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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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DrugstoreCowgirl
Joined: 08 May 2009
Location: Daegu-where the streets have no name
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 Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Wurmwood wrote: |
| Let's all make sure we post a play-by-play of the interviews immediately after they're finished. Any September hires care to give a detailed account of how their interviews went? |
When I interviewed in the spring, it went about the same way as the description a few posts up. Just asking if I had ever worked with kids, why I wanted to teach in Korea, what my hobbies are, how I handle stress etc. |
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ippy
Joined: 25 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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It honestly boggles my mind how a recruiting procedure that finishes in February can actually have so many applicants. Not only that, but in a country that is almost continually advertising positions at all times of the year 
I mean, i can understand japan doing it because if youre in the UK, chances are you have two, maybe 3 ways of getting there (JET, interac and gaba/geos - though im sure one of those dont recruit in the uk, but cant remember which one), but korea has literally billions of ways to get a job so im honestly amazed that people will sit and twiddle their thumbs for 7 months and waiut for a location crapshoot when they could just find an ad for the place they want to live and go there.
Honestly, get your docs together, and youll have recruiters beating down your door.
But still, my amazement is no bar to your life plans, just think its nuts in truth  |
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Reise-ohne-Ende
Joined: 07 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| korea has literally billions of ways to get a job so im honestly amazed that people will sit and twiddle their thumbs for 7 months and waiut for a location crapshoot when they could just find an ad for the place they want to live and go there. |
Yes, but most of those random locations would be in hagwons, am I right? I don't want to work in the private sector, period. At least not until I get over there and get a feel for things. I'm sure there are many great private schools, but it's not a gamble I'm willing to take right off the bat. |
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ippy
Joined: 25 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Reise-ohne-Ende wrote: |
| Quote: |
| korea has literally billions of ways to get a job so im honestly amazed that people will sit and twiddle their thumbs for 7 months and waiut for a location crapshoot when they could just find an ad for the place they want to live and go there. |
Yes, but most of those random locations would be in hagwons, am I right? I don't want to work in the private sector, period. At least not until I get over there and get a feel for things. I'm sure there are many great private schools, but it's not a gamble I'm willing to take right off the bat. |
its all ESID |
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Reise-ohne-Ende
Joined: 07 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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WOW so I just had my interview!!! I think it went really well. Some comments:
1. 2 in the morning. O_O This was a difficult night! But it was worth it.
2. The man I talked to was very kind and spoke very good English. I was kind of worried about whether or not I would be able to understand the interviewer or not, but I worried for naught. 
3. It was LONG - every time I thought we were about to be done, he was like, "OK, here's another group of questions to ask you..."
some particulars I remember -
-How would your friends describe you?
-Why do you want to teach English in Korea?
-How do you handle stress? (rephrased and re-asked like five times!)
-What are some cultural experiences you've had in the past?
There were so many...I could go on and on, but I think those were some of the ones I found a bit more difficult.
He also asked the basic questions (medical stuff, do you have any piercings/tattoos, criminal record, etc.)
And finally there were some "what-if" questions. These were the most difficult to me! One of them was "If your co-teacher signed you up for the meal plan at your school but you didn't like the food, what would you do?" I was like ".........uhhhhhhhhh.........I would probably eat it anyway. It's food! But if it was completely inedible....I guess I would...talk to them?" A few others like that. Pretty much all of my answers were "talk to someone about it".
He asked if I had any questions too, and explained the timeline to me. And then he said I sounded like a good candidate and we said goodbye!!
It was a really good experience, but I am SO GLAD it's over. Especially since I get to go to sleep now.
Some advice for those of you who have yet to take it:
-Find some way to relax. I get really nervous waiting on phone calls for some reason, so I spent a lot of time listening to calming music and reading funny blogs.
-Dress up! I read this advice somewhere and it helped me soooo much. Dress up like you would if you were going to an actual interview. It changes how you feel about yourself and how you speak. Also it's good to stand up and walk a little because you sound engaged. I only stood for like the first 15 minutes though...after that I was like...yeah, I'm sitting now. 
-Take time to think and try to limit your um's and ah's. I actually didn't have any trouble with this; I think I was just being extra conscious of it. It also helped that I've been practicing my answers out loud for a couple days now! Also make sure to speak clearly.
Hopefully I've helped! If you guys have any questions, let me know, and let me know how your interviews go! I feel really optimistic and happy about this. |
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MalFSU1
Joined: 27 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Hello to all you soon to be EPIK'ers! Just wanted to say that when you come to Korea don't expect things to be one way or another because you read someones posting on Dave's. Everyone here is in a different situation whether it be related to housing, co-teachers, social settings. There is no "standard procedure" really. I work at two schools and they are both totally different from one another. Also, not sure if this was clarified, but they do not tell you teaching level(elementary, middle school) and city name until you are at orientation in Korea. |
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Shofny
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:49 am Post subject: |
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Hi there!
I have just received an email saying that my EPIK interview is on Thursday at 7:40 am UK time! I am really nervous! Any words of advice Reise-ohne-Ende? What sort of questions did they ask? Anyone give me some pointers for preparing?
Thanks!
Shofny |
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son of coco
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 4:19 am Post subject: |
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| Shofny wrote: |
Hi there!
I have just received an email saying that my EPIK interview is on Thursday at 7:40 am UK time! I am really nervous! Any words of advice Reise-ohne-Ende? What sort of questions did they ask? Anyone give me some pointers for preparing?
Thanks!
Shofny |
Relax! haha
It sounds like its changed a bit but I didn't think it was anything to get too concerned about. I didn't get questions about the school dinners though (or some of the others). You can decide whether you want to pay for the school dinners or bring your own at my school so that's probably an option. For about 2000 won a day though it's worth the gamble. There have been days where I've only eaten some of the kimchi and rice but they're rare.
Not even sure why that's a question...who cares what you'd do unless your answer was going to be 'go on a murderous rampage and take out half the school before heading downtown'? |
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doregan
Joined: 29 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:35 am Post subject: |
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| Reise-ohne-Ende wrote: |
WOW so I just had my interview!!! I think it went really well. Some comments:
1. 2 in the morning. O_O This was a difficult night! But it was worth it.
2. The man I talked to was very kind and spoke very good English. I was kind of worried about whether or not I would be able to understand the interviewer or not, but I worried for naught.
3. It was LONG - every time I thought we were about to be done, he was like, "OK, here's another group of questions to ask you..."
some particulars I remember -
-How would your friends describe you?
-Why do you want to teach English in Korea?
-How do you handle stress? (rephrased and re-asked like five times!)
-What are some cultural experiences you've had in the past?
There were so many...I could go on and on, but I think those were some of the ones I found a bit more difficult.
He also asked the basic questions (medical stuff, do you have any piercings/tattoos, criminal record, etc.)
And finally there were some "what-if" questions. These were the most difficult to me! One of them was "If your co-teacher signed you up for the meal plan at your school but you didn't like the food, what would you do?" I was like ".........uhhhhhhhhh.........I would probably eat it anyway. It's food! But if it was completely inedible....I guess I would...talk to them?" A few others like that. Pretty much all of my answers were "talk to someone about it".
He asked if I had any questions too, and explained the timeline to me. And then he said I sounded like a good candidate and we said goodbye!!
It was a really good experience, but I am SO GLAD it's over. Especially since I get to go to sleep now.
Some advice for those of you who have yet to take it:
-Find some way to relax. I get really nervous waiting on phone calls for some reason, so I spent a lot of time listening to calming music and reading funny blogs.
-Dress up! I read this advice somewhere and it helped me soooo much. Dress up like you would if you were going to an actual interview. It changes how you feel about yourself and how you speak. Also it's good to stand up and walk a little because you sound engaged. I only stood for like the first 15 minutes though...after that I was like...yeah, I'm sitting now.
-Take time to think and try to limit your um's and ah's. I actually didn't have any trouble with this; I think I was just being extra conscious of it. It also helped that I've been practicing my answers out loud for a couple days now! Also make sure to speak clearly.
Hopefully I've helped! If you guys have any questions, let me know, and let me know how your interviews go! I feel really optimistic and happy about this. |
Sounds like it went well! I pretty much got all those questions too! Except for the co-teacher/ meal one... thats kind of random! What was the guy's name who you interviewed with? I'm so glad I didn't have to wait until 2am for my interview! That would have been rough!
I was offered Busan, obviously conditional of my paperwork getting in and there being spots, but since my documents should arrive in Korea by tomorrow I'm not worried about not getting my first choice of Busan.
Just out of curiosity, what recruiter did you go through? Also, I think I read in one of your posts that you're from GA...I'm in North Carolina! I look forward to hearing about your progress! |
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Reise-ohne-Ende
Joined: 07 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 9:09 am Post subject: |
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| Not even sure why that's a question...who cares what you'd do unless your answer was going to be 'go on a murderous rampage and take out half the school before heading downtown'? |
Lol that's what I was thinking. I guess it's just to see if you can think quick on your feet?
| Quote: |
| What was the guy's name who you interviewed with? |
I honestly don't remember. Some American name. Elliott maybe? I might be making that up.
| Quote: |
| I was offered Busan, obviously conditional of my paperwork getting in and there being spots, but since my documents should arrive in Korea by tomorrow I'm not worried about not getting my first choice of Busan. |
That's what I'm hoping for!! He said it shouldn't be a problem since it's so early. He said the only possible concern is my hypothyroidism and can I get a doctor's note?  I was like...yes. Hopefully that won't cause an issue! You never know in Korea though; it's kind of a roll of the dice I think. I never realized how much I appreciated the anti-discrimination laws in the US...
| Quote: |
| Just out of curiosity, what recruiter did you go through? Also, I think I read in one of your posts that you're from GA...I'm in North Carolina! I look forward to hearing about your progress! |
I've been working with gone2korea. They've been really great and very helpful. What about you?
North Carolina! Well haaai thar! That was my horrible north Georgia impression. >_> If we both get Busan we should totally hang out at orientation. It sounds like so much fun!
I'm curious what other "what-if" questions you got? I got one about a condo fee and one about my classroom getting ransacked. Also about what if my co-teacher sucks at English, what if a student isn't doing well, and what if I have to prepare 30 lessons in 3 days for a summer camp. It would have been kind of fun if I weren't so nervous. |
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doregan
Joined: 29 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 9:48 am Post subject: |
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What was the guy's name who you interviewed with?
I honestly don't remember. Some American name. Elliott maybe? I might be making that up. |
Haha. Mine was Josh...I think...
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I was offered Busan, obviously conditional of my paperwork getting in and there being spots, but since my documents should arrive in Korea by tomorrow I'm not worried about not getting my first choice of Busan.
That's what I'm hoping for!! He said it shouldn't be a problem since it's so early. He said the only possible concern is my hypothyroidism and can I get a doctor's note? I was like...yes. Hopefully that won't cause an issue! You never know in Korea though; it's kind of a roll of the dice I think. I never realized how much I appreciated the anti-discrimination laws in the US... |
Yes, you never know in Korea. Hopefully it won't be a problem though.
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Just out of curiosity, what recruiter did you go through? Also, I think I read in one of your posts that you're from GA...I'm in North Carolina! I look forward to hearing about your progress!
I've been working with gone2korea. They've been really great and very helpful. What about you? |
I've been working with Footprints. They've been really nice and responsive, so no complaints on my end.
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| North Carolina! Well haaai thar! That was my horrible north Georgia impression. >_> If we both get Busan we should totally hang out at orientation. It sounds like so much fun! |
LoL. I could just hear the southern accent in that comment! I've heard some really nice things about Busan so I'm really looking forward to it. I think it would be great to make friends now that I could meet up with once in Korea. It might make the transition a little easier.
| Quote: |
| I'm curious what other "what-if" questions you got? I got one about a condo fee and one about my classroom getting ransacked. Also about what if my co-teacher sucks at English, what if a student isn't doing well, and what if I have to prepare 30 lessons in 3 days for a summer camp. It would have been kind of fun if I weren't so nervous. |
I think the only "what if" question I got was more along the lines of "how would I go about planning a lesson for 30 beginner students?" I don't remember any off the wall "what if" questions... I look forward to hearing from you! |
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Ebrown
Joined: 14 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:21 am Post subject: |
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| For people who have already interviewed, do any of you have tattoos? I've got a small one on my inner wrist, and I plan on getting one on my ankle and back before I head over, but if it's going to break my chances I might hold off. |
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ippy
Joined: 25 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:09 am Post subject: |
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| Ebrown wrote: |
| For people who have already interviewed, do any of you have tattoos? I've got a small one on my inner wrist, and I plan on getting one on my ankle and back before I head over, but if it's going to break my chances I might hold off. |
Interviewer: do you have any tattoos?
Interviewee: no.
Not exactly hard
And if youre ever called on it, say you thought they meant visible tattoos. |
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Reise-ohne-Ende
Joined: 07 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Ippy gives good advice. |
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scotty12347
Joined: 16 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Reise-ohne-Ende wrote: |
| Ippy gives good advice. |
Not if your manager decides to start messing about with your contract on the basis that if you break it he/she can too... |
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