Should You Use a Recruiter for ESL Jobs?-TeachDiscoverChina

Should You Use a Recruiter for ESL Jobs?

06 Aug 2024

Searching for a job in any industry is bound to raise your stress levels, never mind the added factor of moving to a whole new country with whole new language and culture. With the higher stakes, everything must be right before you accept a position, sign on the dotted line, and purchase your flight tickets. Especially for newbie TEFL teachers or first-timers in China, there’s plenty of good reasons to use a recruiter as they know the industry like the back of their hand. Today we are going to explore just why you should consider using a recruiter for your ESL job search.

Best Practices

Firstly, before we go any further, you might be wondering why we are asking the question that forms the title of this article. Well unfortunately like in any industry, there are a few bad apples that give everyone a bad rep. When considering using a recruiter, here’s what to watch out for.

*How long has the recruitment company been in business?

*Are their emails and messages professionally written?

*Are they using generic email addresses or a company email e.g. our emails use the suffix @teachdiscoverchina.com

*How well do they treat you or their teachers?

*Do they provide good testimonials from their previous teachers? Find ours here

*Never pay any upfront fee – Most recruiters will not charge this

*Do their job listings provide legal work (Z) visa? All ESL jobs in China should come with a legal work visa

5 Reasons Why you Should Use a Recruiter to find your dream TEFL Job!

1.) Strong Network of Schools

Recruiters have dedicated their time and effort into making strong connections with many different types of schools. TeachDiscoverChina is no different. An integral part of the Sichuan Education Association for International Exchange (SEAIE), run under the leadership and guidance of the Education Department of the Province - we have access to and have created a strong network of public and private schools from kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, colleges to universities. We keep connected with our schools each day to make sure we have the most up-to-date positions and are always looking for new schools to help too. For any TEFL job seekers, our trusted resources are definitely worth making use of.

2.) Let Recruiters do the all the work

Instead of spending hours finding vacancies which might be a good fit, researching the company/school, and submitting you CV and materials for multiple jobs, let recruiters handle the whole process whilst you sit back with a cocktail in hand and wait for the email notification to pop up. All we require from you is your latest CV, a short introduction video, and your job preferences, then our industry experts will do the rest and try to find the most suitable vacancy for you.

3.) Schools don’t have time to advertise

Some TEFL job seekers prefer to be hired directly by the school, however most often the case is that the schools just don’t have the time to advertise themselves and don’t know the best channels where to advertise. That’s why many schools rely on recruiters like us. Many of the open TEFL job vacancies are only available via recruiters because recruiters are providing a service and assistance to the schools. So potentially if you consider not using a recruiter there would be many great options you’d be missing out on. You just need to know which recruiters are safe to use.

4.) Advice and Support

As well as matching you to the most suitable school vacancies and setting up interviews, recruiters can provide a lot of assistance and advice. Here at TeachDiscoverChina especially, we’ve been helping place and manage international teachers for nearly three decades, so our expert consultants know the TEFL industry inside and out. We know moving to the other side of the world is a big deal, so we’ll be there to offer support and guidance. Not to mention we will also assist you throughout the visa process, so you know exactly what materials you need, what you need to do, and when you need to do it. Generally, if you are hired directly with school, you’ll be one of a few foreign teachers there, or maybe even by yourself – but as we have many foreign teachers each intake, we organise meetups for our teachers once or twice every semester so they can get to know one another and share their experiences.

5.) No fees – free service

Most trusted or reputable recruitment companies don’t charge their teachers any fees at all, and we are the same. Many recruitment companies will charge a fee from the school instead. This means you get our service, expertise and knowledge all for free. Therefore, it is absolutely in our best interest to make sure you find the job that you want and ultimately that our schools are happy with hiring you. Nothing makes us more pleased than seeing both our teachers and schools satisfied.

Conclusion

So that’s It from us today. If you’ve ever been against using or hesitated to use a recruiter, we hope that this is article has given you some food for thought. Just follow the best practices to find a secure and reliable one. Better still TeachDiscoverChina is right in front of you, apply for your dream TEFL job today, send your CV and short introduction video to [email protected]. One of our consultants will be in touch get to know more about your job preferences. In the meantime, if you do have any questions, feel free to get in touch by email.

Chengdu has been awarded the title of ‘China’s Happiest City’ for 14 consecutive years. Each year a national poll is conducted featuring more than 10 million people from across the country, ranking cities based on indicators such as income, quality of life, tourism, employment, environment, public security, education, and transport. Although 10 million is a tiny fraction of the country’s overall population, there must be some truth in the survey as Chengdu keeps ranking top annually. Thus ‘Happy City’ has become an important name card of the city and is certainly a great feather in Chengdu’s cap and has been used to boost its tourism. As the latest first-tier city in China, Chengdu is developing rapidly and becoming more and more international. It is becoming more widely known by both people in China and abroad. Let’s look into reasons why Chengdu is considered the happiest in the middle kingdom. According to the classical definition of urban happiness one aspect of a city’s happiness can be recognized and perceived from a city’s identity. There’s no doubt that Chengdu has its own identity. When you think of Chengdu, you think about the pleasures of spicy Sichuan Cuisine, the cute pandas, the leisurely and relaxed pace of life, the teahouses, mahjong, Sichuan Opera, the emblematic Hibiscus flowers, the Gingko Trees in the Autumn, and the song by Zhao Lei named after the city itself. The city and the word ‘Chengdu’ conjures up a special feeling so definite and pure that it must be experienced. As the economic and technological hub of southwestern China, Chengdu provides an excellent standard of living for its more than 20 million population, for locals and foreigners alike. More and more people are coming to Chengdu to work, live and study, from other parts of China and from around the world. One reason is the property prices is a lot lower here than compared to other tier one cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. You can rent two apartments in Chengdu for the price of one in those other major cities. Big companies move their offices and operations to Chengdu because of the lower rent fees. Chengdu also boasts convenient and excellent transport links, and along with other major metropolises now has two international airports since 2021 with the opening of Tianfu International Airport to join Shuangliu Airport. Not to mention its modern metro system with the first line opening in 2010, now with 12 lines, and still expanding. There’s a metro station literally ever 15/20 minutes away so you will never get lost - taking you to and from many notable tourist attractions in the city, to the Chengdu Panda Base, Chunxi Road, Tianfu Square, Jinli, Wide and Narrow Alleys, Wenshu Monastery, Dufu Cottage and Global Centre. Chengdu also offers great opportunity to explore wider Sichuan. When I first came to Chengdu over six years ago, I kept on hearing about this slow, leaisurely and relaxed lifestyle that Chengdu has to offer. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like this during rush hour or when you’re working. But after several years of being here I’ve found that this lifestyle is born from the city’s culture: Sichuan cuisine is world renowned, known for its spiciness, but also has plenty of other flavours, and brings undeniable joy to the city’s inhabitants. Friends, families and colleagues like to slow down with a spicy hotpot or chuan chuan so they can eat and socialize at the same time. On weekends, you’ll find teahouses and mahjong parlours bustling with locals drinking Chinese tea, plentiful people relaxing in parks and by the riverside, gatherings on the side of streets playing cards or chess. At night the fashional youth let their hair down at bars and clubs with lively late night entertainment. During these times life seems to slow down and enjoyment is the focus. Now I see - people in Chengdu like to live life well. With more development to come, the future of Chengdu is promising. Is Chengdu the happiest city in China, well, you’ll need to come here to find out yourself. We have plenty of wonderful job opportunities in Chengdu and Sichuan, check out our jobs board via the folllwing link: https://www.teachdiscoverchina.com/index.php?m=&c=jobs&a=jobs_list If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email to [email protected]