Korean Job Discussion Forums

[B0RGNINE]

Hello all,

I'm fairly new to the board, but I've been lurking for the last month or two.

I'm planning on heading to Korea to work, and was looking for some advice from those in the know.

A little background about myself:

- B.A. in English.

- M.A. in TEFL/TESL.

- Teacher's Certification.

- 3 years experience as a JET talking head in Japan.

- 2 years experience teaching at a uni IEP.

I'm tentatively planning on heading over to Korea early this fall (middle of September).

(By the way, I've tried to do a search for some of the items below, but I keep getting a blank screen, so I apologize if all of this has been written about recently.)

My questions are these:

1. I have heard that it's best to look for a job upon arrival in Korea since there is more room to negotiate for a better salary and other benefits if you are actually in the city you intend to work in. Is this true?

2. If the above is true, is this also true for university positions or just hagwons? If I want a uni job, is it best to begin looking from where I am in the U.S.?

3. Is there a particular time of year when jobs are more abundant at either hogwans or universities because of the general academic schedule in Korea?

Thanks everyone for reading this far.

[PRagic]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=20656

Lots more in the FAQ section. The above thread covers the ins and outs of job hunting from within Korea and the visa shuffle.

Also, as you have your MA, you might want to consider applying to university positions. There's a separate sticky comparing the ins and outs of different types of jobs in the FAQ.

Good luck in your job search.

[ttompatz]

[B0RGNINE]

Thanks for the replies. There's some good information in the FAQ, but it seems most of it is a bit dated at this point. It sounds like 5 years ago, the best thing was to land in Korea and then look for a position. However, according to ttompatz, this isn't really possible anymore because I'm required to make a visit to the Korean consulate here first to secure a visa. This would mean that I would have to either apply for jobs from here first, or go through a recruiter (which by the sounds of things in the FAQ, sounds dodgy at best).

Would it be an unreasonable thing for me to avoid recruiters, contact schools myself, (hopefully) secure a position, and then possibly look for uni jobs in December? I'm guessing most schools want a year contract, but would a 6 month contract be out of the question?

[PRagic]

6 month contracts are often given out to people who have already been here a year as an extention, but not to new signers.

Universities are hiring NOW for the semester beginning in September. What's the problem? Apply.

Get a mailing packet ready and pump it out to any university worth applying to:

Mandatory

1) Resume and Cover Letter
2) Photo
3) Transcripts-copy
4) Diploma(s)-copy

Strongly Suggested

1) Statement of 'teaching philosophy'
2) CD of example lecture (can also include brief personal introduction)