Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dsmoore]

Hi all,

Has anybody worked with this recruiter before?

www.eslstarter.com

Found them through this ad on Dave's job board:
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/index.cgi?read=31566

They are placing for EPIK in the Gangwon Do Provice. We are working primarily with them and everything looks legitimate so far. They are very friendly, helpful, and responsive to all of our questions, but we just want to do our homework. They are offering 35 days paid vacation for a position in Gangwon Do. I couldn't find any posts about them using the search so I thought I'd ask.

EDIT: Can anyone else confirm that the 35 days is in fact a possibility? We are looking for max vacation time, is this the best we're gonna get through EPIK?

Thanks!

[dsmoore]

Hmm, so something just came up that seems funny. We have been looking for a position that provided the greatest amount of time off possible in order to spend as a family and visit different areas of Korea. One of the reasons we went with ESL Starter was because they say right on their website that working with spouse and children is no problem, and adequate housing is provided. My wife is teaching and I and our 2 children would be going as well. In their ad, it states 35 Day paid vacation, 2-week paid vacation.

I asked about the vacation time, believing the 35 days is the designated school-out time, and the two weeks are for personal vacation to be used whenever we choose. They replied and said the two weeks on the advertisement was a mistake and the two weeks is equal to the amount of national holidays that there are in Korea.

A mistake on something like this makes us start to feel a little concerned. What other mistakes might we find when we actually commit to a position?

Are we just being picky about this? What is the best deal around for vacation time? Would it be going through EPIK and getting into a public school? Does a specific grade get more time than others (we are looking into Highschool)? Does a certain province make a difference? We have read EPIK has some of the best offers in the Gangwon Do province.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks again for any assistance

[Dome Vans]

I've not heard of that particular recruiter but it's always best just to scout around use as many as possbile. Recruiters will say anything to get you interested. They can't promise anything unless it gets written in the contract before you sign it.

As with Epik. The contract is basic but different provinces will add bits in or leave bits out or re-write bits. Some provinces/cities will have long vacation even though the contract states 20 days. If you're down in the South East then your contract will say 28 days BUT you're not guaranteed to get your home leave at the end of your contract if you're going to renew. They vary.

I get 3 months paid vacation at my PS as do all teachers in my city. You can accept or turn down summer/winter camps without a problem. It's really sweet which is why I signed it. After two months of job searching for jobs in Daegu I must have looked at a turned down 50 jobs. As soon as I saw this job and emailed some teachers in the province I was sold. Wouldn't change it for the world.

If you've got your heart set on Gangwon-Do which is know is a popualr province. Change the title of the thread to 'Public School in Gangwon-Do' you'll probably get more takers from that area.

[dsmoore]

Thanks for the reply. We are not 100% committed to Gangwon Do, and would be open to other areas, but we have really liked what we see there and that is where this recruiter is placing. It's just hard to know just what will be the best fit without seeing it in person.

As for your contract, wow, 3 months off is great! Is that total time including holidays? Was that time specified in the contract, or do the schools simply provide it? How do they spread it out, do you get to choose any of it? What grade is it? Is it through EPIK?

Thanks!

[Dome Vans]

[dsmoore]

So did you actually sign a contract that said 20-28 days, but you ended up getting provided more time off by the schools? And how did you find out about the extra time exactly, was it solely through other teachers that you contacted?

So far it looks like the contract is going to actually say 35 days paid vacation plus holidays (They sent us a sample with those numbers anyway, we'll see when we get the official papers). This at least sounds pretty good to guarantee that amount of time. Even the sample contract on the EPIK website states 14 days. More would certainly be great, but perhaps this is the best it's gonna get, take it and hope for the best? If we want to ask other teachers in the area, would the recruiter typically put us in touch with them?

You've been a tremendous help, I really appreciate it. Anybody else have input from their situations to offer as well?

[nicholas_chiasson]

yes you get 35 days vacation time
a 3 week winter and 2 week summer
if you re-sign you get an additional 2 weeks in summer added to the 2 weeks called a 'home leave'

[nobbyken]

The 14 or 15 days on National holidays (red days), will only be about 5 or 6 next year for regular Mon-Fri jobs. The ads will still be saying 14-15 days, even though most of them fall on weekends.

[Dome Vans]

[Aussiekimchi]

All Gangwando EPIK public schools offer at least 5 weeks vacation on top of the red days.

Gangwando POE guarrantees the most vacation time of all public school locations.

The vacation weeks are broken up between summer and winter. Usually 3 in summer and 2 in winter.

All POE's and MOE's have different contracts so ask your recruiter for a sample contract from Gangwando POE.

ESL Starter is a new outfit run by a UK guy and a Korean girl I think. They are based in Korea.
The UK guys seems quite nice. He's just starting out so I'm sure he'll be keen to look after you.

I am not 100% sure, but ESL Starter may not have a contract with EPIK, so it may simply be another recruiting firm posting on the ESL STARTER jobs board...just like all recruiting firms post jobs on Dave's.
When looking on their jobs board, simply cross check the recruiter's name that is posting the job.

If your recruiter is worth a grain of salt, they will put you in contact with their past teachers in that area if you ask.

[Otherside]

dsmoore, most people who have 3months vacation in public schools have signed contracts which state they have 14-21 days vacation. However, the schools are closed during the vacations (about 3.5months) and its up to the principals decision whether you a. work a summer/winter camp during that time, b. come to work, sit at your desk in an empty school for 8 hours and go home or c. get addtional days off.

Gangwon-do offers the best vacation for public schools according to the contract, it is 35 days. (however, I believe these are calendar days, so read 5 weeks ie 25 working days) + another 14 days (again calendar days, ) if you renew. Plus you get all public holidays (however there's a bad run coming up where most of them fall on weekends, so about 5-6).

Another thing to mention is that often in public schools you get random "bonus" days throughout the year, I've been at my current school for just over 3 months and I've already had 2 (and looking at the school schedule, I believe I'm due for another 3 in september).

[dsmoore]

Thanks for the replies. We got the official contract, and it does actually state 35 paid days vacation. The recruiter confirmed that it's 4 weeks in the summer, 3 in the winter, so that seems pretty good. Otherside, thanks for confirming Gangwon-do as the best for standard vacation rates. I guess anything else is subjective to the area and school as others have stated.

I've quoted an email I just sent to the recruiter regarding contract negotiations. Again, from your standpoints, is what we are asking reasonable? Can the employer make these changes in our specific contract? We are scared the no matter how great a deal in vacation time, if they make you work during that time, it doesn't matter anyway. Can the work during vacation time be turned down anyway? The contract makes it seem you wouldn't have a choice.

[dsmoore]

Aussiekimchi, thanks for the info on ESL starter. That is pretty much what we had found too.

What do you mean when you say:

[Aussiekimchi]

ESL STARTER is a jobs board for all recruiters to post on as well as having their own jobs.
There is no wrong doing..simply saying the jobs you are looking at may not be from ESL STARTER as the recruiter.

[matthews_world]

Relax a bit, OP.

No need to post communications back and forth on this board. Take this as a cautionary measure.

Your recruiter has taken ample time to answer your questions. Most would find you to be a headache.