Thailand, the sick man of ASEAN
Postbox letter from Russell
I relocated to Vietnam to see if the grass was any greener over there. Whilst I was in Vietnam at the beginning I wrote an article saying what a breath of fresh air it was from the idiocy of Thailand. But after one year I came to realize the grass was not that green after all.
New teacher scam alert
Be on your guard for anyone asking for an interview fee
We removed a bogus job ad from the ajarn.com job listings today for an international school in Bangkok. The job ad had unfortunately been on-line for several days and was offering attractive salaries of 50k plus. The scammer had gone to considerable trouble and even included the name of the actual person responsible for hiring teachers at the school.
TOEIC and other tests
Postbox letter from Dr John Smith
There is a lot of debate regarding the TOEIC testing for non-native English speakers and in my opinion it is a double edged sword and cuts both ways.
Teacher of the week
Put yourself in Thailand's biggest TEFL shop window
Having trouble finding a teaching job? Just arrived and having no luck opening doors? Send us your photo and a resume and we'll do our best to put your name up there in lights.
Another demo lesson fiasco
Postbox letter from Lauren
I had a similar situation where I attended an interview with a reputable agency and was sent to do a demo lesson at one of their schools (not the school they needed a new teacher for). I was told to give a 40-minute demo from a book.
A lack of professionalism
Postbox letter from Tommy
I recently went for a job interview and was shocked by the lack of professionalism shown by a school with a good reputation. I was applying for a math teacher position and I have had experience teaching maths to Mattayom 1 and 2
Who does my job ad appeal to?
What can you do when filling your teacher vacancies becomes impossible?
If you've been around teacher recruitment in Thailand for as long as I have, then you'll know that by insisting on too many requirements, a school is narrowing its field down to almost non-existent
Let go of the past
Postbox letter from Mike
Stories where teachers and teaching agencies have come into conflict are all too common and allegations (on both sides) are difficult to prove/substantiate. Also, there are always two sides to every story.
Choosing the right employer
The joys of working for a teacher agency
I wouldn't say I have a "horror story" per se, but rather a three-ringed circus. I found the whole ordeal quite amusing for the most part, although the never getting paid on time or the correct amount, along with the constant harassing emails from whom I can only assume to be a mentally imbalanced employer did get a bit tiresome by the end.
Interview oddballs
Some of the stranger folks I've come across during interview procedures
One applicant that I won't forget was a certain Mr G. Glitter who applied for a primary school homeroom teacher position in 2006 and claimed to 'love working with kids'. The application came complete with a picture of the glam rocker in full 1970s rock regalia
