Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dakarsean]

Hi, has anyone found jobs through either Kim's Korea or Work 'n' Play recruiting services? W 'n' P seems quite professional, but haven't been quite as responsive as Kim's which continually sends me notices about jobs, so I just want to see if anyone has anything to say about either of them, and perhaps to request that people name any other recruiters who have been good to them. Thanks.

[gmat]

Worknplay is good. Very friendly and honest. Ashley is excellent.

[Bibbitybop]

My buddy was very happy with Worknplay. They sent him many jobs he didn't want, they were outside of his area, but since he was looking for a job, they sent him everything they could. Eventually they came through for him with what he wanted.

[skconqueror]

recruiters are all the same.. get in contact with as many as you can.. get lots of offers then make an informed decision.

[dakarsean]

thanks for the help yall, much appreciated. anyone know anything about Kims Korea specifically?

[wisernow]

If you can find a job on your own you may actually get a better deal or even a signing bonus if they offer one rather then relying on the recruiter.
Recruiters eat by geting paid by the school that was unable to place their own ad. Sometimes Recruiters will "fudge" on many of the conditions to get the teacher to go where they have a position and also inform the school that the teacher is a great teacher, etc.

FYI, agencies and recruiters are playing both sides. If sometime goes wrong and you want to leave your position due to a family illness then you might have to pay the referral fee back to the school as your school would have paid the agency or recruiter a fee for placing you there.

Consider applying directly to ESL schools or organizations that deal directly with the candidates. This way you can always ask questions and receive a reply directly from the school such as the manager or director whom you will be working with as you will not be working with the recruiter or agency and they will probably not be able to help you with any major issues other than send an email to the school.

[dakarsean]

thanks wisernow, i appreciate your information. do you have any suggestions for how to find schools that deal directly with teachers? i had assumed that schools would be posting jobs on the job board here on this website, but it seems like the posts are all put up by recruiters. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[cahmark]

I used Kim's Korea, formerly GIA Consulting, for my first job in 2005 and again coming back for a second time in 2007. They were professional both times. I asked to be put in touch with foreign teachers from the prospective schools and was readily accomodated. Gina and Hazel are the two people that I have worked with at this agency. All of the information that they represented to me was accurate. All of the questions that I had about the schools and the localities were answered more than adequately. Hope it will help!!!

[Cerebroden]

I also used Kim's Korea....So far I'm not to happy. They found a job for me at a Korean IT firm, assured both myself and the company that my A-3 visa would be acceptable, even supposedly talked to immigration and had it all cleared. I signed the contract, went to work and at the end of the day I get pulled in and "sorry, kim's was not telling us the truth. You can not work here"
and now I'm back in the job search.

[ella]

I sent my resume, photo, and refs, and never heard a word back from them.

Edit: I did hear back but the advertised "job" was a ruse - one of those bait-and-switch deals where the job doesn't actually exist, they just post it to get your information then offer you a crap job instead. No different from any other recruiter.

[trinity24651]

[HaleyShaw]

I worked with Hazel at Kims. She is very professional and helpful. She always answered questions I had and I felt that she did a good job representing my interests.

I just made a post about a good job that I was offered through Kims, if you're interested.

[dakarsean]

hey thanks to everyone who posted on this, i actually just accepted a job through hazel at kim's korea as well and i'm pretty darn sure that it's going to be a good one, so i'm happy. i appreciate the advice from everyone, cheers.

[dam_on]

I can't comment on either of those recruiters...but just as a warning to others...I would steer clear of ETIK located in Busan, not to be confused with EPIK (which I think is in charge of public school recruiting).

Han is running it and he will tell you anything to get you to sign (yes, I fell for it but have adjusted...somewhat). I stayed in contact with some of the female workers that were there when I arrived, and apparently they haven't been payed since October....yikes.

Sorry I couldn't be a direct help to the OP.

[Missile Command Kid]

Worknplay told us that they wouldn't help us to try to find a job because I'm bringing my family over. If you've got kids, don't bother with them.