The thing with recruiters is finding a good one is like finding a needle in a haystack. There are good ones, and as the more prominent posters seem to keep pushing there are the ones who simply see the FT as a commodity in a financial transaction.

When I first came to China I was hoodwinked by a certain company in Chengdu. Luckily I had the financial resources and ability to walk away from the mess they caused me and found another job myself, however there are those who once arrive and realise what was told is fiction not fact then the negativity and ill feelings prevail.

Certainly for new FT's now, having to go through all the hoops, expenses and such, if I was to use a recruiter, the job they would be offering me would have to be solid and worth the hassles. There is a risk that anyone coming to China or indeed any other foreign countries accepts and takes. Those of us who have been here a long time also realise that contracts are largely in favour of the employee rather than the employer and simply do not have the same meaning or value as they do in western countries.

I have no experience of Golden Staffing so I am not being critical. If I was a recruiter I would be more concerned about my reputation and trying to prevent negative feedback later. If you have a school that has shafted an FT then drop them and help the incumbent FT find another job. Sadly, with most recruiters, once the FT has arrived and the fee(s) paid, that is the last the FT will hear from them.