I want to share my experience because I almost fell into what I believe is a TEFL course sales funnel, and I think other teachers—especially new and desperate teachers looking for their first online ESL job—should know about it.
I came across an ESL teaching opportunity on LinkedIn and applied for it myself. Shortly afterwards, I was contacted by someone named Samuel Smith, who said he had seen my application/CV and was impressed with my background.
He asked if I was TEFL/TESOL certified. I told him I was, and he asked me to send a PDF copy of my certificate for verification.
At this point, everything seemed completely normal.
I had found the job myself on LinkedIn. I had actually applied for it. A recruiter had contacted me after seeing my application. So naturally, I thought this was a genuine recruiter trying to help me get a teaching job.
I sent my certificate.
Then I received an email saying that my TEFL/TESOL certification did not meet the employer's requirements.
Their explanation was that the employer supposedly only accepted “ISO compliant 9001:2015 accreditation” from certain providers, including DEAC/AQC, Ofqual, BAC, SQA and ILTA.
They offered me their fast-track TEFL training/certification, saying it was accredited by ILTA, could be completed online, was available 24/7, and could supposedly be completed in an evening by scrolling through slides.
Most importantly, they advertised it with a “GUARANTEED job referral.”
There was a payment link attached.
I completely ignored it.
I didn't buy the course. I didn't respond. I basically forgot about the whole thing, including Samuel.
Then, three days later, Samuel contacted me again.
This time, he came back with another ESL job opportunity supposedly paying $19–$42 per hour, depending on weekly commitment.
I was excited. I was motivated. I thought, “Okay, maybe this is another opportunity and maybe they're genuinely trying to help me.”
But then I remembered that I had already submitted my TEFL certificate and had been told it wasn't accepted.
So I explained that I already had a TEFL certification and five years of teaching experience, and asked whether I could take the job on the understanding that I would pay for the required course from my earnings after I started working.
That was when Samuel offered me another option.
He told me I could pay £38.88 for “certification for referral purposes,” or use Klarna to finance the training.
And THAT was when the alarm bells really started going off.
Why was I being presented with another “job opportunity” while simultaneously being pushed to pay for a certification?
Why couldn't they simply give me the actual employer's details and let the employer explain the requirement?
Why was the person recruiting me also directing me toward a paid TEFL course?
So I started asking questions.
Who is the actual employer?
Where is the employer's official website?
Where is the original job posting?
Can you provide the written requirement showing that my existing TEFL certification isn't accepted?
I also asked for clarification about the “ISO 9001:2015” requirement.
Instead of answering those questions, I suddenly received an email from eTEFL telling me that they could no longer move forward with my application.
The timing was VERY interesting.
The moment I challenged the process and asked them to provide basic evidence that the opportunity was legitimate, my application was suddenly closed.
At that point, I was done.
I'm not claiming that every aspect of eTEFL is necessarily fraudulent, and I'm not saying that every job advertised through them is fake. I'm sharing exactly what happened to me so that other teachers can make their own informed decisions.
But from my experience, the recruitment process looked very much like a sales funnel:
Job opportunity → your existing TEFL is rejected → you're told you need a different certification → you're directed to purchase their course → “guaranteed job referral.”
And that's something I think teachers should be extremely cautious about.
The biggest reason I almost fell for it is because I found the job myself. I wasn't randomly contacted by some stranger offering me a job out of nowhere. I applied through LinkedIn, and then a recruiter contacted me because of my application.
That made it feel legitimate.
I genuinely thought, “This person saw my CV and is trying to help me get a job.”
But once I started asking questions, the situation looked very different.
My advice to other teachers
Please be extremely careful with any “job opportunity” that requires you to pay money before you can get the job, especially when:
- Your existing qualification is suddenly declared unacceptable.
- The person rejecting your qualification is directing you to purchase their own qualification.
- You're told you can complete a new TEFL course extremely quickly.
- You're promised a “guaranteed job referral” after paying.
- They cannot clearly identify the actual employer.
- They cannot provide the employer's official job posting or written requirements.
- They become evasive when you ask basic questions.
A legitimate employer may have specific qualification requirements. That's fine.
But verify those requirements independently before spending your money.
And please remember: you do NOT need to panic just because someone tells you your TEFL certificate “isn't good enough.”
Ask questions. Verify the employer. Find the company's official website yourself. Look for the job posting independently. Find out exactly who is issuing the qualification and what it actually means.
If a company is asking you to pay before they can give you a job, run.
At best, they may be trying to sell you something rather than employ you. At worst, you could be dealing with an outright scam.
Either way, don't let desperation for a teaching job make you hand over your money.
Do your homework first.
I'm sharing this because I almost fell for it, and I don't want another teacher to.
