Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rusty1983]

My boss (in the uk) claimed that nowadays you have 5 people applying for every job in Korea, on account of the economic difficulties happening at the moment. I thought "thats nonsense", am I right?

[Cartman]

Seems to be consistent with what I'm hearing. I've had about 7 different recruiters working on my behalf; just 1 or 2 jobs found in Busan to apply to, and a handful of jobs in Seoul. Out of 8 jobs to look at in Seoul, I've had just one interview, and the recruiters told me that this time last year I would've had 8 job offers by now...

Two of the more reputable recruiters told me that the jobs are still there, but the schools now have "pick of the crop" and can be more picky due to the higher volume of applicants.

[rusty1983]

Really? Wow, what a turn-up for the books. Is this gonna change everything a bit then. Lower wages cos of higher supply?

[wesharris]

I doubt this. There are still a large number of posted jobs on Dave's and others. From, what I can tell anyhow.
_+_+
Wes

[smjstevens]

It seems like there are still plenty of jobs out there, you just might not get your pick of city or season. If you're flexible with where you go, there are plenty of openings, and similarly, if you're picky about the city but flexible with when you go, you're bound to get a job in the city you want.

[rusty1983]

So 'there are 5 people applying for every job' might have been way off? I really want to tell him he is talking nonsense

[TheUrbanMyth]

Way off...if there were really five people or even two for every job...there wouldn't be that many job openings. Every week I get e-mails from hakwon recruiters offering 20+ different jobs.

Your boss is engaging in wishful thinking..or maybe it's a ploy to get your hopes down for a raise next year. Likely the latter.
Exceptions would be in the big cities like Seoul, Busan and Daegu because the vast majority of foreigners seem to prefer to work in those environs. Out in the countryside though and for mom-and-pop hakwons..there seems to be plenty left.

And don't forget that most people are only here for a year or two...not to mention all the runners.

[kinerry]

We got a few couples offers, no problem

Couples jobs are rare, maybe we just hit a niche area?

[Suwon4AGT]

Whether there are actually fewer jobs or not doesn't really matter. I have been told by more than one person (one of them being a hagwon director) that there is a growing sense among Koreans that westerners are flocking to Korea because they are desperate for a job. So would it surprise you that we are up for being treated even worse by the bosses and other teachers?

So, help combat this growing perception by spreading the rumor that us foreigners are talking to one another and are ready to ditch this place to go find better jobs in China.

[Kikomom]

[Suwon4AGT]

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Kikomom]

Suwon4AGT, I don't rant here, that was a simple statement of my perception of people who are representing my culture. Yes, the economy sucks and the world knows it. And yes, I understand the difficulties of throwing yourself into a strange culture and learning to deal with it.

What I am saying is have some self-respect and be good ambassadors of education... then work yourself out of a job.

Fighting rumors with rumors is a fool's mission.

[Whitey Otez]

In answer to the OP's question, is there a shift? Who could possibly know for sure, given the variables? Of those five resumes on your boss' desk, at least two of them won't actually get on the airplane. Of the three remaining, one of them might be too overqualified to be happy babysitting a bunch of uncooperative kids, and the other ones might just work out provided they don't go to one of the other fifty hogwans where their resume has also ended up.

From my position, I can say that I'll be looking forward to finishing my contract in a few months, but I sort of pity the replacement teacher almost as much as I pity my boss for not knowing why nobody wants to work for him.