he would never tell me which school it was or where it was.
The recruiters fear you'll go directly to the school and bypass them.
It also ties them down to delivering a specific school. Recruiters, I'm afraid, have been known to promise a school near the beach in Hainan...and then deliver you unto frigid, waterless Inner Mongolia.
I've seen posts on CTN here and there on other forums. Few comments were good...
I am referring to those outfits who are actually licensed to do what they do, have a proper office, a procedure and support staff. Those folks have made a business investment and it's usually not in their interest to screw anyone because it'll come back to haunt them.
I wish I could agree that this was a good guide. It might help a little, but it doesn't always hold true. The notorious Frank Zhang (the most infamous weasel in China TEFL) has a nice office and a support staff...
And, remember...recruiters work for the schools, NOT for us. The schools just want a steady supply of foreign monkey-meat in front of their classes; they don't really care how many people get screwed over in the process. As long as a recruiter can produce enough chumps, their business will do just fine.
And, sadly, to paraphrase P.T. Barnum, "There's a foreign English teacher born every minute." Too many people still plunge into this uninformed and unwary...
Recruiters are a parasite upon our industry. Stay away from them until they are eradicated.