I am writing to warn other teachers about the web site . While I acknowledge that they have a good selection of ads from employers around the world, what they don’t tell you is that they work on behalf of the employers, not the teachers. When you register with them and fill out a resumé, they will ask you to indicate what countries you are interested in. They then send out a letter to all employers from that country telling the employers that you are interested in their positions. Thus, even though I am only looking for preschool/kindergarten ESL positions, my mailbox is filled with spam from recruiters and schools seeking teachers at all levels. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if their letter didn’t indicate that I initiated the contact.

To make matters worse, the person I complained to at SeriousTeachers, whose signature line said “Lisa Chadwick, Marketing Director,” but whose email address was <samantha@seriousteachers.com>, denied that her company ever sent out emails without my specifically applying for a position. I can send copies of the emails that SeriousTeachers sent out, as well as the series of emails from Lisa/Samantha to anyone who wants to see them. Finally, because I complained, Serious Teachers deleted my profile from their web site.

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I complain about poor service at a restaurant, I expect the management to fix the problem so that I can continue to enjoy being their customer. I do not expect the restaurant to tell me never to eat there again. However, Serious Teachers is obviously not interested in dealing with complaints. They are more concerned with protecting their reputation and denying that any problem exists.

Stay away from SeriousTeachers.com if you value your privacy and if you want to be in control of your job hunt.