List of Agencies and what you should know about them

[Taiwan_Student]

Some silly questions....

What does an agent really do? How does he help the schools and how does he help the job applicant.

I was brought here by a big chain. I got my other jobs by directly applying, until I got my open work permit.

What justifies the 20% or so percent?
As for the poster who was triple taxed taxed. There was definitely some fraud here and I do recommend you try to recover your loss.

1. You were working for two to three months with out an ARC. Though you should not be working with out an ARC, no one seems to mind. It turns out to be a little tax free income.

2. Technically you should not be working illegally, and even if you are working illegally, the tax office seems more concered if you pay taxes or not. If you were actually paying those taxes, please check your W2 Equivalent. Make sure that the tax money is actually going to the government.

My boss kept under-reporting my income and trying to keep the money. But, I made him give a hand written pay stub each payday and the numbers did not add up. You trump card is this.. return to me the money you took or, I will pop down to the tax office with my pay stubs and settle up my tax obligation. Ten to one .. agents will pop down and fine your boss for hiring illegally and not paying his share of the taxes.

That would be a good business if only I spoke and read Chinese. Shaking down agents who cheated clients.. but what could one charge. 20% or recovery.... ?

[steelersman]

Some silly questions....

What does an agent really do? How does he help the schools and how does he help the job applicant.

I was brought here by a big chain. I got my other jobs by directly applying, until I got my open work permit.

What justifies the 20% or so percent?
As for the poster who was triple taxed taxed. There was definitely some fraud here and I do recommend you try to recover your loss.

1. You were working for two to three months with out an ARC. Though you should not be working with out an ARC, no one seems to mind. It turns out to be a little tax free income.

2. Technically you should not be working illegally, and even if you are working illegally, the tax office seems more concered if you pay taxes or not. If you were actually paying those taxes, please check your W2 Equivalent. Make sure that the tax money is actually going to the government.

My boss kept under-reporting my income and trying to keep the money. But, I made him give a hand written pay stub each payday and the numbers did not add up. You trump card is this.. return to me the money you took or, I will pop down to the tax office with my pay stubs and settle up my tax obligation. Ten to one .. agents will pop down and fine your boss for hiring illegally and not paying his share of the taxes.

That would be a good business if only I spoke and read Chinese. Shaking down agents who cheated clients.. but what could one charge. 20% or recovery.... ?

I think agents are mainly used by schools that don't employ anyone with good English or are just too lazy to post ads for the position for themselves. I think that posting a job on Tealit would give you more candidates than hiring a agent if one is running a cram school.

[feliuscatuslady]

Does anyone know anything about Teach Taiwan? I am currently chatting with them about a potential job. I looked for reviews on them but I haven't found anything other than their facebook.

[minnow]

BEWARE OF Julie from ACI!

I came to Taiwan 5 years ago and went through ACI. I went to the offices of another recruiting agency they were dealing with. Anyways I signed a contract and for the first few months Julie's fee would be deducted from my pay. I was made to spend my Saturdays standing outside the school trying to get new students to enroll. UNPAID. Julie promised to help find me accommodation. That never happened. Once I signed the contract she pretty much disappeared. A year later a girl recognizes me on the street and tells me she remembers me from the office when I was signing the contract with ACI. She had since quit and told me what a horrible company it was. She said when I had walked in the office that first day, Julie had told them (in Chinese) that they could get a lot of money from me because my clothes and bag were really expensive brands, so I must have a lot of money.

She's two faced! No one needs a recruiter in Taiwan. Do it yourself.

[Chavvinawa]

The conclusion seems to be one must avoid agencies like the plague.

Now, a wee question for those who work in schools (state or private) rather than buxiban: Had you guys all done your teaching qualification, such as the PGDE/PGCE in the UK when you arrived in TWN in order to secure a contract with the school or perhaps with the local education authorities? I'm guessing the certification they require for teaching in a school is not a Tesol or even a Master's degree, right?

[Chavvinawa]

This is Julie with ACI. Quick clarification with ACI's restriction on age: we have worked with MANY teachers who are older than 35+, and the schools were very happy with them. So, we are not saying that teachers beyond the benchmark of 32 will not get hired, but it can be harder for them. This limit is more or less a guideline, and everyone has the passion and energy for teaching children is still welcome to apply.

Here is a reply to ageism.

DO NOT WORK FOR OR APPLY THROUGH AN AGENT.

Ouch! I'm in the "Can be harder for them" category. Gee, I feel old. There's no chance of me getting anything by the looks of things. I'm not a Canadian/US passport holder (I've got a British one); I've got a *mild* Scottish accent; I'm not white (born to Taiwanese parents). Send me to the knacker's yard, NOO!

[IvyWill]

BEWARE OF Julie from ACI!

I came to Taiwan 5 years ago and went through ACI. I went to the offices of another recruiting agency they were dealing with. Anyways I signed a contract and for the first few months Julie's fee would be deducted from my pay. I was made to spend my Saturdays standing outside the school trying to get new students to enroll. UNPAID. Julie promised to help find me accommodation. That never happened. Once I signed the contract she pretty much disappeared. A year later a girl recognizes me on the street and tells me she remembers me from the office when I was signing the contract with ACI. She had since quit and told me what a horrible company it was. She said when I had walked in the office that first day, Julie had told them (in Chinese) that they could get a lot of money from me because my clothes and bag were really expensive brands, so I must have a lot of money.

She's two faced! No one needs a recruiter in Taiwan. Do it yourself.

It seems she left ACI, but the key point is we need someone who work for me to get me the job as this can save a lot of time for me. I can do more things and it seems the total cost from me is 3% of my total income!!! That is really cheap! Can you image if you buy a food from convenient store, how much percentage the convenient store they will earn? Yes, I can cook, so sometimes I will cook at home and " only" cost me the material cost but most of the time, I will go to restaurant to eat and restaurant charge me more than 200%+ material cost!

Just like we only get 600NTD per hour for our teach, but language center got more than that! They might " earn" 2000 NTD per hour from tuition fee!! But, I wont build up a language center trying to "earn " more!

By the way, as I already spend a lot of upfront cost to fly to Taiwan, renting and a lot expense, that is really good for me as I can virtually " hire" someone who work for me and work for my best interest! And they told me that if I got fired from school, they will find a new one for me without additional cost! So, for me, this is like an insurance fee to secure my one year income! And that insurance fee is only 3%! Not mention save me a lot of transportation time and money!

[funkymonkey]

BEWARE OF Julie from ACI!

I came to Taiwan 5 years ago and went through ACI. I went to the offices of another recruiting agency they were dealing with. Anyways I signed a contract and for the first few months Julie's fee would be deducted from my pay. I was made to spend my Saturdays standing outside the school trying to get new students to enroll. UNPAID. Julie promised to help find me accommodation. That never happened. Once I signed the contract she pretty much disappeared. A year later a girl recognizes me on the street and tells me she remembers me from the office when I was signing the contract with ACI. She had since quit and told me what a horrible company it was. She said when I had walked in the office that first day, Julie had told them (in Chinese) that they could get a lot of money from me because my clothes and bag were really expensive brands, so I must have a lot of money.

She's two faced! No one needs a recruiter in Taiwan. Do it yourself.

It seems she left ACI, but the key point is we need someone who work for me to get me the job as this can save a lot of time for me. I can do more things and it seems the total cost from me is 3% of my total income!!! That is really cheap! Can you image if you buy a food from convenient store, how much percentage the convenient store they will earn? Yes, I can cook, so sometimes I will cook at home and " only" cost me the material cost but most of the time, I will go to restaurant to eat and restaurant charge me more than 200%+ material cost!

Just like we only get 600NTD per hour for our teach, but language center got more than that! They might " earn" 2000 NTD per hour from tuition fee!! But, I wont build up a language center trying to "earn " more!

By the way, as I already spend a lot of upfront cost to fly to Taiwan, renting and a lot expense, that is really good for me as I can virtually " hire" someone who work for me and work for my best interest! And they told me that if I got fired from school, they will find a new one for me without additional cost! So, for me, this is like an insurance fee to secure my one year income! And that insurance fee is only 3%! Not mention save me a lot of transportation time and money!

A recruiter pretending to be an English teacher. That was classic! Peddle your crap somewhere else.

[Pop Fly]

Does anyone know anything about Teach Taiwan? I am currently chatting with them about a potential job. I looked for reviews on them but I haven't found anything other than their facebook.

I know a few people that have been placed with them. By all accounts, they are very professional, not taking anything from the teacher and actually accompanying them on the interview. Mostly private schools from what I understand, so you'll need a teaching certification or an APRC/OWP.

ACI on the other hand does not vet its clients very well. I ended up taking a gig thru them a few years back and ended up having to sue the bastard they hooked me up with.

Stay away from Jenny Lai, cuz Jenny lies.

Footprints is good for n00bs if you want to work at The Big Yellow School Bux (KoJen). Again, no fees.

TET has apparently closed up shop. But before they did, they dropped their teacher fees, so input from flobsters, however aggressive, worked. I hope they make a comeback. They seemed like decent chaps.

Best recruiter for one's money is still Reach To Teach/Go Overseas.


Good luck to y'all.

[samkierana]

The thread is really helpful