And though I had slain a thousand foes less one,
The thousandth knife found my liver;
The thousandth enemy said to me,
'Now you shall die,
Now none shall know.'
And the fool, looking down, believed this,
Not seeing, above his shoulders, the naked stars,
Each one remembering.
--John M. Ford, The Final Reflection

The Asylum Director

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"The only thing I was fit for was to be a writer, and this rested solely on my suspicion that I would never be fit for real work, and that writing didn't require any." - Russel Baker

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Place-Holder (Edit: EduNara Warning)

"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."
- Muhammad Ali

Note: Quote will likely be removed when the real post is put up.

Note 2: Normally, I wouldn't bother with something like this but...

[Quote] Hi... I was quite intrigued by your entry since I was looking for some background info on Edunara. I am currently working as a call center supervisor for a US company based in Makati and was planning to make a career move by teaching instead. I came across an ad in jobstreet for English Online Teachers and that's when I began to google Edunara.
Your instinct tells you that there is something weird or not right about them, can you expound on this? I am planning to dropby on Friday and pass my resume. I would appreciate some early warning advice though...[/Quote]

I'd like to begin by telling you that if you sign up there from a call center supervisor job, you're essentially cutting your finances in half or less. I was an agent and what they offered me as allowance during training (you see, you don't get "paid" until you hit the floor) isn't even close to what I earned. That's without night differential computed in the mix. From what I understood of the workload, you'll be doing twice what the typical customer service agent does. If money is even at all a consideration for you, don't go. Stay where you are.

Beyond that, there's daily eliminations. And I mean daily. Now, if you're working in a call center, you shouldn't have a problem with the requirements of being able to think-on-your-feet or with the English grammar and syntax but they'll nail you on pace. They seem highly particular about how fast you talk. I normally don't have a problem with this but when they ask you to slow down to a snail's pace. I felt as if they were asking me to dumb down or something. Maybe it won't for you but I got the impression that they were insulting my intelligence.

Something I felt highly suspicious about was the atmosphere of the place. I can't pin it down but something was very, very wrong about the place. This is one of those things you're better off seeing for yourself. I only lasted a day's worth of training before I decided it wasn't the right place for me. Apparently, I came to that conclusion a little late since most of my co-workers (and, rumor is, one supervisor) turned it down right after the orientation.

Again, I don't know if this'll be a factor for you but the work environment is drastically different. There's a stricness in the hierarchy to the point that they actually give you a list of titles to use when addressing specific ranks/superiors. Your calls to your students are tightly scheduled and if you're even a minute late, they will complain. Then again, I got the impression that these Koreans will complain about damn near every little thing.

While I never actually signed a contract with them (they said they'd have us sign them if we pass the training), they did give us ample warning. Apparently, the "evictions" (as they called it) occur daily and even the slightest dip in your performance can get you the ax. No questions asked. Just leave.

If you're going there, I'm not going to stop you but be warned...from what I've seen on how they operate, I wouldn't go back there.

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