Korean Job Discussion Forums

[shifdog]

I've spent over 1 month looking for a job here. I interviewed for about 5 jobs, and none of them offered pension/medical. Other job offers I get are illegal or not what I want, i.e., location, hours, etc.

I guess it's all luck of the draw and how persistent you are. Oh well, at least I don't have to live here for the rest of my life.

Has anyone had the same experience job hunting?

[ttompatz]

[horang]

[moosehead]

sounds like you simply need some patience, really. the bad jobs are a dime a dozen, easy come easy go.

the good ones are maybe 1 every 10 days or so, especially now in the middle of the term, summer vaca upon us

check out your resume with friends or on the websites where people post theirs and see how yours compares

the better employers seek people 2-3 months ahead of time - did anyone tell you that? it takes time and effort to find the good one, hang in there.

also with summer upon us, you can surely find a summer camp. just don't apply until the week of the camps, that's when they pay the most as the students are coming and ohmygod we don't have enough foreign teachers - watch your pay jump thru the roof - really - is amazing and very gratifying

then while doing a camp you can keep looking - there will be a lot of jobs for september

good luck, pm me if you like, can offer more tips

moosehead

[shifdog]

[Tokki1]

[moosehead]

[shifdog]

[jay-shi]

[shifdog]

[insam]

moosehead is right, patience can not be stressed enough. i usually find only 5 or 6 jobs per month that i'm remotely interested in. out of those 5 or 6, let's say 4 are genuinely interested in me. out of the 4, maybe 1 or 2 have a strong and transparent correlation between the advertisement and the contract. then i'm left with only one or two per month to accept or decline. so far i have turned down every contract i was offered (these are decent contracts, ones that made it through my initital screening), but i've only been looking for four or five weeks. for some jobs i invest 5-10 hours in the interviewing and testing process. i'm scheduled for a 6 hour series of written exams this week. there may be 10 phone and email exchanges for a given job. it is a long and time-consuming process for most quality jobs. very few quality positions are avilable simply based on your 'qualifications' and experience. many want you to demonstrate it. another thing: most quality jobs look for candidates weeks or months in advance. if a position is open and they want to fill it ASAP or next week etc then I don't even consider it.

last time i went to korea i gave myself about 6 months. if you are patient and stick to your guns in negotiation, then you will be successful. i do not look at just one aspect (e.g. medical/pension). many quality high-paying hourly jobs will not offer everything. different emphases for different people... if i do not feel 95% certain about a job, i decline it; therefore, i decline some jobs that may be excellent. i realize 100% satisfaction is unrealistic, but that's what i aim for. no problem, move along cautiously and patiently, and eventually things will fall into place. people who want a job within a few weeks of searching will often find themselves disappointed. you may get lucky, but you may not. there will be those who say 'sure, this is all great but most people can't wait months to find a job.' well, that may be true, but don't complain when you get stuck in a crap institution.

[willneverteachagain]

[wylies99]

[insam]

[ella]

It took me several months to find my job. Be persistent and be picky, it's worth it. Best of luck.