It’s an exciting time when you are offered a TEFL job, but it can be difficult to know if a job offer is legitimate.
Most job sites do not have any vetting process for the job advertisements on their site.
We cannot screen all advertisers as we receive so many (although we do remove and ban them if we get a report of an issue). Please let us know if you have reason to suspect that an advert or organisation is not legitimate, and we will investigate.
The T & Cs on our job site say:
“Our internship/volunteer opportunities and the jobs posted on our jobs board are provided by third parties. Although we will endeavour to assist students to the best of our ability, we can accept no liability for the actions or conduct of any third party organisation.”
There are a number of characteristics of a good TEFL job that you can look out for but, possibly more importantly, there are a few warning signs you should be on the lookout for of jobs that you want to avoid.
The following situations should make you reconsider your application.
If the employer asks for money
If a school asks you to send them money to pay for your visa or for an application fee, think twice. You wouldn’t pay money to get any other job, would you? TEFL is no different.
If it sounds too good to be true
It usually is. Again, we follow this reasoning in all other aspects of our lives, and so we should when it comes to our TEFL jobs. Job offers with unbelievable packages AND ridiculous salaries are probably not what they seem. As much as you may want to believe it’s true, be realistic and try to judge the offer objectively.
If the advertisement is written in poor English
This is not a dig against non-native speakers. Any school worth its salt will be able to have their job ad either written or proofread by a genuine English teacher or native speaker.
What can you do if you think a job advert is not legit?
The first thing to remember is that there is no need to rush into anything. If anyone pressures you to make a decision then you probably don’t want to work there anyway. Take some time and make sure you know what you are getting into. A simple Google search can help you find out if the school has a suspect reputation or if it even exists.
Have a look at their website, Facebook page or Twitter account and see if anything looks amiss. Also examine their email account to make sure it is an official email account and not just a free one that anyone can sign up for.
As a further step, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask the school for a reference. There is no reason why they shouldn’t give you the details of a TEFL teacher who is working there or who has worked there. Then you can get in touch and find out for yourself what the deal is.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of scammers out there in the TEFL world. No matter how savvy you think you are, it can be very easy to fall prey to scammers simply because you are desperate for a job and you want to believe what you read.
Making yourself aware of the different scams will help prevent you from signing up for an illegitimate job.
Read more: TEFL Scams And How To Avoid Them