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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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dedalus2
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: That's what you get for waking up in Vegas.
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 Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 11:13 pm Post subject: How long does it take to get a job? |
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I've been applying through recruiters and job postings on here, craigslist, etc. for the past two weeks and have only gotten two replies, neither of which seem very promising.
I graduated from Berkeley with an English degree and a good G.P.A., and I have an F4 visa, but am not bilingual in Korean. The only thing I'm requesting is that I want to be placed in Seoul.
Am I asking too much? |
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romano812
Joined: 09 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 11:43 pm Post subject: |
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| You should post your resume on Serious Teacher and Dave's ESL. |
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andrewchon
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Location: Back in Oz. Living in ISIS Aust.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 11:51 pm Post subject: asking too much |
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From the info you gave I'd say yes. The probability is against you.
You can:
stick to your gun and hope somebody cancel/cold feet or
ask for somewhere near Seoul or
try CDI hagwon.
The probability is against you because:
although Berkeley is a fine school but is relatively unknown (that happens when you don't win Rose Bowl) in Korea
GPA counts very little in Korean ESL game
F4 visa holders usually go non-Seoul
You don't say you have a CELTA/TESOL
I haven't seen you, I can't comment on your looks.
I'd say stick to your guns and wait for a Seoul job, it'll turn up sooner or later. |
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Carla
Joined: 21 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:01 am Post subject: Re: How long does it take to get a job? |
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| dedalus2 wrote: |
I've been applying through recruiters and job postings on here, craigslist, etc. for the past two weeks and have only gotten two replies, neither of which seem very promising.
I graduated from Berkeley with an English degree and a good G.P.A., and I have an F4 visa, but am not bilingual in Korean. The only thing I'm requesting is that I want to be placed in Seoul.
Am I asking too much? |
It took me about 1 week to apply to jobs, do interviews, take offers, and pick which school I wanted. But, I'm American, white, female, has experience in Korea, was a teaching assistant at an American university, tutored new immigrants in survival English in America, created study guides for the American naturalization exam, can read and write hangul, speak a small amount of Korean and Spanish. I've also traveled to Japan, China, and Vietnam. These all work for me, so not everyone finds a job that quick.
When you reply to a job add, do you include your resume? And your picture? I also included my Cover Letter introducing myself in ways a simple resume cannot.
The fact that you are gyopo works against you if your Korean is not good. Some schools want gyopos specifically, but that's because they can speak Korean also.
Your best bets are to either wait it out until you find the job you want, or to expand your area. Does it have to be in Seoul, or can it be in Suwon, Ansan, etc.? |
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dedalus2
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: That's what you get for waking up in Vegas.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:06 am Post subject: |
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aigoo! i figured that was the case...
funny thing is, when people in korea ask where i went to school and i say 버클리 대학교 they all know it, so i don't think it's about the school as much as it is about being 교포, even though i don't think 교포 accurately applies to me...
why do the F4's not go to seoul?
i've noticed listings for gyeonggi-do, but i thought daejeon was boring. i'm not sure if ansan or suwon would be much better. |
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andrewchon
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Location: Back in Oz. Living in ISIS Aust.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:24 am Post subject: |
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Revised estimate based on your latest info:
You're bilingual
perhaps I was wrong about Berkeley's rep in Korea. Nonetheless the Golden Bears haven't been to Rose Bowl since '51.
Important word: 'boring'. What's entertaining for you? Sports? Arts? Cafe life?
F-4's don't go to Seoul not because they don't want to but Seoul prefers E-2. E-2 puts more bums in seats. |
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dedalus2
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: That's what you get for waking up in Vegas.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:24 am Post subject: |
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i include a resume, photograph, cover letter about me... and in it, i explain specifically my situation, which is the following.
-yes, i am korean. you can tell from my cheekbones, my eyes, and the fact that my passport is stamped F4.
-english is my native language.
in terms of my korean language skills, depending on where you want to place me i'm 입양/교포. since i wasn't raised in a korean speaking environment, my korean is very limited, but, i did take two years of korean in college, and i can read/write like a kindergartner, and speak/listen like a deaf/mute. i'd say A for effort, but most people would give it an F. i'm fluent in french too, but not like that helps.
of course, in my cover letter i phrase everything in a much nicer fashion. maybe i'm sending TMI? i figured i may as well explain it all and see what happens. |
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Carla
Joined: 21 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:37 am Post subject: |
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| dedalus2 wrote: |
i include a resume, photograph, cover letter about me... and in it, i explain specifically my situation, which is the following.
-yes, i am korean. you can tell from my cheekbones, my eyes, and the fact that my passport is stamped F4.
-english is my native language.
in terms of my korean language skills, depending on where you want to place me i'm 입양/교포. since i wasn't raised in a korean speaking environment, my korean is very limited, but, i did take two years of korean in college, and i can read/write like a kindergartner, and speak/listen like a deaf/mute. i'd say A for effort, but most people would give it an F. i'm fluent in french too, but not like that helps.
of course, in my cover letter i phrase everything in a much nicer fashion. maybe i'm sending TMI? i figured i may as well explain it all and see what happens. |
Here's the best advice I ever got about cover letters. Pretend it's your mom writing it. There is such thing as too much info, but almost anything can be put in a positive light.
You were joking about the "you can tell from my cheekbones, my eyes, and the fact that my passport is stamped F4" part, right? Right? |
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dedalus2
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: That's what you get for waking up in Vegas.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:40 am Post subject: |
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| andrewchon wrote: |
Revised estimate based on your latest info:
You're bilingual
perhaps I was wrong about Berkeley's rep in Korea. Nonetheless the Golden Bears haven't been to Rose Bowl since '51.
Important word: 'boring'. What's entertaining for you? Sports? Arts? Cafe life?
F-4's don't go to Seoul not because they don't want to but Seoul prefers E-2. E-2 puts more bums in seats. |
we don't care about the rose bowl. we're more concerned about stanfurd.
i wouldn't call it bilingual. i'd call it, one step up from pointing at the pack of raison blues behind the counter and holding up one finger.
well, there was a huge combination of things that went wrong during my brief sojourn to daejeon that i'd prefer not to go into. i'm thinking i might be blacklisted since i pulled a midnight (actually a 3 am) run during the pouring rain a few weeks back, but then again, when i applied for my first round, i only had one recruiter ever respond, and she's the one who placed me just in time for shit to hit the fan at the hagwon.
i tended to get more replies when i was physically in seoul, and even had an interview. but i told the recruiter i needed to see the contract, and before he could show it to me, he gave the job to someone else. but, after blowing a couple of k on my last korea sojourn (lasting three weeks), i'm not about to go back there on a whim and chance it for the best. |
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dedalus2
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: That's what you get for waking up in Vegas.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:42 am Post subject: |
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| Carla wrote: |
| dedalus2 wrote: |
i include a resume, photograph, cover letter about me... and in it, i explain specifically my situation, which is the following.
-yes, i am korean. you can tell from my cheekbones, my eyes, and the fact that my passport is stamped F4.
-english is my native language.
in terms of my korean language skills, depending on where you want to place me i'm 입양/교포. since i wasn't raised in a korean speaking environment, my korean is very limited, but, i did take two years of korean in college, and i can read/write like a kindergartner, and speak/listen like a deaf/mute. i'd say A for effort, but most people would give it an F. i'm fluent in french too, but not like that helps.
of course, in my cover letter i phrase everything in a much nicer fashion. maybe i'm sending TMI? i figured i may as well explain it all and see what happens. |
Here's the best advice I ever got about cover letters. Pretend it's your mom writing it. There is such thing as too much info, but almost anything can be put in a positive light.
You were joking about the "you can tell from my cheekbones, my eyes, and the fact that my passport is stamped F4" part, right? Right? |
yes, that was a joke. i don't need to write that in my cover letter, they can tell from the picture. |
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Carla
Joined: 21 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:46 am Post subject: |
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| dedalus2 wrote: |
yes, that was a joke. i don't need to write that in my cover letter, they can tell from the picture. |
Ok, just checking, some people do like to add a bit of humor, but there is a thing as too much. And there is always time on the interview to show your personality.
Are you sure you aren't blacklisted since you pulled a runner? Or was the whole hagwon just disasterous?
I know a Korean, not a gyopo, but a Korean who was turned down from jobs because he didn't have enough "overseas" experience even if his English was pretty good. So, there are positions out there for gyopos, and that one was in gangnam.
Decide what you really want, what you can live with, and what is not acceptable. Then, put your feet in the ground and hold out for what you want. |
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andrewchon
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Location: Back in Oz. Living in ISIS Aust.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:54 am Post subject: |
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| You are bilingual by Korean standard. What you think of yourself might be holding you back in your job search. And from what I can make out from para.3 and 4 you ought to keep searching for a Seoul job. |
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dedalus2
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: That's what you get for waking up in Vegas.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:58 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Are you sure you aren't blacklisted since you pulled a runner? Or was the whole hagwon just disasterous? |
i have no idea. if i was blacklisted, i wouldn't know, since the last time i went through this, i got few responses as well.
the hagwon, was "special" for lack of better terms, and it seems like it was just a series of bad circumstances and events that just happened to have happened to me.
but like i said, considering that i've gotten 2 responses after sending numerous applications over the past two weeks, if i'm blacklisted, i really can't tell, since that's about the same success rate i had last time.
i'm pretty sure my first recruiter won't want to work with me after i bailed. and i don't really think i'm very eager to work with her either. |
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Carla
Joined: 21 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:00 am Post subject: |
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| dedalus2 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Are you sure you aren't blacklisted since you pulled a runner? Or was the whole hagwon just disasterous? |
i have no idea. if i was blacklisted, i wouldn't know, since the last time i went through this, i got few responses as well.
the hagwon, was "special" for lack of better terms, and it seems like it was just a series of bad circumstances and events that just happened to have happened to me.
but like i said, considering that i've gotten 2 responses after sending numerous applications over the past two weeks, if i'm blacklisted, i really can't tell, since that's about the same success rate i had last time.
i'm pretty sure my first recruiter won't want to work with me after i bailed. and i don't really think i'm very eager to work with her either. |
Have you posted 25 yet? Can you pm? |
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dedalus2
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: That's what you get for waking up in Vegas.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:05 am Post subject: |
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| andrewchon wrote: |
| You are bilingual by Korean standard. What you think of yourself might be holding you back in your job search. And from what I can make out from para.3 and 4 you ought to keep searching for a Seoul job. |
O_O... the korean standard must be very very very low. i can read 한글 phonetically, but my vocabulary is severely limited. writing and reading are much easier than speaking or listening, but that's only if i'm armed with a dictionary and plenty of time to parse the korean syntax and translate. if you heard me speak it, or tried to speak to me in it, you can tell right away that my korean can barely get me to the 화장실 and back. |
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