Korean Job Discussion Forums

[erica27]

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here but have been following these forums for ages now.

I am a recent college grad with a BA degree in Asian History and currently finishing up my 100hour TEFL course. I lived in Seoul over the course of a year as a Korean language and history student at Yonsei. My Korean language skills are at an intermediate level.

I've done volunteer teaching (Catholic after school program, 1st and 2nd grades) and tutoring for years (both children and adults in English language and literature since high school), and have grown up with children in my life since day one. I've helped raise my two younger sisters who are elementary school age, and spent a lot of time working at their school during events, etc.

In my paid work experience, I have worked for a pediatrician as a secretary, and done various part time jobs ranging from retail to lifeguarding. I know thats not terribly relevant to the teaching field, but still shows that I've been working since I turned 16. Also, I am genuinely interested in the education field and pursuing a Masters in education after a few years of working and living independently.

I've been applying to recruiters and schools individually, and have had just about 4 interviews over the last two months. I keep getting leads but none of the schools have offered me a job yet. I had one offer, but the location was not good. I am looking for an elementary position in central Seoul, but there just hasn't been any luck yet.

Anyone think I'm just totally unemployable? I've got my documents ready to go... I don't think I'm being too picky- I know how hagwons work and I know how quickly they can screw you over. I can't say the interviews I've done go terribly, in fact I think they've gone really well.

How long did it take for ya'll to find good positions? Do any of you have experience finding jobs WHILE in Korea as first-timers? One of my options at the moment is to go back to Korea on my own time and money since I have somewhere to stay temporarily and it seems like it might be be easier and faster that way..

[andrewchon]

You are searching for a job in a very small area. I can understand that you want best bang for your buck, but so do the Koreans. What you've told me about your credentials, experience, qualifications etc doesn't exactly say 'can't miss prospect'. i.e. you're not a first round draft choice, and you want Central Seoul. With luck you'll get that. So, best of luck.

Yes, things are pretty tight in Korea. When that happens, people go for safe option: young, female, good looking, half-a-dozen post-grad degrees, AMERICAN, ....

I'd say offer to teach in major cities.

[Chaparrastique]

[erica27]

Haha, I guess my current dark blonde color isn't quite enough for them. Guess I've got to use some older pictures for my resume from when I was super blonde while I lived in Korea until I dye my hair again.

Unfortunately for me, I love Korea way too much, and getting a full-time job where I live is a lot harder done than said at the moment. ESL in Korea is the doorway to bigger and better things for me (let's hope).

[PRagic]

Sounds like you have a positive attitude and are coming into the process with your eyes wide open. Teaching ESL here could very well be your stairway to bigger and better things, but plan well.

How marketable is a degree in Asian History these days? Do you plan on getting the degrees and certs later on down the road to teach in your home country? Or do you plan on doing an additional degree and certs related to TESOL so that you can teach ESL as a career?

I'm not saying that coming over for a year or two after graduating to plunk away some coin, pay off some debt and see the world a bit is a bad thing in and of itself; rather, it's always better to have at least a rudimentary plan going in so you don't end up spinning your wheels and regretting it later.

Best of luck to you.

[DaeguNL]

It's hard to land a Seoul job from abroad, and near impossible to get a central Seoul position. Companies in central Seoul know they can get someone easily without having to pay for a flight over ($1000-$1200), or a recruiter ($1000). They also get to interview the person face to face, and not through skype.

I'd recommend being less picky about location. A lot of places in Gyeonggi-do are like 20-30 mins to the main areas of Seoul. For example, Bundang is less than 20 mins from Gangnam, and it's a really nice area.

[edwardcatflap]

You say you love Korea 'way too much' which suggests you'd probably still be happy even in some back,end of beyond location as long as you could practice your Korean, have cultural experiences with the locals and avoid big groups of foreigners here for the wrong reasons. In that case it'd be altruistic to leave those central Seoul positions vacant for the average job seeker here, whose main concern is paying off their student loan, doesn't really give a crap about Korea, and would really struggle outside The capital.

[wonkavite62]

Hi, Erica27. I know someone said that you weren't exactly the best candidate, but I think you are okay. I am impressed that you did volunteer teaching. Do you have written references from any of these volunteer positions? Koreans are likely to be impressed by this kind of thing. When you complete your teaching certificate, it would help to get a letter saying exactly how many hours are in the course. This is needed by immigration.
I agree that it might be a good idea to consider other parts of Korea, such as Gyeonggi Do, Incheon, Busan and lovely Daegu. You could choose to work with various hagwons. I noticed that the main complaint on this website I found about Avalon was that it was boring afer 18 months of teaching there, because you had to follow their syllabus. But from my point of view it would certainly be okay for one year.
EPIK and GEPIK public school positions are worthwhile. GEPIK deals with Gyeonggi-Do, and it may be worth a try, because they are within commuting distance of Seoul, and if you get to work with them you can save money. I feel they discriminate less. If you have ALL your paperwork, apply now for positions starting in March.
Ironically, I would have thought you were the PERFECT candidate: young, American, female, and culturally sensitive. And with teaching experience. I get SO frustrated that most jobs in and near Seoul are for ***North Americans Only***. I am from Scotland.They want your accent, because you are like the tape recorder the Korean English teacher uses. (There is actually a machine in Kyobo Book Store, which spouts out "perfect" American phrases).
On the other hand I have LOTS of experience, 2 years in China, a last year in Korea, and more. I have references to prove it. But I had no more luck than you. Very few replies. One English village wanted to hire me, but because I did not ask for the contract immediately I didn't get it.
The job I did was in a "lovely coastal city." A small city. I taught in a high school. The job was okay, but there was no social life. Except for a small clique. So I ended up taking 4 hour bus journeys to Seoul. Small cities can be a hit or a miss. Big cities, like Daegu should be great. The first time I went to Korea, to another small city, social life was great.

[radish kimchi]

[Overture1928]

[wonkavite62]

Well I graduated from one of the top 200 universities mentioned, and I got a public school job in a rural province of Korea. But I spent 2 months unsuccessfully looking for another job and decided to come home, so as not to waste money.

North America needs to get its act together and give proper jobs to graduates and not just internships. We also need a proper boom. It would behove us all, if all those people who complain about Korea on Dave's ESL would also post their comments of Facebook and other social sites back home. It would do us all a lot of good if potential jobseekers in places like California or Ontario were aware of the downside of teaching in Korea, and the current tight job market.

Some of the oldest teachers in Seoul told me that the job situation in Korea is so dire partly because people were posting all sorts of positive (AND ONLY PARLY TRUE) stuff on Facebook about working conditions, salary, and the ability to save. And desperate jobseekers believed it until they started working in ROK. Korea is more popular now because it's seen as a "good" location. Let's redress that balance.

[erica27]

[erica27]

[erica27]

[erica27]