Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jhuntingtonus]

What format works for resumes for teaching in Korea? I am from the US and could make the kind of resume that works well here, but what are the differences? Could anyone share one of theirs that they think worked well for them, so I can use the same format?

Thanks! Arriving in Seoul in March.

[maingman]

What Color is Your Parachute? 2005: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers

[bassexpander]

Keep it to a page or two. Don't add your blood type (seriously). B-type carrys negative steretypes here.


Just about any typical format will do fine, as long as you have your education and experience listed. Koreans list experience in the opposite order from us (first job to last) rather than most recent first. That doesn't matter, though. They probably expect us to list it western-style. I always have.

Oh, and add or paperclip on a passport-sized photo of you wearing a suit (shoulders on up). I can't stress how important a quality photo of a well-groomed candidate is in Korea. If you are hired by a hagwon, expect to see this smiling photo of yourself in poster-size greeting everyone walking in the front door of the school -- including yourself soon after you arrive. I'm not joking here. I remember a post from four years ago of a guy arriving in Korea to find his photo blown up 20 feet high on the side of a building (he was never asked for permission). It happened to me, too, although the photo was merely life-sized!

A good photo says a lot here, as they judge so much by appearance.

[Girlygirl]

DONT's: age, sex, race, height and blood type.

DO's: spell check and proof read!!!

Oh.....photo pasted onto the resume is always a no-no for me.

If you don't have any teaching experience then emphasize on your Ed., and also add a Profile section listing all your skills and abilities.

Good luck!

[cruisemonkey]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

The photo(s) is worth about 90% of it. Put a professional-looking passport-style photo of you in a suit at the top and a photo of you dressed smart-casual with some happy kids at the end. Shave and if possible try to look Aryan.

[Whistleblower]

Photos are not really important for me so I try not to include them on my CV. Just pointless ideas hagwon owners request; "Is the teacher pretty?", "Is the teacher nice with children/students?", etc.

References are pointless in this country as they never really check them.

[Girlygirl]

[Mr. Pink]

For the people saying NOT to put a photo, they are either ugly or trying to "beat" the system used in Korea.

You NEED a photo, it is just that simple. This is more so true if you are applying for a job from home and not going to be actually interviewing at the place you will be working.

For those who think photos aren't important, they are the first thing looked at by employers in Korea. Korea isn't like Western countries: they DO discriminate on looks, age and sex. They get away with it with no problems either.

[cruisemonkey]

[Oreovictim]

On some of the job sites, anyone can look up people's resumes and look at their pictures. It's amazing how people can't find the time or energy to put on some nice clothes and take a professional picture. This one girl put up a party pic. She had all that glittery sh!t on for eyeshadow.

[Big Mac]

To Korean employers, the picture is definitely more important than any other thing on your resume....even qualifications for the job. Koreans are very superficial about things like that. In Microsoft Word you can insert the picture on the top right corner of your resume and that usually works well.

To the person who said don't put your age....I would say age is the second most important thing for Koreans. Unfortunately to get a good job teaching English in Korea you have to look the part and be young. Most jobs (especially private academies) generally don't want over 40s and they especially don't want ugly or overweight teachers...like it or not.

If you put an old picture that makes you look thin, young and beautiful, and then when you get here you're fat, old or ugly...they'll look for a way to fire you. I've seen it happen. It isn't so much that the bosses are discriminatory...it's because the moms will complain. It hurts business to have fat or ugly teachers. They're going to go with what makes them money. I'm being serious here.

They are also interested in other things, such as your marital status too.

These are all things that as Westerners we think shouldn't be on a resume, but in Korea they are important. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.l

If you don't put your picture or age on your resume, don't expect a lot of hits.

[yeremy]

This format, which is what I usually use unless they want a more detailed one, has worked well for me. The most important things is to put a good and recent photo on your EFL resume. Most hagwon or other recruiters are not the most fluent readers of English, so a short but to the point format often works very well. When you are applying for jobs, it is best to use a simpler EFL type of resume unless you're applying for an academic position within a university for which you should write and apply with a cv, curriculum vitae. They would expect one in that case. However, this is only one possible format but one which has been successful in the past. Feel free to change it to suit yourself but remember, in Korea simple and concise is often as good as a longer American style resume which many of the hiring authorities I have known do not really read, so you may waste your time doing that. Good luck. Cheers.


Name: recent photo
Address:
Phone number:
Nationality:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
E-mail:

Objective: To teach EFL to young learners in South Korea.

Education & Training (most recent first)
University
Dates of attendance
Major
GPA

TEFL/TESOL Certificates
Name (hours)
Dates: from -finish
Grade: --

Employment History (your former employers are often called to check
and verify that the info supplied is true and
if you left in good faith and they would rehire you.)
Name of school Phone #
Title Dates

[Whistleblower]

[Girlygirl]

Let me rephrase my advice to the OP: when I said don't put your age, sex etc...on the resume..I meant not specifically stated on your resume, b/c those things are irrelevant. As the employer will take 30 seconds to skim through your resume, what he/she looks for, at a glance, is your qualifications.

As far as your sex, age, etc......hello there's an application for that. Obviously they will know all your stats. Same goes for you height - health check form. Same goes for your race - believe or not, people can tell by your last name. Now for the photo, I meant send the picture as a separate attachment. Please don't paste it onto the resume....it looks very tacky.

Now after you send all the required doc, and the employer discriminates you b/c of your age, looks etc.....screw him! Why would you work for someone who doesn't value you as an asset?