Korean Job Discussion Forums

[GoldMember]

Just thought I'd post some tid bits about conversations I've had in the past with recruiters:
Recruiter: What country are you from?
Me: If you look at line 2 on my Resume, you'll see it there:
Recruiter: Oh, ok, and what is your visa status?
Me: Look under line 2!
Recruiter: Where did you go to school?
Me: Try line 4

Me: Sorry I can't attend our 3:00pm appointment, I've been hit by a car and have to go to hospital.
Recruiter: Then how about 4:00pm
Me: Em, No, I have to go to Hospital.
Recruiter: Does that mean we can't meet today?

Me: The only time I have free is on Tuesday and Thursday.
Recruiter: I want you to work Mondays!

Me: No, I don't want to work at xyz
Recruiter: Why?
Me: I have my reasons.
Recruiter: I want to know.
Me: I have my reasons.
Recruiter: But why?
Me: None of your business.
Recruiter: Your rude.
Me: Your nosey.
Recruiter: You foreigners are difficult.
Me: Maybe but at least we are not nosey.

Recruiter: I want to meet today
Me: Can't today-No time.
Recruiter: We must meet today.
Me: Can't
Recruiter: Why?
Me: No time
Recruiter: Why no time?
Me: Because I'm busy
Recruiter: Busy what do.
Me: No meet today-got it!. No meet ever!
Recruiter: Why.
Me: You annoy me.
Recruiter: Why annoy.
Me : Forget it, bye

Anyone else got any tid bits to add?

[reimund]

My most recent bust with a recruiter was when I told him that I'd "think about" a position that was yet to be fully offered to me (he wanted to expedite the process by telling the school that I'd take the position had it been offered). He was annoyed that I wanted to take some time, and told me most teachers reject the offer when they say they want to "think about it." So he proceeded to ask why I didn't like the school.

Silly for me, I shouldn't have told him. Because I actually was going to think about the offer, had I been given one, but I told him some things about the hagwon that concerned me. I knew immediately as we hung up the phone that he'd sell the position to another candidate who'd take the position instead.

Needless to say, he called back a couple of days later, with a smug attitude saying "sorry, the school didn't decide to hire you." I got pissed off, and decided to cut my business from him.

So there's a lesson about recruiters for the newbs: never, ever let them pry.

[Join Me]

I really have a hard time seeing how recruiters can be "smug" at a time like this. Must be some extremely dumb recruiters out there. I have been watching the job board on and off the last couple months and there seems to be many positions that individual schools are unable to fill. The economy may push a few people this way but the number of people who are (and will continue) jumping ship due to the Korean won has got to be far outnumbering the people that will be coming here. If I was a recruiter and could even find someone who wanted to work here, I would me mighty sweet to him or her. Maybe recruiters are in such bad shape they don't even care anymore because they are unable to make a living anymore.

[John_ESL_White]

last week


Recruiter: can you meet this week?

Me: Yes, I can meet on Thursday, but you have to give me the school address first

Recruiter: Ok. I will e-mail it to you

Me: OK.

---------Tuesday, no e-mail, Wednesday, no e-mail.....

Thursday morning

Recruiter: I am here. Are you ready to meet?

Me: Where are you?

Recruiter: In your city.....

Me: No. I can not meet you.

Recruiter: Why not?

Me: you never sent me the e-mail with the school's address.

Recruiter: Oh. Well, I will meet you now.

Me: No. I made plans.

Recruiter: But I drove three hours to get here.

Me: Well, when I didn't hear from you, I made plans.

Recruiter: When can you meet?

Me: When can you send me the school's address?

Recruiter: I'll text message it to you.

Me: Ok. message it and I'll call you back.

-------------

Recruiter: did you get the school address?

Me: Yes. Thank you.

Recruiter: Can you meet us now?

Me: No. I made plans. When you didn't e-mail me three days ago, I made plans.

Recruiter: When can you meet?

Me: I'll e-mail you.

(-:

----------------------------------------------------------------

It was a PT job. I walked into the school the next day and introduced myself to the director and cut out the recruiter. Worked perfectly....

[Aussiekimchi]

and for every post such as this one, there could be similar ones written about teachers.

This, like every industry in the world, has both good and bad elements.
It always makes me laugh when I read things on this board about recruiters because when recruiters all get into one room, the stories are the same.

Teachers complain about students, students complain about teachers.
Applicants complain about recruiters, recruiters complain about applicants.

For the most part though, I would say the really crappy recruiters in Korea get to enjoy the clientele of the really crappy teachers.

You should be pretty much able to pick a lemon in this industry within the first few seconds of a phone call.

Soapbox has just been kicked over.

[Teelo]

Two months after emailing a recruiter, I'm still getting contacted by them asking if I want the Wonderland position they offered me

[Rebound]

Me, in email: Hi, I'm interested in job number 12 on your Dave's ad, the one in X.

Them, in response: Oh, thank you for emailing, can I know your age and nationality?

Me: OK, here they are, but you could see it on my resume.
Them: OK, thanks, we are contacting the school in X about you. In the meanwhile, here is our website. Please look at it and see if there are any schools you like there.

- me looks at website, see that all those schools suck like teaching kindergarten, teaching from 7am to midnight, being located in a cat ahole place, paying chicken scratch -

Them: So, have you found any jobs on that list you like?

Me: No, I am only interested in that job in X. Have you heard back from them?

Them: ANY JOBS????

Me: NO I AM ONLY INTERESTED IN X


No more communication.

[ThingsComeAround]

I got a funny one:

Rec: Hello! The school in ___ would like to speak with you
Me: OKay
Rec: Yes. The director is very nice and beautiful. She is also divorced
Me: (pause) okay?
Rec: So if you want, you can try.. (laughs)
Me: i see
Rec: So, we will call you again tomorrow, so you can talk to her

never heard from him again THANK GOODNESS!

[Rebound]

[ChinaBoy]

[Ramen]

[Xuanzang]

I love my Korvia recruiter...none of this crap.

[Korussian]

Recruiter: "Don't worry, the school has a special status from the government, so you can teach there on a tourist visa".
Me: "That's fantastic! I'm so lucky. When I arrive in Korea and the customs officer asks me my purpose of stay, I'll tell him the name of the school where I'll be working, mention their "special status" and your name/phone number too, okay?"
Recruiter: "Oh no no no, you can't do that...."
Me: "No, your magnificence? Pray tell why not..."

[Gimpokid]

I got a really muffled and broken english call from a recruiter wantin a phone interview. I answered 90% of the questions with "excuse me?" and "I'm sorry, but I'm having a difficult time hearing you."

The next day I got an email which said she was happy to meet me and would I consider XXXXX offer.

[jboney]

It seems that the asking of questions that can clearly be answered by reading your resume is quite common. That's how my interview with 2 recruiters went and that's also how my SMOE interview went. The SMOE interviewer even tried to downplay my previous teaching experience (which I thought was a pretty funny tactic, considering I listed in detail some of my duties and responsibilities).

Also, I'll never forget the experience that I had when I talked to a recruiter and after telling me that I had excellent experience and education and a great attitude, they asked me where I was interested in working. I said "Seoul" and they said, "Yeah, I can get you a job in Seoul". Then they asked if I would be interested in Busan, and then they continued to talk about Busan, and how it was great and how I could get more money at a hagwan there, and how there's the beach, and big apartments, and big apartments on the beach, and more money, and blah, blah, blah...I knew right then and there that this recruiter was all about Busan, and that he really didn't have squat to offer where I wanted to be.
"We'll give you a call in October about positions or openings in January". Didn't hear anything from them, and I'm kinda glad I didn't. So that was it.