Getting a job—Agency vs. self-placement: Part I

So let’s assume you’re certified and have your resume ready to go. Now how do you get a job?

There are a lot of organizations out there willing to place you in a teaching position, usually for a not-so-small fee. Bridge-Linguatec, for example, offers TEFL job placement for $620. Alliance Abroad offers job placement packages that include accomodations, meals and other necessities but cost a ton—$3300 to volunteer your services in Costa Rica for 13 weeks!

So, when I happened upon Footprints Recruiting, Inc., which claims to be “a FREE ESL Teacher Placement Agency,” I was both interested and suspicious. What’s the catch?

According to the website, there isn’t one. The company charges the employers a fee for sending qualified teachers to their schools, but does not take a portion of my wages nor charge me any hidden fees.

It offers placements in four continents (Asia, Europe, Africa or South America) and claims to offer lesson plan support, visa assistance, contract negotiations, country orientations and more!

This sounds great, especially considering the high price tag on other placement services. But, before I get sucked in to all the benefits listed on the company webpage, I better calm down and investigate it as thoroughly as I did the online TEFL providers.

I checked out the company’s Better Business Bureau record and found that it has had 0 complaints within the last 36 months. So far, so good.

I then looked for online forums and found a very helpful series of posts on Footprints Recruiting from TESall.com. One post says, “I've heard they are indeed reputable. My TESOL instructor recommended them, and i have a friend who is headed over to korea next week after dealing with them...”

Another post rants about “illegal hiring criteria,” upset by the fact that Footprints Recruiting “restricts their jobs to degree holders only even though the country or posting may not require a degree.” That doesn’t bother me, since a company or school is entitled to request whatever qualification it wants. It is not, in fact, illegal to do so. Actually, knowing that the company requires applicants to have a degree increases my confidence in the service. It indicates to me that qualifications supersede commissions.

I was starting to feel seduced by the promise of free and easy job placement when I came upon several very negative posts that really got me thinking, not just about Footprints Recruiting but about recruitment agencies in general. I’ll discuss my newly aroused reservations in tomorrow’s blog.

To be continued . . .