Korean Job Discussion Forums

Boodleheimer

just fyi.

babtangee · Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 12:45 am Post subject:

Know the feeling.

The King of Kwangju · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Location: New York City

I can imagine it must be confusing as hell.

I was working on a website that would try to make it easier. We did a lot of brainstorming on this very topic.

Assuming that the Korean recruiter/hogwan side of things doesn't change, what kinds of tools do you think would make it easier to find a good job?

yayforme · Joined: 30 Apr 2007

cutting out the middle man. Isnt there a way to contact schools directly without working through recruiters? Or is that the only way the schools advertise their positions?

wings · Joined: 09 Nov 2006

an automatic job bank would be a great idea, where you just put in your criteria and they spit out only the options that meet them all.

I had an interveiw last night over the phone, decent job, decent hours, then she tells me "oh, did the recruiter mention the housing situation? We only offer shared housing......." We both wasted almost half an hour not too mention the school's long distance bill for calling my Mexican cell phone. If I had known this before I never would have bothered.

There could be a website where both employers and job seekers enter the specifics about location, age level, hours, housing, pay, etc and options that match up would pop up. Would save everyone tonnes of time!

LiquidSunshine · Joined: 31 Mar 2003

Boodleheimer · Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 10:55 pm Post subject:

and it would be bad enough if i were just looking for myself-- but we're looking for a couple position! we're deluged with elementary positions, which we don't want.

ella · Joined: 17 Apr 2006

I think we've all been there. Hang in there, KWhitehead, and hold out for what you want - it's worth it.

Boodleheimer · Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 11:27 pm Post subject:

you're a peach, Ella!

now i gotta get a beer or three.

The King of Kwangju · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Location: New York City

cloo · Joined: 27 May 2007 Location: South Korea

KWhitehead, apply directly. Did a recruiter before, it was okay, but they take a lot of your pay! Apply directly to a school. You can find their websites and even if they don't have posted positions listed, email them and tell them you're a couple, each of your credentials/degrees and when you can come. They'll find you something, trust me.

Here are some school websites. Remember, you have to email them and be proactive about what you want!

Pagoda - www.jobpagoda.com

POLY - http://hr.koreapolyschool.com/

CDI - http://www.teachinkorea.com/

Yes English - http://www.yesenglish.com:9090/yesyoungdo/english/jobs/job_apply.jsp

These are just a couple of the more established schools with multiple branches, they're sure to have some openings somewhere. There are a ton more schools (good ones, too), a good place to look is at the very top of this forum under the 'Korean Jobs' link or just

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea

If you don't want to hassle with a recruiter, only look at the ones posted directly by the schools.

Good luck. Finding a couple position isn't as hard as you think!

cloo · Joined: 27 May 2007 Location: South Korea

A couple of the schools above teach older kids (I know POLY even has openings), but there are more elementary schools than middle.

And on a personal note, I taught middle school (and now teach elementary) and I HATED middle school with a passion.

Middle school kids require so much effort. They refuse to speak to you (unless they're fluent), and they have all that teen angst that makes it impossible for them to open up to you and try to learn from your lessons. I found that half of my classes was spent just trying to get them to drop the attitude and SPEAK in English! They were such mindless drones, it drove me crazy.

Elementary kids don't have the attitude and they're just naturally open people, they like you automatically, no work required on that part.

Since I work for POLY, I can say that the middle school kids there might not be so bad, mostly because they've been going to POLY for years, and also that POLY specializes in returnee kids, those who have lived abroad and learned English in a native country. In that sense, their speaking levels are probably pretty high, and you might not encounter as much of the unwillingness to participate as you might at say, at a Korean-based hagwon (a Korean school where you just teach an English class). POLY is only English, no Korean classes (or speaking) at any time.