11 Important Reasons why you shouldn’t use Global Work and Travel

This is why you shouldn’t use the company Global Work and Travel and I want to first off start by saying that this is my opinion from my personal experience. Make sure to do more research on it and ask a lot of questions, if you’re already in the process of booking with them.

Global Work and travel have their quirks and it works for some people. However, we’re going to focus more on why you shouldn’t use Global Work and Travel.

10 Reasons why you should use Global Work and Travel coming next week, start of 2024. Sign up to the newsletter for the update.

What is Global Work and Travel?

Founded in Gold Coast Australia, Global Work and Travel is a travel company that has sent over 80,000 people on their travel journeys since 2008. They are best known for their working holidays and volunteer programs.

Their motto is “be more than a tourist.” Which to many people means, completely immerse yourself in the place you are visiting, become a local, and spend a long period of time there.

Why not choose Global work and travel?

Thinking of getting a working holiday visa, so you can make money and travel? Sounds amazing right? well, that’s the problem. There are many companies that create this idea that you are going to save money by working whilst you are overseas.

Whilst, in this scenario it does depend what job you get, where you decide to work and the cost of living situation. That doesn’t mean your experience can’t have its ups and downs.

When you choose to book with Global work and travel, your first though is “I’m going to save money” I’m going to make the money back.” That’s what I believed. That is not inherently the case and can become quite stressful financially if you do not get accepted for decent paying jobs.

Fortunately, most of what you pay to Global work and travel you can do yourself for free.

Essentially they help you with the visa process, give you a few “free” things, and help you find work. This is okay for a first-timer, especially if you are travelling solo. However, you wouldn’t do it again.

It has great things about it and things that could be better.

Moreover, many people have raised their concerns with Global work and travel, but only recently have those concerns risen. People believe that it is a scam, cash grab, and that they produce misleading marketing to achieve those things.

That is why, we are going to go through a list of important reasons why you should not use Global work and travel. Just so you understand if it is good for you or not.

1. It’s expensive

This is on of the biggest issues with it. They seem to promote this as a way to save money but honestly most people don’t feel that way. It has resulted in people spending thousands for them to help apply for the visa and find work.

You can also book flights and insurance with them, which has costed most people $6000 altogether. You might as well get your own flights and insurance.

Unfortunately, it’s only going to save you money if you get a good job in a reasonable place, where they don’t charge too much for rent.

Furthermore, the circumstance that has most people annoyed is that they pressure you to pay so much money in a short amount of time. They even have sway tactics that make you do this. For example, we are given a $200 credit with them if we pay our flights and insurance straight away. This may sound good, however, then you feel obliged to book with them again, when most of what they sell is around $2000.

2. Australian overload

Due to the fact Global Work and Travel are an Australian company, most of the people that book with them are Australian. Which makes perfect sense. That is not the problem.

The problem here, isn’t that there are Australians, but that it mostly consists of them. The diversity is very minuscule and the whole time you feel like you are on a school camp. Especially, when people would find their own cliques and circle of friends.

Don’t get me wrong most of the people you meet are incredible, but you also want to connect with the locals and people from other countries too.

However, if you choose to move to the main cities, they usually have better opportunities, more diversity, and things to do. It may just be harder to make friends, if you don’t find a like-minded community.

3. Customer service

You usually get a few different people that work with you and all of them may be different based on their quality of customer service.

You will have someone that will deal with the Visa application, one will deal with Travel insurance and flights, and someone will help you get work.

Overall, the experience is going to differ for everybody depending on who you get. However, there’s seems to be a recurring theme that they will answer your emails, phone calls, and be on top of everything if you are paying them money. But when you’re just asking questions or have any problems it becomes less and less important.

For instance, the person I dealt with in Canada was incredible they always answered questions, had good advice, and made sure I arrived safely.

But the person I dealt with in Australia was never answering my emails, missed important appointments, and would completely disregard what was going on, even when they were free to help out.

It makes you feel like you’ve wasted money on service.

Which brings me to my next point..

4. Inconsistency

The availability and quality of jobs might not always meet the expectations or match the your skill set or preferences.

As mentioned earlier, inconsistencies in service quality across different locations or branches can be a concern for some people. Especially when you are given this euphoric feeling of travelling abroad, meeting people, and making money.

Unfortunately, you’re mostly told the best parts about working abroad and in certain places, then when you ask questions about discrepancies, they tend to lack a lot of transparency.

5. Does not feel like a holiday

Yes, you are essentially still working a full-time job. However, you are promised and told that there will be time to travel around and see some of the country.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case. They also never disclose what each job will want from you or if that job gives you some time off. In most cases, from what many people experience, not many do.

Working Holidays promise some level of flexibility. However, it really is just a seasonal experience of working in another country. Same rules apply.

6. Lack of Transparency

There are many things that aren’t communicated, mainly because they are partnered with every job opportunity they show you. So you can imagine that they are more likely to tell you the great things over the problems with the businesses that are hiring.

Even when you ask them questions, they won’t tell you the whole truth about a place or they will ask you to be more flexible.

But, understand you are allowed to have standards when looking for work and if you are at a point in your life where you can’t handle low pay, bad living conditions, poor weather, or being stuck in a certain area. Then working for certain businesses may not be for you.

If they are asking you to be more flexible, then they are not providing many options or diversity.

7. Limited options

There are very limited options and in some cases they can be far away from any main city. You end up travelling to very rural areas away from everything and everyone. Whilst for many people this is a great opportunity. However, most things are more expensive, hard to attain, and more inconvenient. Especially if you are dealing with rough weather conditions, like snow.

When you ask about working in the city, they usually will tell you it isn’t worth it and more expensive. However, from experience there are more opportunities, housing arrangements, cheaper options in the suburbs or city, especially if anything goes wrong. Whereas when you are living more rural it’s hard to find a variety of options.

8. Misleading Marketing

As stated before, they won’t be fully honest and will usually only tell you all the amazing things about living abroad, but once you are there, that’s when they will communicate problems with you.

The problem is not what they market, but how they do it. They market it as something that you will never experience and that it will be seamless and affordable. But, it really is like any job. Depending on where you are working, there may not even be a lot of things to do, where you are.

For instance, they say they will help you find a job, but that does not mean that will guarantee you work. People go into it thinking they will 100% receive work, however, that’s not true. The will help you find work, but that’s it. If you don’t get accepted by the jobs they offer, it’s not really their problem.

9. Wrong Information

Many travellers have been given the wrong information. Not necessarily about the process, but about different cultures, customs, and values.

For example, I was told not to take cash when moving to Canada because not many places handle cash. However, that is really only the case for the big cities like Vancouver or Toronto. But when you go to the more rural areas they will most of the time accept cash payments.

The worst part was when we had to use the laundry and they didn’t have an option to use your card, only coins. Nobody had any. Most of us had to wait until we received some coins or got cash out before we did our washing.

Lastly, make sure if you are doing anything to do you’re own research. Even though they are there to provide you with valuable information. Sometimes they will miss some crucial information or changes.

10. Mixed Reviews

Regardless of everything that has been stated, an individual’s perspective of certain things are going to be different. But it seems that most of the bad reviews are relatively the same.

Their refund policy is essentially a credit and you’re basically forced to travel with them and inevitably spend more money to get something out of it anyway.

They also recently priced up everything, by hundreds of dollars and were investigated in Australia for misleading marketing in 2014.

11. You can do it yourself!

Honestly, you will probably find something to your liking better, more affordable places, and meet more locals. Some individuals prefer arranging their travel, accommodation, and work opportunities independently to have more control over their choices and experiences.

Although, some people may not mind the conditions mentioned and may still enjoy themselves besides some setbacks. It all depends on you and what you like.

This article was to provide you with knowledge on why you shouldn’t use Global Work and Travel and what may not work for you. Not necessarily travelling altogether.

The only thing you need to do is apply for you visa, which you can research yourself. ( Pro tip: always match everything with what your passport says and you will be okay). Purchase flights and insurance which is going to be a lot cheaper, and find yourself a job. Best thing to do is find areas you’re interested in staying in, do some research, and send in you resume.

Conclusion

Occasionally, people might have unrealistic expectations about the opportunities or experiences offered by Global Work and Travel. Unfortunately, If expectations aren’t met, it can lead to disappointment.

That is why you shouldn’t use Global Work and travel and why it is crucial to always take you time, don’t be impulsive, and research everything that you can about what you want to do.

What climate do you want? Are you looking for city or rural areas? What activities are you interested in? Is there options to travel whilst working that job?

Asking yourself these types of questions and solidifying what you want will help you to receive a better experience, rather than acting on impulse. You do not need a company to do that for you.

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