I know someone that is using an agent. She basically phones him and sets him up with Demos. Not jobs, demos for jobs. You might think, well it is an opportunity. But, these are demos for jobs that are advertised on Tealit as far as I can see.
So i am missing something or…she wants money for phoning up the ads and arranging a time for him to go and do a demo.
???
Just realised that i didnt explain that he has been here for years.
Agents get results.
[quote=“Dr. McCoy”]Agents get results.
[/quote]
This is true in that a recommendation is more valuable in Taiwan than anything on paper. It’s pretty understandable if you think about it, but also illogical because you’d think the employers would have sussed out the recruitment agents’ motives by now.
but in most cases it is a recommendation without merit. She has not seen him teach, she doesnt know him. madness!!!
How does that differ to recruiting someone from Tealit?
Often because people are used to the system in Japan and Korea where the recruiter process is more useful. Actually I just asked my boss(Taiwanese) tonight if she knew of any jobs locally for a friend, who has already been here ten years. She said using an agent would be the best thing to do.
I’ve done it in the past and found my first job in Taiwan this way. It’s just another way of finding a job.
Agents have connections, connections in Asia are awesome. That’s the added value you get from them agents.
Very sad,but so very true Pein-11.Not only in Teaching.Seems to be who you know,not what you know.I guess not just Asia.
I got my first job in Taiwan through an agent. I knew NOTHING about Taiwan. I’d never been on the internet before I came here.
It would have been impossible otherwise.
I didn’t have two cents to rub together. If I’d just arrived here looking for a job, I would have been sorely defeated by the terror of culture shock and the indiscretion of unscrupulous management.
I was ripped off for the first three months, but considered it par for the course. I had a roof over my head, a steady job and was starting to earn more than I had ever done, prior.
I wised up later.
It’s easy to tell newbies that they should walk the streets and canvass for jobs. Some may not have the means, though. An agent is oft an expensive yet convenient way to curtail the potential horror that is FOBness. 
Very sad,but so very true Pein-11.Not only in Teaching.Seems to be who you know,not what you know.I guess not just Asia.[/quote]
Yes, not only Asia, seems to be norm in some family/group oriented cultures as Latin cultures have that “I know a person” thing too, not as strong as “guanxi” though IMO.
(Oh, and just Pein works fine)
[quote=“jimipresley”]
It’s easy to tell newbies that they should walk the streets and canvass for jobs. Some may not have the means, though. An agent is oft an expensive yet convenient way to curtail the potential horror that is FOBness. [/quote]
Well, like you said, it was expensive, but you had a job and a roof in a country you barely knew anything about… to me its not that bad of a deal.
They don’t want you to escape the Matrix.
The guy i am talking about has been here for years. i understand people fresh off the boat using them.
I used one I returned to Taiwan after being here four years too. I just saw it as another way to find a job although I actually ended up getting one through tealit.
Agents often email lists of jobs. It’s simply another source of finding out what’s available.
An elderly ex-co worker used one and found a job through one after being her over ten years.
Ok, maybe a good resource. But…paying them 20% of your wage for two months. RIP OFF
The agent should be getting money from the school, not the teacher.