The International Schools Review Forum

Hello! Can anyone tell me about this company? I'm thinking about signing up for the job fair in Houston but have never heard of them before. Any advice?

Its a jobs service, that recruiters post X number of vacancies and the service tries to fill classrooms. Its essentially EAP.

Hello Psyguy, what's an EAP? I was wondering if anyone could recommend it or not. Has anyone been to the fair or been hired through the company? Thanks!

@LibbyA

EAP = English for Academic Purposes. Its essentially providing English language instruction through the vehicle of traditional study of academic subjects.

I would not recommend them.

I might be slightly naive here, but can I ask why you wouldn't? : )

Libby, because the schools they recruit for are more language academies than schools. They are not representing schools you would find at the larger job fairs, so the schools you are going to would be "international", but you might not enjoy them very much.

To give you an idea, I have frequently been a tourist in countries (including my recent break) where I drive by many "international" schools - but I have never heard of them, have never had friends work at them, have never had them come up in any conversations, have never met any other international teachers who worked at them. And I've been in international education quite awhile.

Those are most likely the schools that will be represented by this company.

Just my two halalas.

Shad

Many thanks, Shad!

I don't have any firsthand experience with the organization, but I am under the impression that some of these answers are a bit outdated at this point. When I was living in Mexico a few years ago, Teachers Latin America was mostly for filling ESL jobs. From what I've heard, it's expanded to include a lot of accredited schools. The website for the hiring fair says that it pulls from ASOMEX and AACSA, which includes all the big international schools in Mexico and Central America.

Of course, the website does not specify WHICH schools from ASOMEX and AACSA it is pulling from, which is kind of weird. So you might end up getting a job at the American School of Pachuca or some other city you've never heard of.

Also, a quick search showed me that ASF Mexico City and ASF Monterrey are going to the Teachers Latin America fair, at least according to their websites. I wonder though if they will do more recruiting at the bigger, more established fairs.

@LibbyA

Short Answer: They dont care about you.

Long Answer: Their client is the IS, and they service ISs that have no reputation, poor reputations are are various types of bilingual English programs. They dont care about your well being just getting you into a classroom so they can get their fee.
An agency should provide two types of service placement services and advisory services. Their advice will be that whatever IS they steer you towards is 1) Great 2) Ideal for your skills, background, personality, etc.. It really doesnt matter they just want tobank the contract and move on.
When there is a problem, these types of agencies just shut down the website, and spawn a new site. If you have an issue with something they will not help you outside of pointing you to a website or to your ISs leadership.

About 8 years ago I was travelling in Mexico and stopped for a month in DF. I met and got to know the guy that setup Teachers Latin America. It is correct to say that they have many contacts for positions in language schools and teaching business classes around various cities. He set me up with one of these jobs so I could stay in Mexico City for a while.

However, it is not fair to say that they will just leave you on your own and then disappear. I had a few problems with one language school and he found me another job within a week. When I finally decided to stay in Mexico, he again set me up with a great school that offered a good package. It wasn't a 1st tier school, but it was a great school to work at. Again, he got that interview for me within one week of chatting with him, and I stayed at that school for a few years before travelling again.

I will add on top of that, the managing director (Guy) is a great guy and often helps out new teachers in Mexico.

@ihoward

They didnt help you, they didnt defend you with your issue, they just collected a fee for another placement. Thats no more "help" than it is "help" for each and every applicant that they place, its their business model and plan 'put teacher in classrooms, collect placement fee'. Thats not helping, thats the job. They placed you in three ISs, they collected three fees from those ISs. Theres no altruism in that scenario.

@PsyGuy

I appreciate that I am new here, and maybe your way of approaching a subject is different, but I actually know the guy and have spent time with him and his family. I have been to many teacher social gatherings in Mexico City and he has also been there sharing info and helping people out. He has many friends that are teachers in Mexico, he also has many contacts throughout Latin America, a network that is pretty useful for all. Everyone has to earn a living, so what is your point? some people are very helpful and stick to their word, he is one of the good people in the world of teaching.

Do you have any personal experience you would like to share about them?

I'm sharing my personal experience, and like I said, I think it is unfair to make such huge accusations about someone you obviously don't know at all.
And no...He collected no fee for arranging the the interview at the school. You know how I know that, because I was sat in his apartment having a beer with him, and his wife, when he called a friend at the school. The friend was a teacher at the school who had a word with his director.

@ihoward

"sharing Information and helping people out" = Networking thats how businesses and consultants brand themselves. Answer some questions, be friendly when they want to hire you (meaning finding them a job) they come to you and then you get paid.

"Many Friends that are Teachers, and contacts throughout Mexico" = This also networking its how you build ta client base, and as your clients transition they become contacts in his network. I have many students who know many other students, its called FaceBook and those contacts are 'friends' and those friends give them likes.

Yeah he didnt collect a fee for the interview, thats part of the business plan, he collected a placement fee when you were hired. he could have just as easily been in his office or anywhere else and make a business phone.

@PsyGuy

Really? well I never knew what networking was, thank you for such wonderful information and the lesson. People make a living from being teachers, admin, management, teacher trainers, consultants, recruiters, agents, support etc etc etc what point are you trying to make?
To have quick access to a network is a huge advantage for someone new in a country. This is especially true for Mexico, where often the best jobs are found through others. Sometimes it is the second or third job in a country that is the best fit for a person, after they have adapted to the culture, and learnt about the different schools through friends.


1. PsyGuy "Their client is the IS, and they service ISs that have no reputation, poor reputations are are various types of bilingual English programs"

2. PsyGuy "They dont care about your well being just getting you into a classroom so they can get their fee. It really doesnt matter they just want tobank the contract and move on"

3. PsyGuy "When there is a problem, these types of agencies just shut down the website, and spawn a new site"

4. PsyGuy "If you have an issue with something they will not help you outside of pointing you to a website or to your ISs leadership."


Do you have anything to backup any of these claims? maybe your experience there was different? want to share your experience with us?

1. I know that they work with some of the best schools in Mexico, I lived there for years. They also work with language schools, business English companies (which is huge in Mexico City) and very small schools all across Latin America. Some teachers want to head out to a small town, immerse themselves in culture, and are willing to sacrifice to gain that experience. Others may want access to good lower tier schools, and a smaller percentage of teachers can get into top tier schools. I have met highly qualified teachers that really just want to hang out, teach business classes for a while, and enjoy Mexico City without the pressures of school.

2. They have a business to run, what is your problem with that?
To imply that they don't care about teachers is unfair unless you have something to back it up. They do care, I know Guy personally, he is a great guy and really enjoys life in Mexico and the world of teaching.

3. Guy has been in Mexico for years, he gets invites to be a guest speaker at various places, he was a teacher trainer for years, supporting education is his career. He has never ran away once, never spawned a new site, he is well known and an easy person to find.

4. Issues can happen anywhere in the world for many reasons. Bad fit with management, cultural problems, issues with clients, personality clashes, teacher doesn't fit into the team, many many reasons.
If you have an issue, they will be there and help you find another job quickly, that is what they do. That's what you need from an agent, so you don't get stuck in a country without a job.


Anyway, i'm not here to argue with you, I joined to check out information for Asia where i'm living.

So I will leave it now but ask a simple question.
Do you have any experience of working with Guy and his company?