Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ronnie555]

It may seem like I haven't done any work to some, but I've honestly spent the entire last month deciding where I want to teach ESL after college. Mexico, Panama, Uruguay, Czech Republic, Romania, Taiwan, Thailand, HongKong..... the list goes on forever.

I finally decided on Korea, but now I feel like I have no idea where to start. I graduate school this spring, and would like to leave for Korea sometime this summer (june-august), and hopefully get a job in the fall. What is the best way for me to go about doing this? I really want to be in Busan as well. I'm not sure how difficult it is to get a job in Busan compared with other areas in South Korea, hopefully someone can tell me this.

Anyway, what's the very first thing I need to do? now that I've chosen Korea. Should I look at job postings online and send out my resume? talk to a recruiter? what.

thanks in advance for the help !

[SeoulMan99]

Feel free to talk to recruiters now to get an idea about the liklihood of finding a job in Busan, etc. But, specific jobs do not hit the market until 2-3 months before they are to be filled. So, you aren't going to be applying for a job in August until around May or June at least. Basically where you are right now you can't do much besides educate yourself on what to expect etc. Don't get the criminal check until closer to when you are applying since they are only good for six months. The other documents get together when you're applying also.

From what i've seen jobs in Busan are more difficult to come across than Seoul. You can try to find a job there, but I believe you will have a more difficult time than finding one in Seoul or other cities. I was told by a recruiter that the local economy there was hit harder than most of Korea (not sure on the validity of that?).

Things I would do now:
* Start learning Korean.
* Maybe get a 100hr TESOL

[Ronnie555]

[SeoulMan99]

Ronnie - A tesol/tefl certainly isn't necessary. That said, the only thing it could do is help you. You'd probably be able to do a cheap one online, though then again I don't know if it would help that much. I have just a 50hr one, and the recruiters I spoke with said it was better than not having it. I wouldn't pay too much for it though.

[Ronnie555]

[SeoulMan99]

No problem. I try to help people with what I know so far.

[Moldy Rutabaga]

You remind me of myself nearly ten years ago when I was also choosing which country to teach in and went to Busan. You can look at my site (http://keneckert.com/esl) if that helps. I taught in Mexico and had a blast but it was not enough money to pay student debts.

Some are better than others, but I would avoid recruiters, who are usually much more interested in getting their commission than in placing a happy teacher. Look at the Dave's job listings and try to find openings for one school in Busan rather than one which has "anywhere you like"!

A TEFL certificate or some other program will be of some help in finding a job, but it will be of more help in preparing you as a teacher.

Welcome to the forum. Try to keep a thick skin on Dave's.

[Ronnie555]

[Kikomom]

Tell us where you're from. Different countries have different application processes for your work visa. If you're from one that requires apostilles, learn what an apostille is, how to get it, and why it is needed.

[Ronnie555]

[Kikomom]

Ok, Ronnie. You will definitely need to have your freshly minted sheep skin apostilled come graduation. Not the diploma itself, but a copy of it. A copy made and notarizied by the appropriate official from whichever state you are from. Google 'apostille' for your state to learn the proceedure--some states do it differently. Stay away from any third party agencies that do it for a fee, you'll have plenty of fees to pay doing this on your own and there have been some horror stories of it not being as timely as going to the state agencies yourself. Your criminal background check may need to be apostilled too?

There have also be many horror stories here about people who sent their original degrees just to never see them again. Learn the purpose of an apostille--it's a legal true copy for international documentation.

And be prepared to order about half a dozen sealed transcripts when your final grades come out. Some to use for the job you decide to apply for, and a couple to keep in your personal files for future use.

[Son Deureo!]

[Ronnie555]

[Kikomom]

[Ronnie555]