Ask Headmaster Ken

Dear Ken et al,

I'm being offered a teaching job at a high school in Tongling through Teach in China at epochcommunity @ yahoo.com. I've had a verbal interview with them, but not the school directly yet. They haven't asked for $, and seems legit, but I've been scammed before and can't be too careful. It's still in the early stages, and I haven't gotten a letter of invitation yet, or any work permit application, but I wonder if anyone knows of this recruiter or anything about the city of Tongling.

Thanks for your helpful site.

Babs

Hi Babs,

Recruiters in China change their names all the time, especially if there have been numerous complaints posted about them.

The e-mail address you listed suggests to us that this may be an agency owned and operated by the infamous Leslie Dong of the Epoch Recruitment Agency. Hers is the only recruitment agency that we specifically warn our readers about by name. See Warning About Recruiters.

Unless you anticipate having considerable difficulty finding a job teaching English in China on your own, e.g., due to age or some other issue, we suggest that you don’t use a recruiter or agency to find employment. It is best to deal directly with the school you are interested in.

As for Tongling itself, we don’t have any specific information about that city other than it is located in Anhui province, one of the poorer areas in China. Consequently, there will most likely be greater cultural adjustment demands that you will have deal with. Your best bet is to insist that you be allowed to communicate with both current and former teachers at the school in order to get a good sense of what you can expect.

Best of luck,

Ken