Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mekku]

okay so here's the deal:

today i had my first over-the-phone conversation with a hagwon i am considering teaching at. i had emailed them my info and set up a time to talk. he called an hour early which was fine....but some of the comments he made during the call kind of threw me off. i mean, i am not expecting every company i talk to to be like 'you're great, we want to you teach NOW, let's do the paperwork'. i am very glad that they aren't overly enthusiastic to get me there this second.

but i wasn't expecting the opposite. comments such as "are you sure you wouldn't want to start at the end of september instead of the end of august?", "take your time and talk to other schools before you make a decision", "look at our website again and email me with any more questions and we can talk again" (after i assured him i had read the website three times and looked at everything), telling me i probably didn't understand how things in korea work....just a variety of statements that were almost dissuasive. it might be hard to tell from the sample comments i provided, but overall the call was very hesitant and kind of threw me back a bit because it seemed as if he was really not wanting to potentially hire me. if this is the case then why call at all?

on the positive side- the man spoke excellent english!! almost no accent at all....a little disturbing, really

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

Was his name Jay?

Anyway, maybe he wanted to make sure you have enough time to get all the required paperwork and background checks completed. Trust me, if it sounds like he's trying to dissuade you, it probably means he's on the up and up and is just a careful guy.

[mekku]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Shauneyz]

Maybe you should talk to some other hagwons...? I can't even count how many hagwon owners I've had call me. It helped me really get a sense for what's out there.

[IncognitoHFX]

Sounds like the time I had to deal with a hagwon owner who wanted to recruit me for his school illegally because he had some bizarre clause in my school's contract (that was complete BS).

"You work here, yes?!!"
"No, I don't want to work here. I'd prefer not to work kindergarten or illegally."
"But contract it is! Choice no have! You must work here!!!" *Slams index finger into the table vertically*
"Uh huh."
"Here, take cigarette!!!"
"Sure.
"You like?!!? Good!!! You like Korean women!!?!? SMOOTH SKIN, eh?!!?! You like, you like. YOU WORK HERE!!!"

ad infinitum. At least your guy was being "nice".

[BigMikeAbroad]

This may be presumptuous but aren't there a lot of Mr. Kim's in Korea? I have talked to two or three over the phone and definitely different people. Just saying "Stay away from Mr. Kim" Doesn't seem to help that much. Does your Mr. Kim have any identifying features or language use?

BM

[IncognitoHFX]

[xtchr]

[KimchiExplosion]

[Otherside]

[quote="KimchiExplosion]

I"m prety sure I know the guy you're talking about. You can see his wife-beater through the cheap white shirt he wears, yes?[/quote]

No, you must be mistaken, the guy you are talking about is Mr Lee.

[mekku]

hehehe...you guys are all funny!

yes yes kims and lees are a dime a dozen in korea...i think this guys name was kevin or something though as he goes by his english name when talking and emailing me.

update...i had a second school contact me and send me a contract to sign.....did i mention i haven't even talked to that school yet? zero! no conversation what so ever. just an emailed contract with an attached note saying "by the way, can you be here august 4th instead of september?".....um sure buddy. i've never talked to you or anyone at your school, and you somehow think i can pack up my apartment, sell my car and get a visa in a three week period. wishful thinking on his part! and a red flag on my part!

it looks to be an interesting process! last night i realized i could go spend time at home (alaska) before i come over there, which means i either need to leave my current home (and job) quicker or delay korea a bit, not to mention that my criminal background check is done for the state of north dakota but my visa would come from the seattle consulate to my address in alaska...i wonder if anyone would notice/care???

[tfunk]

The first employer/recruiter you mentioned may have been burned in the past by somebody arriving, then freaking out or something similar. It seems far more professional to make sure that your future employee-to-be know what they are getting in to.