Korean Job Discussion Forums

[digiboy]

Hi,

I'm currently teaching Junior High and Elementary students in Taipei at a cram school. My hours change every month, my boss can nice at times, at others you have to wonder "Does this guy have any people skills at all..?

Oh well, I've been here six months, and although I am getting better at teaching (the curriculum is very intense). I felt that there must be something better out there. Nearly all of the benefits listed in the public school positions are non-existent in my current position. I have already met two teachers here who swear, Sth Korean public schools offer a better deal. I did my research, and felt that they indeed do. I put my resume on the HiTeacher site last year just to see if anyone would bite. I also put my start date 2010-Sep-27. (Note, I have over five years experience, having taught in Hong Kong, Japan (public school) and Australia, although I have a Diploma of Education, I am not Certified)

Lo and behold I get a phone call from GMSC Recruiting, asking if I was interested. I said, yes although, I first have to honour this contract. End of phone call. Then I received yet another email, saying that they have some more positions. Now, I realise, that these recruitment companies will hardly ever read a resume properly...they probably just check things like....BA, Native English speaker etc...Although, on the other hand, if they are so desperate, why not at least, give me some idea of what's on offer...

MY question is this...which recruitment companies are the most reliable (for example, some have sent me emails, where the grammar is so bad, it's obviously not worth replying)

Also, it is possible to get a better deal, in terms of my contract considering I'm NOT a newbie at this ....( I have live and taught in foreign countries before...) Would I be able to use this to my advantage?

Thank you

[Murakano]

[outkast_3000]

I'll second the Korvia recommendation. Very professional and aren't out to place you in the first school that comes across them just to make their commission dues. They actually check references to make sure you're a viable candidate before doing school searches for you.

ThinkOutside Recruiting has been good to me as well. For the past two years I've used them and they've followed through on what I've wanted - however, this year they simply didn't get back to me...not sure what happened, I know they're still operating.

Rowan from ESL-Planet seemed like a nice enough guy. Straight-shooter, answers all your questions, and just generally accessible when you need something. However, my one minor complaint is that he wouldn't fight the schools on their preferences (i.e., white, female). He essentially told me to stop looking into the independent schools (despite my B.Ed, 2.5 years of experience, and TESOL cert.) and just apply to gepik directly and hope for the best on the bottom of the barrel jobs. It's not his job to be an advocate for equality - I get that - but I've had recruiters tell me "well, you're Asian, but we'll convince the schools on you because of your experience/qualifications". I got none of that from Rowan - and I don't begrudge him too much for it, but he took the easy way out, I think.

Sorry, that last bit was a personal rant - anyhow, I'd nevertheless recommend ESL-Planet for a noobie.

[digiboy]

thanks peeps...for the straight up replies...

Unfortunately I don't have a TESL or TEFL....does that automatically cut me out of the Kovia process? (Just went to their website...)

Also...I realise, I may not get 2.5 to 2.6 straight away. I was just hoping that they may take this into consideration when applying for positions for me?

Surely experience is plus and not a minus?

[outkast_3000]

Unfortunately, even with all your years of experience, you'd enter GEPIK at 2.1M won. To move up in GEPIK, only years of experience UNDER gepik are considered. But even then, without a TESOL/TEFL/CELTA, your cap is 2.2M.

Right now is a red-hot hiring period and you need to rush. Problem is, you're in Taiwan and you're going to need to get all your Visa documents in order...I suggest contacting ESL-Planet immediately as all the recruiters there speak perfect English and telling them about your situation - they'll tell you how feasible it is for you to get a job. Worst case scenario, if you REALLY want to work in Korea, is you might have to suffer out in the boonies for a bit before you get closer to Seoul. Granted, maybe you'll even enjoy it in the rural areas, who knows. But without a doubt, I've got the payscale right in front of me - with only a Bachelors Degree (not in education) and years of experience, you'll start at 2.1 - and your ceiling is 2.2 unless you get additional certification down the road.

Best of luck to you!

[outkast_3000]

Actually...I'm sorry, for some reason I thought you wanted to get into a public school. I only mentioned GEPIK which is one of the public school programs here...there is also EPIK and SMOE (who've completed their hiring). But they're only public school programs...you could probably latch on with a hagwon (private tutoring centres/cram schools) easily. But alas, I know nothing about them - I've only taught in the public sector.

[andrewchon]

OP, from what you've told us so far,
your experience will amount to nothing in Korean Public School NET Pay Scale.
At hagwons, one letter of recommendation is about 100,000 extra/month.
However, since you're coming from Taiwan,
(Koreans don't take kindly to pro-Japan countries)
that probably won't count either.

IMHO, switching to Korea for your stated reasons would be a bad choice.

[digiboy]

@andrewchon....

I don't really think that matters. I'm NOT Chinese. I'm Australian. I am just working here in Taiwan...