Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lush72]

I have been informed that my company would like to put an �interview� type video of me on the companies website. This, of course, would be unpaid. The video itself would be approximately 4 minutes long and consist of an interviewer asking me various questions.

My question here is what would you do in this situation? I like my job so I don�t mind the unpaid part- however people are telling me I am being taken advantage of here. What would you ask for or do in this situation? Specifically what questions would you ask and what sort of things would you demand? (Like the video can be used only while I am an employee, etc.)

I haven�t said yes or no yet so any advice you could give will be great!

Thanks in advance!

[Stunted Wookie]

I work/run several online business myself; any type of project like this online has only one purpose..to make money.

Why on my green earth would you be doing this for free? really.

Get a written contract; if you allow this interview to be done for free at the company's benefit then you should have a great deal of control over what its used for and for how long.

Its a promotion, maybe even a small online lesson (they are becoming popular) so you should have a look at the questions before hand and see what's what.

Sure you are being taken advantage of (the company gets a benefit and you don't). There is nothing wrong with wanting to help your company out of a mild form of loyality; however when it will be used as a promotional tool, why not get a decent lunch out of it or some movie tickets?

Those who teach here are self employed business persons, why so you agree to offer so much for free?

My suggestions include sticking to the initial format. If you were told 4 minutes and don't mind it....stick to just that..things have a way of changing from the beginning to the end here...

[kangnamdragon]

Why does it matter how long they use the video? If you like the company, just answer some questions and tell the truth.

I don't agree that you should get paid. It is not difficult and you will probably get a free dinner or something.

[Austin]

This is a wonderful opportunity for you to ingratiate yourself to your employer. Asking to be compensated might be a major mistake, as you may serve to disrupt any potential "goodwill" from being created between you and your employer.

How might the short-term gain justify the negative long-term ramifications?

[hellofaniceguy]

[Harvard Material]

Kind of agree with Austin on this one. Four minutes being interviewed? I would chalk it up as a favor. Asking for money may reflect poorly upon you. Wouldn't be very difficult for the owner/manager to ask another employee to do it in your place free of charge, I would imagine. You may be asked to do this because you stand out amongst the staff. Sounds complimentary to me (no pun intended ).

I'd do it for free if I was with a good institute. Hakwon owners always want free services...most of us do! If it was half-an-hour or so I would have a different opinion, but 4 minutes? I don't see much point in a choreographed (videoed) interview, but it is a far cry from preparing a curriculum for free!

Your choice lush...shine or tarnish?

[lush72]

Hello Forum,
First of all, thanks to everyone for replying and PMing me. I decided to go ahead and do it without making any demands. I really love my job and they have been good to me. The proverbial axe fell recently on a few staffers heads in my department and I thought it just made more sense to show that I am a team player rather then a �me� guy. Additionally this has got to be the EASIEST job on the peninsula (I would rate a hogwon job as 50-100 times more difficult- having had both) and there really is no harm (to me that is!) in having my ugly mug on some Korean companies website. More then a few people (not from this forum) told me �See, they want to show that they have a foreign monkey working in the department, dance monkey! DANCE!� I disagree. If I did think like that I would just quit and go home. I don�t think that cultivating a comfortable work environment by the mutual exchange of favors is, in itself, exploitative. After all my coworkers (to include the department head and department sub-chiefs) all work on Saturday while I do not. So I didn�t mind doing this for the company.

Again, thank you all for your replies.

[Ryst Helmut]

Lush,

I agree that you should not ask for compensation, that is, monetarily.

Though it IS work, and they will be using this to make money, don't ask for it. I did several TV and radio promos for my workplace, and never got paid.

However, in return, I usually was able to get things that I probably wouldn't have had I not helped out. Also, with that promo, you can keep a copy for yourself as part of a portfolio for future employment.

Ingratiate yourself....no, how about bolstering your position and/or future.

Shoosh,

Ryst

Oh, and a 4 minute video should take about an hour to do (start/finish travel)....c'mon, how much money could that be?

[dumass]

Put a clause in there saying you will only do it if you can say 'Hi mum' at the start.

Or something more random

[simon77047]

Just my opinion: If you like your school's director what's the big deal? Usually it's those little things we do because we want to that bring us the greatest rewards. Yah know what I mean?

[Ryst Helmut]

[simon77047]

Yes, Ryst, you are correct. When I responded to this post I had only read the first posting by Lush, not his second one. Now I know before commenting to read everything first.