Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aq0437]

Hi there,
I'm new to this board and new to the idea of teaching in a foreign country. I've read through all the stickies and posts, but am still unsure about what all I can do to increase my chances of getting hired as an English teacher in Korea.
I will be graduating this coming summer with a degree in Mathematics (unrelated, I know) and will be applying to several recruiters. In fact I have already sent in my resume to a recruiter named askNow and they seem interested and keep sending me information, which I'm guessing is a good thing. I do have some prior teaching experience, if you count volunteering at my parent's private grade school for a couple weeks and ultimately want to become a high school teacher. I'm not very picky on what sort of school, what grade, or anything really; although, I would like to teach in one of the major cities I heard Seoul is very nice . Also, as an added bonus, I know absolutely no Korean, but I am willing to learn if that helps. What am asking is this: What can I do now to improve my odds of being hired by the end of summer? Should I take an online TEFL course? Should I learn Korean? Should I go through a recruiter? Should I face my extreme fear and deal with a school directly? Or should I just let my head explode now and be done with it?

Figured I'd ask the experts for their opinion, thanks for reading

[marcie09]

what is your extreme fear? that the person who interviews you from your school won't speak english in which case they'll hire you if your picture looks good? i didn't even have a phone interview, they just hired me which should have been my first clue that the next year of my life would be one miscommunicated ego battle after the next with my co-teacher. you should probably decide if you want to be in a public or a private school...I don't think there's anything else you need to do to "increase" your chances..it just depends on the demand. i think alot of newbies don't have any experience and that seems to be just fine with korean employers. they will most likely only want you to pronounce things and smile anyway.

[Solarian]

They'll hire anything with a pulse and a degree that looks legitimate enough. You really have nothing to worry about. My advice is, hold out until you get a job offer you're really happy with, I settled on the third one, because I didn't want to appear "too picky".

[thoreau]

If you want to teach at a public school in Seoul then you only need to go through one recruiter. They all are linked into the same system.

You might want to increase your odds by considering teaching at a private academy (hagwon) and you could use a second (or even a third) recruiter for that.

Aside from that, when you get the phone interview speaking clearly and slowly. Answer the questions fully and try to elaborate a bit on each point. A teacher is someone who can speak. Giving one word answers in an interview is a bad omen.

[Manuel_the_Bandito]

If you're really ugly consider plastic surgery. If you're fat consider ways to lose weight. If you're not white practice setting up photography lighting to make you look lighter. I take it you're young enough that balding shouldn't be a concern.

Really, if you've got a degree in mathematics why not just get certified to be a maths teacher? You'll always be in demand in any part of the world.

[marcie09]

^ negative^
come for the experience of what it feels like to be an outsider and the humbling enlightenment that will bring to your life....don't listen to people who are bitter, but know that you will need to be strong and flexible for this journey to be a successful one. Things are not what they seem in Korea, and you will spend many hours in your head going over situations and dialogues that won't make sense even if you toil over them for years. You will leave a changed person, and have lots of time to personally reflect on your life. Will you be a teacher? Ummm not sure, but hey...don't worry about having credentials that's for sure....depending on where you're stuck and who you're working with you may never need them. I am a robot at my job, and creativity and spontaneity in the classroom is viewed as being 'unprepared' in my school so just stick to the script and do the monkey dance..you should be okay!

[valkyrian2]

OP:

As long as you are breathing, have a degree , are not infected with HIV, and not addicted to narcotics you are just about 101% assured of finding a job in Korea.

IF you want a GREAT job then a little luck wouldn't hurt.

[aq0437]

God I hope its as easy as that, lol, and don't worry sir Bandito I'm not balding... I was going to take one of those online TESL courses, but now its sounding like I don't need to, which is good since there are so many other nice things I could buy with the money (iPhone anyone??). Also i just got a message through my recruiter wanting me to apply to EPIK, although I have heard nothing but bad things and will probably avoid it, like the plague.

[Bloopity Bloop]