Why Education Consultants Like Us Engage in So Much Hiring

It's often a topic of discussion on LinkedIn: Why do education consultants like us engage in so much hiring?

In an era of economic instability and limited new employment opportunities, it has become increasingly practical for our graduates to seek opportunities in destinations where their skills are in high demand, rather than waiting for miracles locally. To meet the ever-growing demand of aspiring students, the industry faces a significant shortage of qualified counselors. For a growing business like ours, it's crucial to build a strong team of qualified counselors.

Since no one enters this industry with relevant qualifications, companies often have to give opportunities to graduates, especially fresh ones, from a variety of backgrounds. These individuals join the industry but keep applying for positions in their own field. The good ones eventually secure jobs in their relevant fields or return to their family businesses, which opens up new opportunities for hiring.

Studying abroad remains a mystery to many, but once someone starts working in this field—whether due to joblessness or the attraction of a better salary—they see others obtaining scholarships and visas, leading to significant changes in their careers. This inspiration often compels them to apply for opportunities themselves, creating vacancies for others as they move on.

This field is indeed challenging and demanding, as it involves solving complex problems for others. Graduates with straightforward qualifications often struggle to adapt, and after some time, they realize they can't meet the industry's standards to excel. Frustrated, they leave their positions or the industry, creating further opportunities for others.

One significant reason for the toxic culture in some organizations is the behavior of certain employees or their colleagues, who seek to gain seniority by manipulating others. They often engage in brainwashing tactics, convincing others that their performance is poor and that they are on the verge of being eliminated. These tactics often succeed, pressuring new employees to quit, which allows the manipulative individuals to advance in their careers due to a lack of competition rather than their own merit. Fresh graduates are particularly vulnerable and frequently succumb to this pressure. Meanwhile, HR departments may overlook the issue, leaving junior employees feeling insignificant. However, companies understand that there is no substitute for experience, and individuals typically perform better as they gain experience. Unfortunately, many juniors lose patience before they have the chance to fully develop, leading to new vacancies for others to fill.

Many organizations that lack a training culture often resort to hiring experienced professionals directly from the industry. This approach is relatively low-risk and requires minimal HR involvement. However, these companies end up relying heavily on individual performances, even when those individuals have limited learning capabilities. While this strategy may bring some success, it often falls short when it comes to business expansion. In contrast, companies like Times prefer to invest in fresh talent, believing that freshers have a better learning temperament. This approach has produced outstanding talent for the industry, but it does require significant investment in HR and training.

Finally, Times, as Pakistan’s largest education consultancy with over 1,000 employees across 29 nationwide offices, experiences a 5%-7% turnover rate each month due to the above circumstances. This necessitates filling those positions with new hires who often have no background in the field and must undergo the same rigorous training process.

When it comes to working with Times, we are a good employer for those eager to learn, but we carry a heavy responsibility to guide our students correctly in every aspect. There isn’t much room for average performers who criticize us, claiming the management is toxic, when in fact, we conduct frequent training sessions and tests to help them improve.

The majority of freshers have always appreciated our courage in giving them an opportunity in this industry when they were unable to secure significant opportunities or earn sufficient income in their own fields of study. We invest a lot of money and time in training them and do not hire freshers as interns to avoid financial loss in the name of training. However, if they fail, there is no place for them on our team, though they do receive a salary for their training months, even when they do not provide any financial return to the company.

We are clear: we have to be the best when it comes to providing top-notch advice, which is why we have expanded to this level. We firmly believe that our counselors must know every legal and counseling aspect of the 40+ popular study destinations where students aspire to go for better careers. Unlike other consultants who merely prepare salespeople for a single destination or university, we help students decide their future within their budget and limitations. This sets us apart from others who focus only on profitable study destinations—we help students decide their future within their budget and limitations.

This is also an opportunity to remind everyone that while we may not be an ideal employee-centric company, we are definitely student-centric. That’s why we have created the world’s largest course finder, TimesCourseFinder.com , for our students, so they can find programs and scholarships on their own, bypassing untrained and inadequate counselors, even within our company or other consulting companies that charge heavily for what we offer for free.

We leave no room for compromising on our vision to educate the student community and simplify the myths surrounding studying abroad.

There is another issue our consultancy industry faces: why companies do not pay dues to someone who immediately departs, even in violation of written terms and conditions of their job contract. Not paying dues to someone who violates job terms and conditions doesn’t make a company rich, but when someone, for their own interests, resigns immediately without serving the notice period or properly handing over ongoing clients, students are left in the dark about their contact person or progress, leading to frustration and the perception that the company is unresponsive and uncaring about their future.

To address this, companies like ours have implemented a policy of deducting and holding a security amount to ensure that no permanent employee leaves without serving their notice period and properly handing over their ongoing clients. Companies adopting this policy, like ours, have resolved 90% of these issues, and student satisfaction has reached its peak. Once such terms are clear before signing up for the job, they must be followed.

It is highly commendable for employees starting their careers in this rewarding industry to be aware of such challenges and to understand the company’s perspective on how to progress through the initial phase of their careers.