Job Discussion Forums

[Qaaolchoura]

So I just got fired from a hagwon job in the country-that-must-not-be-named for being too boring. I'm actually quite happy about this. I managed to improve every other issue I had, but I'm probably not cut out to teach children. Also, I don't like the CTMNBN, or at least not the city I'm in, so I'll be quite happy to leave.

I now plan to head to Turkey in August, and look for a job I like teaching adults.

Obviously, I'm going to leave the hagwon job off my resume. I figured I'd just tell them that I spent much of the gap between graduation and August traveling, which is technically true.

The problem is that there's a nice shiny Korean visa sticker on my passport, which I tried to remove, but it seems pretty stuck. I still have 4 years left on my passport, and I don't want to pay the extra hundred dollars, and don't want one with the tracking chip.

Anyone with similar experiences?

If I'm in the country, will employers want to see my passport? If they will, it probably makes sense to replace my passport entirely, right? Or should I just tell them the whole truth and hope they'll be understanding?

Thanks,
~Q

[tttompatz]

I wouldn't worry about the hagwan on your resume. Nobody will be calling them for a reference.

DON'T rip the visa out of your passport. Doing so may invalidate your passport making it difficult or impossible to travel/enter other countries until you get a replacement.

The new country (or employers in that country) won't have any idea what your old visa was for: long stay tourist, work, teacher, missionary, business, etc. It is a non issue as far as a new job in a new country is concerned.

Many countries now use the full page, shiny new, stick-in visas instead of the old blue ink visa stamps (security issues) so it won't be out of place when you change countries.

.

[naturegirl321]

I knew I got the threads mixed up and I was wondering where my post went.

As for the passport: do NOT rip out pages. Just don't. It'll raise flags, like you have something to hide. As for having non-used visas in your passport, it should be fine. The exception might be if you're trying to go back to the same country where you got the visa.

[spiral78]

Wrong thread, ng.

Qaaol, don't deface the passport! I watched a guy marched off to a cold, Central European jail for two days over a ripped-out page. He said he used it to give a girl his phone number
but I expect he had visited some country that could have been problematic (Cuba, maybe).

I wouldn't worry about losing the job or trying to cover it up. Teaching children simply isn't for everyone, and any reasonable new employer, even if they found out, shouldn't penalise you for it.

[Qaaolchoura]

I was wondering where she got the idea I'm a lawyer.

I certainly wasn't going to rip the page out, I was simply trying to see if the sticker would peel off. I know not to deface the passport, and I also know that a missing page or evidence of tampering will limit my travel in a lot of the Arab world.

Thanks guys, I hope you're right about the reasonableness of potential employers.

~Q

[Prof.Gringo]

[spiral78]

I still think it's perfectly reasonable to just tell potential employers that you tried a job (describe it briefly) and found that it wasn't your cup of tea (briefly, why) and let it go at that.

No one teacher can do it All!!

I've had a 14+ year career in ESL/EFL so far, and I walked out a of a job after one month some years back (possibly right before they let me go - it was clearly mutual!). It was a job where the teachers were openly required to be entertainers, or at least 'pals,' and definitely not a good fit for me, as I'm not a singer/dancer/clown type. There were no hard feelings on either side, and I had no problem telling my next employer about the experience.

[Teacher in Rome]

Although I'd agree with Spiral about not worrying over one job that didn't work out, I'd be a little cautious if this is your only teaching exp so far. It could look as if you've tried something once, didn't work out, so are on to the next idea (teaching adults) which might not work out either...

If it was one job in a whole series of jobs, then it just looks like a blip. But if it's your only teaching exp, it could look a bit flaky.

I would definitely not mention getting fired, but I'm not sure I'd mention teaching in the hagwon either - especially if it was only for a month or so. If it was longer, keep it on your CV, talk up the skills / experience you've developed, and make it clear your focus now is on teaching adults, rather than children. Say you left after it became clear that they couldn't offer you any teaching you wanted.

[spiral78]

TIR, that's a really useful clarification. I'd overlooked the idea that this might be the only (or bulk of) experience the OP has to offer.

[Teacher in Rome]

Well, I'm not sure if there are ever any hard-and-fast rules about what you should / shouldn't include on your CV. The OP might even find that his CV becomes a formality if he gets on well with the DOS of an institution in Turkey. Or that the DOS doesn't require any previous teaching exp... But I'd definitely recommend not saying you'd got fired on your CV! If it ever comes up, far better at an interview when you can slant things more positively.

[DOMO]

Seriously, dude, you said Hogwan, so we all know it was Korea. I've ran from Korea. So what?
I was recently refused entry into New Zealand -- for absolutely no reason. I had a big REJECTED stamp placed in my passport.
Out of paranoia, i did replace my passport, even though it had a full year left on it. Just in case. The chip, by the way, has changed, it's small and flat, not round -- bubbling through the sleeve like they were in 2009.
Keep your passport wrapped in tin foil just in case.
Absolutely no body will question your leaving/fired from that hogwan. Add it to your res, nobody will call those big dummies on the telephone as nobody from either Korea nor Turkey can speak English -- er a common language anyway.