Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Skippy]

While looking at all the new job postings. I am amazed at all the ASAP or need a teacher next week postings. I thinking one of two things either that some schools ar stupid to not plan ahead and search sooner or that they just lost a teacher due to difficulties.

Any comments or stories about your school that did not plan? Or you took and ASAP job and regreted it or loved it?

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Alex Buffa]

It's a bad sign. Needing a teacher ASAP often means that they have no teacher. Why? We don't really find out until we've signed the contract.

If they are pushy, walk away. One lady kept calling me to contract with her. I told her after 2 days I would not sign with her and when she asked me why not, I told her that a professional manager does not pester potential employees to work in that manner. Her reply was that she thought I was a great teacher. I told her that since she had never seen me teach, I had to question her real motives.

In the end, I never signed with her. Do I regret it? No. A good school takes their time in hiring the right person. Be picky, and make the right choice the first time. So many here accept their first offer w/o ever really considering their choices, then come here asking if they made the right decision. I view those people are too naive and not very bright in making business decisions. You should always do you research before you sign...not after.

[ChooChooPongPong]

I'm currently on Boracai Island in the Philippines on a short vacation....hoping to return to Seoul with a job prospect. What do I get in my inbox everyday? ASAP crap and spam mail that is completely NOT what I specified in my job seek post. It is a p!ss off to say the least. And when I leave this little Internet Cafe on the beach...I will be confronted with pushy little men encouraging me to buy a rolex every twelve steps I take. Who goes to a beach to buy a fake Rolex? And on top of that I got other dudes trying to sell me sunglasses despite the fact I have a perfectly nice and fake pair on my face already. Anyways...recruiters are no different from these guys. They offer the same product in the same way time and time again looking for a sucker. Same same....but different different. Walk away and they will cut you a better deal.

[Skippy]

I should have also asked - How soon is to soon. I mean we need you to start today versus we need you to start in two weeks. I then also look at the ASAP ones that needs someone for next week and they do not try and sweeten the deal. I mean I see once in a while an advert that says we need a teacher at the end of the present month and they are offering 1.8 million, spilt shift, kindergarten and horrible hours. Come on people try and sell it or make it look good some way.

Skippy the Wondering Wandering One

[peppermint]

Somebody's gonna say it, and it might as well be me.

Last minute hires aren't always the schools fault. Sometimes, the person they signed a contract with gets cold feet, sometimes a teacher does the run for reasons unrelated to the working conditions. These are the exception, not the rule, but it should be pointed out. We all know someone who left because of a family emergency, or because they couldn't deal so well with life in another country. I considered leaving two weeks into my first contract because of some events that were entirely unrelated to work.

How soon is too soon? Depends- are you in the country or not? Tomorrow is always too soon, that means they won't give you time research nand find out if the school is decent or not, but if you're already in the same city, a week might be reasonable.

[Juggertha]

I htink it flows both ways.. how mnay people have come here looking to start right away? are they bad?

circumstances must be taken into account.

[kittyfye]

Ahoy, Skippy. I am still in the States and planning to make my decision on a job this weekend with the intention of arriving in Korea no sooner than the second week of March. I have been researching jobs for months now, at least since October. I dont suppose my advice would be any different from anyone else's here since Ill pass on to you what foreign teachers in Korea have told me via the internet during my research.

What I was told most was DONT be in a hurry. If you feel pressured at all, then just back out. There is no shortage of jobs over there, so dont fear that you are missing the big one. THey all basically offer the same pay and perks anyway. In fact, as best I can tell, the 'big one' is going to be a job where the director truly cares about the welfare of the foreign teacher and is actually at least somewhat concerned with educating the students. And this quality, of course, wont be apparent to us until we are already there.
Good luck, man. See you there!

[rok_the-boat]

I think some teachers probably accept more than one job, stringing others along until a better one pops up - leaving one school with a sudden problem. If they payed better, they'd stand a better chance of keeping them. Also, some probably quit for reasons other than money, i.e. with a foot in the door they visit the school a few times for paperwork and discover the place is a nightmare. Schools do plan ahead - the problem is the teacher they have chosen sometimes backs out.

[Skippy]

True a school can plan ahead. And they could have found someone and that person said nah in the end. That is why a school should never stop looking when they have one almost - repeat almost in the bag. Some schools really jump the gun. They feel if you visited the school you have signed the contract practically. Don't have one teacher on the go have two to three possibilities. Maybe give the teachers a warning. "We have a couple other possibilities coming!" So you may not get the job!

Actually has anybody been to see a school and been given the contract to sign?

Skippy