Hi all,
I'm in the Middle East and I put out a message on a forum asking for some advice on how to find some work teaching English to adults. One response I received was from someone who seems to be a franchise of the Helen Doron Early English centers. He initial email was very kind and mentioned that the center has a small group of teachers that teach to children and teenagers but I was welcome to send a resume. I responded by thanking him for contacting me and saying that I would polish my resume and get it to him within the next few days. What followed was a highly aggressive email along the lines of "call XXX at YYY. Polish your resume later. We don't have time to waste. A course is starting very soon."

I have since done a little research on the centers and my understanding is that it's basically a franchise deal - they train you in their method and then you're expected to either work for one of the franchises or open your own. The courses cost money (quite a bit, from what I've been able to find out). My understanding is that this isn't a scam but just a franchise and more of a pro-sales approach to teaching.

Even before I did the research, the red flags were up at this guy's extremely aggressive attitude. I let him know I was not interested because it isn't what I'm looking for (since it's not teaching adults). But I'm just curious if my instincts are right about them.

Anyone have experience with the HD centers and/or franchises? I just don't want to miss a good opportunity if it's entirely legit and the guy was just being needlessly aggressive :-).

Djuna