Agencies - how to spot the bad ones
Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 3:17 am
Hi,
New to posting but been teaching overseas for about 6 years now. I should probably have figured this out already, but how can we spot the less than professional teacher recruitment agencies before investing too much time in building a portfolio?
I've had one positive experience of getting a great job in a top European School through an agency when I started out teaching overseas. I've had two very negative experiences, too. Took a job through an agency: employer turned out to be very shady; realised the agency were motivated only by filling spaces to collect their fees. Another agency put me forward for something that looked ok but wasn't really something I had that much hunger for. Then they neglected to tell me I'd been made an offer of employment until a deadline for response had passed. I'm not too bothered about the job - there would have been a few too many compromises involved if I'd taken it. Mostly, I'm annoyed at my time being wasted filling in forms, collecting up documents, etc. for nothing.
I've been going by gut instinct so far - if the person I'm dealing with seems trustworthy, or the website lists openings at 'good' schools, I go with it, thinking 'nothing to lose'. I'm in the process of registering with Search, if they'll accept me, based on their reputation.
What are the 'red flags' that give away the agencies to avoid?
New to posting but been teaching overseas for about 6 years now. I should probably have figured this out already, but how can we spot the less than professional teacher recruitment agencies before investing too much time in building a portfolio?
I've had one positive experience of getting a great job in a top European School through an agency when I started out teaching overseas. I've had two very negative experiences, too. Took a job through an agency: employer turned out to be very shady; realised the agency were motivated only by filling spaces to collect their fees. Another agency put me forward for something that looked ok but wasn't really something I had that much hunger for. Then they neglected to tell me I'd been made an offer of employment until a deadline for response had passed. I'm not too bothered about the job - there would have been a few too many compromises involved if I'd taken it. Mostly, I'm annoyed at my time being wasted filling in forms, collecting up documents, etc. for nothing.
I've been going by gut instinct so far - if the person I'm dealing with seems trustworthy, or the website lists openings at 'good' schools, I go with it, thinking 'nothing to lose'. I'm in the process of registering with Search, if they'll accept me, based on their reputation.
What are the 'red flags' that give away the agencies to avoid?