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We always say at TravelBud that while we help you find a job teaching English Abroad, we are not a recruitment company. So, what do we mean? What is a recruitment company exactly? And, how is TravelBud different? Let’s explore these differences to help you decide the best route to go for you.
Commissions and Bias
TravelBud don’t get paid any commissions from schools. So here a recruiter might be free to use, at TravelBud we charge a support fee which covers a range of services from TEFL courses to thorough and valuable cultural orientation to complete, personal walkthroughs on organising your documents for your trip, interview prep, personalised support and 24/7 in-country support throughout your placement.
Not earning a commission also allows us to be objective – we, and our partners, carefully vet schools based on things like the experience past teachers have had there, on pay for teachers and on softer things reliability and communicativeness. Not having to think about who’s paying us the most, means we can focus on who gives our customers the best experience.
Not just a job
Like I mentioned above, a recruiter is simply responsible for presenting you as a possible candidate for a job, their client is the school and they’re going to pick out candidates who are easiest to place quickly.
So, if you’re someone who’s trying to find out more about the experience, looking for a decent TESOL course, figuring out finer details about living in a particular country or comparing different opportunities across multiple countries, you’re probably not going to be a recruiter’s first choice. They’re after someone who knows exactly what, where and how they want to do their teach abroad stint and get them over ASAP.
Our orientations prepare you for unique cultural differences you’ll experience and how you’ll overcome them. In Thailand you could spend some time learning about the relationship the locals have with street dogs.
With TravelBud you’re paying for a whole lot more. The people you speak to here have actually taught abroad before, they understand the stresses of moving overseas to work.
They understand that it’s an anxious and life-changing decision and they’re committed to walking you through the process to make sure that you’re prepared so that you’re the exact candidate a potential school will snatch up in a heartbeat.
We’ve built a reputation for sending top-quality and well-prepared participants, not because they arrive at our door (so to speak) being fully prepared, but because we take the time to prepare them.
Guaranteed job placement
As part of our teach abroad programs, we guarantee you job placement. This means we only take payment for the program enrolment fee once we’re 100% sure we can get you a job.
This contrasts with recruiters who will take on candidates in the hope of finding a placement because at the end of the day, if they can’t find you something they just say sorry and move on to the next applicant.
Interview prep
For certain programs like the public school program for teaching English in South Korea, you’ll need to be interviewed by government recruiters who have very strict guidelines for who they accept based on precisely how prepared the applicant is and exactly how they word their answers.
Aside from learning to make traditional Korean meals on your orientation there, the team will help prep you for your interview long in advance of arriving in the country.
For those approaching those recruiters directly, the acceptance rate hovers around the 35% mark, the vast majority of applicants simply aren’t accepted.
With our in-country partners who prepare you for the precise interview questions you’ll face with the exact choice of words you should use, through the use of mock interviews with critiques and feedback, their many years of experience raises the acceptance rate to between 90 and 95% for applicants who come through TravelBud.
And, in South Korea, even if you fall within the 5% who don’t get accepted to the public school program, we’ll get you placed, according to our guarantee at a private language institution.
A buffer against culture shock
Moving abroad, even to another English-speaking country is difficult, now imagine doing that in a country where the language and the writing are different, not to mention the many finer details of getting through everyday life.
Our teach abroad programs include cultural orientation which covers everything from opening bank accounts to language lessons to history lessons and fun excursions to experience things unique to your destination. This all helps you settle in with the minimum of culture shock.
While the cold may get to you in the Korean winter, your orientation will help you deal with all the cultural uniquenesses of living in this unusual country.
Another thing which helps is the network of other teachers you meet, you’ll make friendships you can draw on in times of need later on in your teaching contract.
You’ll be added to Facebook groups where you can ask questions of other experienced teachers and you’ll have a team on standby in the country dedicated to helping you out in a tricky situation, minor or major!
Read reviews of past teachers we’ve placed to get an idea of our level of support. Drop us a mail or give us a call to speak directly to our experienced enrollments coordinators.
Interested in Teaching English abroad? We’ll send you more info!
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