Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kerri]

hello,
i just a wee question about my cv. im thinking of applying for a job in south korea really soon and obviously i'd like to have as good a cv as possible, so i was just wondering if anyone has any special tips?
i dont have too much to bulk my cv up with - i have two months teaching experience in a summer school in poland and i also have the CELTA. i am also british.
it would be great to hear any advice from anyone - im a bit nervous about it beacuse i would love a job really soon and i want to make a good impression!
thank you, and i must say, this forum is so great, loads of great advice!

[cruisemonkey]

Use capital letters.

[SuperHero]

[Omkara]

Dig deep and find any remote volunteering experience you have, any work with kids, old folks, etc. Have you any scholarships? Internships? Teaching assistantships? Have you leadership experience? Management experience? Essentially, find any skill you have that is transferable.

Have you ever given blood? (Shows character...) Put this under a personal information heading.

Also, is a CV necessary? Can a resume suffice?

Stuff everything you can into it, print it and look it over. If it doesn't feel right, then think about taking it out, but not before having a mentor look it over for you.

Good luck.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Proper use of the upper case and paragraph structure will be irrelevant if you're an attractive young person applying to a private academy. If you're applying to an academy get a photo that makes you look as young, attractive, and Aryan as possible. That will be the most important thing.

[Omkara]

[Scouse Mouse]

I am British, 30, and have no teaching experience or teaching qualifications.

I took my usual British CV, made sure to include my DOB and nationality at the top, and then condensed the rest.

In Education, I put the name of the Uni and the the award in Bold at the top. I then did a brief outline of the rest of my academic career underneath as they really don't care too much beyond they BA.

For my work history, I simply put where I worked, my job title and a very brief outline of my duties. They really don't care too much about it!

I then did a small paragraph about my personal interests and used this to say how much I wanted to teach. I kept it brief and simplistic so that it could be understood easily by non-native speakers.

The real selling point I had was that I am able to move ASAP. I made a point of mentioning this in the email to the recruiters and every one of them has been able to arrange interviews for me. With every interview, I have been offered a job. I get the feeling that Interview = Job Offer in Korea...

Finally, for my photograph I threw on a suit and made stuck my neice on in the room... she never fails to make me smile I stuck my glasses on, and managed to look less like a thug and that was enough to get past any prejudices they may have had.

When I sent my emails I did it at 4am UK time and then spent some time going to and fro with recruiters. By 10.30am I had secured a nice public school job The only problem now is that I still have people trying to get me to take a job that they have...

In summary, keep it simple and if you can move in the near future you will get some offers. If you can't move right away, try and give them a date that you can move so that they know what jobs to target you with.

[Scouse Mouse]

Oooh.. I just noticed that you are glaswegian... work on a hammy British accent. I'm a scouser and had to do the same. If you get an interview and you know you don't want the job, switch to heavy glaswegian and have some fun. They will probably still offer you the job even if it is obvious they can't understand a damn word you say!

[kerri]

thank you for all your help everyone, im off to write my cv now.
good point about the accent thing scouse mouse! i just hope no one in my house hears when im doing a phone inerview, im sure il sound a bit daft! and congratulations on your new job!

[PRagic]

Typical phone interview:

Question:

1) How old/tall are you?
2) What colour are your eyes?
3) What colour is your hair?
4) Did you graduate from university?
5) Do you do drugs?
6) Do you drink too much?

If you answer properly,

7) When can you get on a plane?

See you soon. No worries, especially if your picture is good. Welcome to the hakwon system.

[kerri]

thanks for the interview tips! is it really that simple?!
im thinking i'd like to go over about the middle of march, oh im excited!
i know this is probably a question for another part of the forum so maybe im being a bit cheeky here, but does anyone have any names of any good schools in seoul?? that seems like a massive question at the moment as it seems like a massive task to separate the dodgy from the not-dodgy, but seeing all the advertising schools is quite overwhelming! so many, where to start?!

thanks for all the advice

[PRagic]

rule of thumb to go by: all hakwons blow.

something to keep in mind: bigger chains blow less, and at least you get some comradery, albeit not necessarily sane comradery.

try pagoda ONLY IN CHONGRO, Sisa ONLY IN CHONGRO, or ChungMoon, which is IN CHONGRO. Most of the HQs for the big chains are in...yeah, CHONGRO. You can work in Kangnam, but it is a zoo and, and it's much for fun to visit than to live there.

I'd avoid teaching kids. Period. Too many headaches, and with the competition all heated up, they are pushing teachers to do more for the same coin. Stick with the adults if you want some freedom and less prep. Recruiters and schools will hand you a line of bs about teaching kids, or teaching scheds that require kids and adults. don't do it.

[jellobean]

If you are interested in public schools (which are much better than hakwons) think about moving you availability date to the beginning of March.

[kerri]

oh i'd much rather teach adults, but i kinda got the impression that its all kids kids kids in Korea?
so i take it your a fan of Chongro PRagic?! thank you for the advice, its good to hear of some good schools, theres so many about!
so are those schools in chongro for mostly adults? that would be great.
i'd kind of resigned myself to the thought of teaching kids, so its good to hear that there is some hope of teaching adults!