EF Education First Activity Leader Reviews

Pros

You will work hard and often long hours as an activity leader. However it is lots of fun and there is a good team vibe always built. Would recommend for anyone looking to develop in a fast paced environment

Cons

Long Hours Shift Work Lots of ambiguity

Pros

Get to meet nice people and students

Cons

Lack of organisation and management is beyond a joke.

Pros

I met some amazing people working here and have made genuine friends from across Europe. I have also had some really nice moments with my kids, you really do bond with some of them, saying goodbye to my seniors was really emotional for me!

Cons

This was my first summer working with EF and it will be my last. I would not recommend it as an employee or even sending your child here. It's almost immoral the way this company is run. Here is a quick list of the main things I found about this company after working for them for a month: 1) The level of organisation among senior staff is very poor. While a certain amount of chaos in situations with so many... moving parts is to be expected, a lot of situations that were very much foreseeable were not anticipated and this left leaders in stressful and sometimes dangerous situations. (Think using public buses to transport 500 students from one bus stop to a university at 10 pm at night) 2)The sales office in individual countries often exaggerates what EF courses actually provide, and when the food/activities/management/accommodation falls short it is left to the activity & course leaders to deal with these complaints. Not the senior staff and not the sales office. 3)Hours are long and the work is mostly thankless - this is especially true for juniors. My colleagues and I work from 7 am until 10.30 pm 6 days a week as we have to get the kids up to bring them to breakfast and walk 25 min/travel 2 hours on a coach to that days activity - yes, TWO HOURS; over and back 4) There is a HUGE emphasis on the end of course feedback from students; whether or not they would recommend EF to a friend. EF is a company that totally focuses on their bottom line and on marketing. Example; their EF Brighton Instagram page they heavily feature Brighton home-stay - a lovely campus in the center of Brighton, very picturesque with lots of instagramable 'wow' moments. About 75% of EF Brighton students do not go here but to the University of Sussex/Falmer - nowhere near the beach and without all those little touches. But many students do not realize this until they arrive. 5) There is a very strange almost propaganda-like message that comes from senior staff; there is definitely an attitude that everything is great and if you complain about anything you are the problem/ have a poor attitude/ must work harder. It becomes difficult to provide that 'EF Sparkle' after working an 84 hour week in a high stress, high-responsibility environment with little support from senior staff. Perhaps there is an EF center somewhere in the world that is well run and provides what the sales office sells the parents. I have yet to hear about it if it does exist.

Advice to Management

Better pay for staff - Activity and Course Leaders especially earn next nothing (I worked out that I get paid an average of £3.20 an hour for a 14 hour day, 6 days a week) Smaller staff ratio for juniors - 1:17 is manageable for seniors, it should be 1:10 for juniors Shorter days for juniors - the kids do incredibly long days and the nutritional value of the food is awful, they may as well eat McDonald's every day... for 2 weeks Better communication from senior staff - it is clear to anyone who deals with them that senior staff do not communicate well enough and this has caused more headaches for myself and my colleagues that I can ever put into words.

Pros

Good for a summer job

Cons

Too long hours . No training

Pros

Co-workers were fantastic- very supportive and great social aspect.

Cons

Very long hours and little sleep due to host family issues.

Pros

Fun/get to meet lots of interesting people from different background/staff were great to work with

Cons

With almost no training you have to think on your feet

Pros

Highly young and international environment

Cons

Mostly outdoor, sometimes schedules would change with very short notice

Advice to Management

None

Pros

Enjoyed spending time with students Free trips e.g. on London Eye, London Dungeons

Cons

Information not always clear Not well managed Disorganised Often left in stressful confusion

Advice to Management

Put information out more clearly, and not just on Whatsapp