black hair. �Black???� she gasped. Then she awkwardly tried to figure out my race. When she learned I was of Asian origin, she mumbled & fumbled with her explanation about it being a problem. She asked for photographs, which I sent. Then one of the Asst. Teachers (Taiwanese) called me and mumbled further about them requiring experienced teachers. I pointed out that I do have training experience in the business world AND I am currently an ESL teacher.

Next story. I responded to an ad for Gloria School in our local papers (Canada). I spoke to their local contact & told him right I wasn�t �white�. He, too, said that it would be a problem, so would my slight Brit lilt. He still suggested I send a picture to the Director of the school. Not a peep in response.

The guy from Dewey responded promptly, but I asked to contact a teacher in the school currently. My Managers (past & present) are ready to vouch for me, so it seems only fair. Not to mention all that you have to say above. Killian, I haven�t heard from him yet. Yes, please keep me posted on your progress.

Thanks again everyone.

Kate

[killian]

he stills seems eager to set up the interview. should i travel four hours to interview at a school offereing a poor contract? at firs tthey wanted a grade school teacher and now its changed to kindergarten. hmmm. while the guy seems earnest, his profit is a kilogram of my flesh. don't sign any contract while still back home. lots of schools play fast'n loose with the translation. what it says in english ain't anywhere close to what the chinese says. you can guess which one takes legal precedence. such is kinda moot, because the vast majority of employers in this field here have little intention of following up on the positive (for you) aspects of the written contract.

mighty oak: why use an agent? in all honesty, they are breakin' me down these taiwan laobans are. they are grinding all the happiness out of learning. they say anything to get you in the door and then rescind all your reasons for coming. quite frankly i am fatigued AND tired of reaching for pearls in a pile of pig excrement only to end up holding a cyst and fighting trichanosis. the guy in question has fifty or so jobs splashed out. he has the keys to many more access points than i can handle. maybe i'm getting lazy, but a more honest assessment is burn out and time for a long vacation is nigh. you know, three or four months out of here in a place where i am not merely a till to be emptied, an exploit to be drained and dumped. you are in the big city, right? i am the opposite. i am small-town. these folks know no end of trying to squeeze me. the vendor wanted 175 NT$ for a regular head of cabbage(that's about 5.00 US). this used to be quaint. ain't no more. the laobans are the same as the peasant vendors:squeeze. "oh you are a great teacher...you have been here four years...you speak chinese...the kids love you...ni hen huo po!...we'll pay you 500 an hour...oh, sorry no health card...no tax receipt...oh you want to go home because your grandmother died? three days is more than enough"...et al ad nauseum.

ain't nothing new. confucius 'n me, yeah we are in the same horse cart. he was constantly in search of an enlightened king. yeah, diogenese and me are campin' in the came culvert holding out the lit lamp in the light of day looking for an honest man. as you know, the process beats you down. its a death trap, its a suicide rap. i didn't get out when i was young so laowai like us baby, baby we were born to run...

perservere until you can perserver no more and then preservere some more.

someday that rare bird, an honest boss who is willing to be fair will be found. until then i'm spiritually with the rest of the cryptozoologist traipsing around new guinea in search of the tasmanian tiger.

keep up the good fight one and all.

[chi-chi]

Killian, between you and Capergirl I don't know what to think. Tough times?
(Capergirl was talking on another thread about how your employer can keep you from leaving.)
I know a lot of people hate Korea. I do. I've also worked in Taiwan before. I thought about coming back, (I'm currently in Korea) but these threads took me back to the bad memories that tell me for sure Japan instead.
It sounds like a lot of you worked in Korea during the IMF thing.
It's still a hellhole but gotten a lot better.
Actually it sounds like a lot of people are squeezing for pearls in Taiwan. Why. It's so much easier in Korea. Notice I said easier, but definitely not easy. If any posters who already have a name on here want info about it, pm me and I'll let you know the goods. The goods are not all that great but certainly sound better than what you guys are dealing with.
It sounds like Taiwan is hell, Korea, purgatory.
Damn. And to think I was actually thinking about coming back.
I am certainly familiar with the squeeze thing that Killian mentioned, and also familiar with Dewey.-Hence the post recommending purgatory above hell.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still glad I went to Taiwan.
The experience taught me well when dealing with the wanjaneems in Seoul, who are generally easier to get back at when they are trying to get you than the Taiwanese/

[chi-chi]

Ok it won't let me edit so sorry about the double post.
The thread where I'm citing Capergirl is "want to quit Hess".
Wow.