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Legit recruiting agencies for Thailand?

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Jennad

Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Posts: 31
Location: San Diego

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:37 pm Post subject: Legit recruiting agencies for Thailand?

Just looking for a legit recruiting agency to help me find a decent job in Thailand. Just exploring my options and want to see what kind of jobs are out there. Any recommendations?

tttompatz

Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:55 pm Post subject: Re: Legit recruiting agencies for Thailand?

Jennad wrote:

Just looking for a legit recruiting agency to help me find a decent job in Thailand. Just exploring my options and want to see what kind of jobs are out there. Any recommendations?

There are none.

Seriously, watch for the job ads and stay away from recruiters and agencies.
Apply directly to the schools or academies of choice.

Be aware that virtually no-one will take you seriously until you are actually IN Thailand.

Jobs (certainly not decent jobs) are typically not found from abroad or interviewed over the internet. You will need to be in country to land the job but you can certainly look at what is out there and give prospective employers a "heads up" on your planned arrival and schedule an interview.

MOD EDIT
.

plumpy nut

Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:03 am Post subject:

Apec or Oriental English (the same company). I have never heard of anybody being messed around with by this company. During the flood they even fronted one of their workers money untill his paycheck came in. I think though, they require people to have a degree. I would avoid Job Pro, you'll get payed but they tend to be shysters.

MaiPenRai

Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 7:37 am Post subject:

Quote:

There are none.

Sorry but this is just not true. In fact, most of the recruiting companies in Thailand ARE legit, at least from the side of the teacher/company. A new one called "a color plus the most vital organ in your chest" seems to be charging people for job placements and also paying sub-standard wages. Be wary. Unless you are signing up for a TEFL course with guaranteed job/intern placement (ATI or TEFL international, etc.), you should NEVER pay up front for a TEFL job even if they claim to be NON-profit or volunteer. Many Non-profit companies still pay themselves salaries and often pay themselves big salaries that eat up what would be the profit for the company.

Quote:

Seriously, watch for the job ads and stay away from recruiters and agencies.

Once AGAIN, recruiting companies are a good choice for some people as long as they realize what they are going to get.

Reasons why people choose to use recruiters/placements companies

1. Don't have the time, money, energy and/or know-how to find work on their own.
2. Want the security of having a job lined up before uprooting their lives.
3. Want to try something different than Bangkok/big tourist city and/or prefer living in a more rural setting.
4. Don't want to worry about the hassles of visas/work permits/etc.
5. Are older (55+ plus), are not a native speaker, are not white (sorry but true).

Reasons why school use recruiters/placement companies.

1. Don't have the time, energy, people and/or know-how to recruit their own foreign teachers.
2. Don't have the time, energy, people and/or know-how to deal with hassles of dealing with foreign teachers which includes visas and work permits.
3. Senior staff or directors have a connection to an agency and want to be about to "scratch each other's backs" (i.e. kick-backs)

Reasons why recruiting/placement agencies exist:

1. It's a business and a good way to earn a living.
2. They have connections with schools and/or immigration/government ministries and want to take advantage of that.

Most placement companies will have positions in more rural settings. Often these schools have a lack of resources and/or facilities. Class sizes are often large (40-50). Salaries are often in the middle (25-35,000 baht/month). Schools often hire companies to keep the teachers in line, so expect companies to put pressure on teachers to adapt to Thai culture, be involved with the school, be friendly with Thai teachers, be professional in and out of school, etc.

If your placement agency does not provide you with accommodation or at least an accommodation allowance AND provide you with the necessary paperwork to get your visa, work permit and extensions (shared cost at a minimum), then they are nearly pointless. The bigger and better companies DO this and usually do it well assuming the teachers also DO their job and have the required paperwork. You should also expect to be paid on time.

I am sure that there are some smaller companies that have screwed over a couple teachers, but its hard to last long when you do this as word spreads quickly. There are also many times that teachers blog about being treated unfairly, BUT they fail to tell the whole story.

The most common comment about placement companies is that they are keeping salaries low. The truth is that they may be keeping the salaries higher than if many government schools recruited on their own. In order to pay for companies to recruit, the schools use government money (set amount provided for NES teachers) but a large portion of the money paid to companies (and then on to teachers) comes from the parents of the students. This is not dissimilar to parents back home having fundraisers in order to pay for the football teams expenses or the band trip because the government doesn't cover enough of it. Remember, like the band trip, schools don't have to hire foreign teachers.

The difference is that part of this money often finds its way into the pockets (in one form or another) of the senior staff and directors of the school in exchange for choosing the particular company. Part of it is profit for the company, BUT BUT BUT, part of it also goes to the teacher's salary, the costs of recruiting teachers, the costs of setting up visas and work permit, accommodation costs for teachers, training costs, travel expenses for admin of company to deal with issues, visas, work permits, paperwork, accomm, etc. Yes, these companies can earn a good living, but they are not usually driving around in Benzs and living in mansions.

The truth is that the companies act as a buffer for the schools. The agency can act as the fall guy if needed. Importantly, many schools would not ask the parents for more money directly, but the company provides essentially a "middleman". Now if the company provides a visa, work permit, accom and salary or whatever else is agreed upon, then the role of middleman can be helpful for both sides involved.

The schools that I have seen go from using an agency to recruiting on their own have rarely raised their salaries (and if they did, it was rather insignificant, 1-2,000 baht more). In fact, many have lowered their salaries.

I am not arguing the morality of this as a business or even the legality of the "tea money" that is often involved between the schools and agencies. I am arguing that if the teachers get what they agree from the agencies, then how is it not legit for the teachers.

BTW, for anyone unfamiliar with Thailand, "tea money" or "under the table" money/gifts is extremely common and accepted by many throughout the country. Again, I am not saying it is right or the best way to do things. BTW this kind of sales tactic happens all over the world. Take the director/president/owner out for dinner, golf and on a little holiday and in exchange you get that contract. make a little "donation" to the director's wife's favorite charity and in exchange you get that contract extension.

I have had years of experience working with and for different placement companies in Thailand so I speak with knowledge on the subject.

If you want to get upset, get upset at the director's of the schools who usually DO drive around in benzs, live in large houses, and usually don't have the first clue about education.

PM me for the names of a couple of the larger and established placement agencies.

Best of luck!

Nuolan

Joined: 08 Nov 2008
Posts: 36
Location: Thailand

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 12:48 pm Post subject:

Maipenrai, could you email me that list? I don't have a high enough post count to send PMs. nojohnso(at)gmail . Com Thanks!

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