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crazy_bagman
Joined: 07 Jan 2009
Location: Donducheon
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 Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 8:36 pm Post subject: SMOE refuses to give me back my documents! |
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I HATE SMOE!!!!!!
I had my interview in late April, got offered a job in the first week of May and they told me to send SMOE my documents. I DID so the following day. I waited and asked SMOE when I would get my contract and was told SMOE would send all the contracts out on June 30th.
I flew back home on May 20th after my first school's 1 year contract finished and I waited some more.
Then on July 6th I asked if the contracts have been sent out where I was told that SMOE changed their position and totally dropped my application and revoked the job offer, not even the waiting list. I was upset but calmly asked for my documents back.
After 3 weeks later, WHICH IS TODAY, I was told that they will not send my documents back.
WHAT IS GOING ON!?! SMOE has my documents and refuses to give them back!!!! |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:24 pm Post subject: |
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| None of the public school organizations will send documents back. This has been standard policy for years. They claim that they are supposed to keep them. |
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OculisOrbis
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| None of the public school organizations will send documents back. This has been standard policy for years. They claim that they are supposed to keep them. |
They say they are supposed to keep an original degree if someone sent that in and was later rejected? That would suck if you had done that. |
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The Gipkik
Joined: 30 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Think of the financial investment you made when getting your documents authorized as a recruiting fee to be paid. It's not fair, but that is the risk you had to take to be considered for a job with SMOE or any other government agency. However, it is true that things are getting a bit carried away. Usually documents sent meant the assurance of a job. Competition for work makes everything look a little less pleasant. |
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OculisOrbis
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:14 am Post subject: |
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| The Gipkik wrote: |
| Think of the financial investment you made when getting your documents authorized as a recruiting fee to be paid. It's not fair, but that is the risk you had to take to be considered for a job with SMOE or any other government agency. However, it is true that things are getting a bit carried away. Usually documents sent meant the assurance of a job. Competition for work makes everything look a little less pleasant. |
Besides just not giving his documents back being a problem, a bigger issue is that they took three weeks to tell him they wont give his documents back after he asked for them. In that three weeks he could have compiled a completely new set - now he's been set back by almost a month because of their delay and/or ignorance of their own policies. |
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The Gipkik
Joined: 30 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:34 am Post subject: |
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| OculisOrbis wrote: |
Besides just not giving his documents back being a problem, a bigger issue is that they took three weeks to tell him they wont give his documents back after he asked for them. In that three weeks he could have compiled a completely new set - now he's been set back by almost a month because of their delay and/or ignorance of their own policies. |
SMOE has no one to answer to, really. They are essentially a kind of employment monopoly. It's like playing PACMAN. Everything is stacked up against you to lose. There is no incentive for you to win or be fulfilled, financially or socially, because the qualifications and teachers they really NEED are abysmally low. Best for the OP to see this as a problem with Korean education: disorganization--even apathy.
Just keep in mind that 7 people, yes 7, have beaten PACMAN. So, it can be done.  |
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OculisOrbis
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:37 am Post subject: |
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| The Gipkik wrote: |
| OculisOrbis wrote: |
Besides just not giving his documents back being a problem, a bigger issue is that they took three weeks to tell him they wont give his documents back after he asked for them. In that three weeks he could have compiled a completely new set - now he's been set back by almost a month because of their delay and/or ignorance of their own policies. |
SMOE has no one to answer to, really. They are essentially a kind of employment monopoly. It's like playing PACMAN. Everything is stacked up against you to lose. There is no incentive for you to win or be fulfilled, financially or socially, because the qualifications and teachers they really NEED are abysmally low. Best for the OP to see this as a problem with Korean education: disorganization--even apathy.
Just keep in mind that 7 people, yes 7, have beaten PACMAN. So, it can be done. |
Agreed, but it still sucks for the OP, through no fault of his own. Just expressing my sympathy in these posts, there is nothing that can really be done about it by anyone. |
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The Gipkik
Joined: 30 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:43 am Post subject: |
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| OculisOrbis wrote: |
Agreed, but it still sucks for the OP, through no fault of his own. Just expressing my sympathy in these posts, there is nothing that can really be done about it by anyone. |
Sadly true. Sorry if I sounded complacent. Not my intention. Good luck OP. Any idea why SMOE changed their mind? |
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Troglodyte
Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 3:20 am Post subject: |
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| OP. Did you give them your original degree? Does your university give you copies of it? Many universities don't. |
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crazy_bagman
Joined: 07 Jan 2009
Location: Donducheon
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 9:55 am Post subject: |
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I have no idea why the turned around and refused me, i asked, but they won't say.
Yes it was my original degree, but I can get another one, for a price.
And yes, the fact that SMOE have been playing me for over 2 months and now I have to obtain new documents and finding a new job a mere month before the fall semester starts, it really gets under my skin.
Someone told me that it was illegal what SMOE did, but I don't know how it could be. Unethical, yes, but I don't know about illegal. |
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LeePDX
Joined: 04 May 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 11:38 am Post subject: |
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| I applied for EPIK this year and was wait listed. My recruiter told me that they are supposed to return documents to those that do not get jobs. They also said this does not always happen, but I don't think that it is standard practice for them to be kept...unless SMOE is different than EPIK completely. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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| OculisOrbis wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| None of the public school organizations will send documents back. This has been standard policy for years. They claim that they are supposed to keep them. |
They say they are supposed to keep an original degree if someone sent that in and was later rejected? That would suck if you had done that. |
I'm not sure about an original degree although they are doing that for the OP. But EPIK/GEPIK definitely do not return reference letters or resumes or copies of original documents. Always have multiple copies of EVERYTHING and never submit the original if you can help it. Maybe there are one or two people who have slipped through the cracks...but don't count on being one of the (very) few who do. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
I'm not sure about an original degree although they are doing that for the OP. But EPIK/GEPIK definitely do not return reference letters or resumes or copies of original documents. Always have multiple copies of EVERYTHING and never submit the original if you can help it. Maybe there are one or two people who have slipped through the cracks...but don't count on being one of the (very) few who do. |
I certainly don't lack sympathy for the OP's frustrations, but I was always under the impression that SMOE state clearly that submitted documents will not be returned and that's why I'd offer anyone exactly the same advice as TUM above.
Incidentally OP, have you been dealing with SMOE directly or through an agency? If the latter, could it be possible that it's been the agency messing you about in some way more than/rather than SMOE themselves? I do know that SMOE has, like so much of the bureaucracy in this part of the world, a bad habit of dealing with people like yourself poorly and being seemingly oblivious to the fact they're doing that. However, most applications to them involve using a recruiting agency and sometimes it's not always clear who the one at fault is. |
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oldfatfarang
Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: On the road to somewhere.
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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OP. Sorry to hear about the shoddy treatment. Basically, SMOE's just cutting costs (courier fees and staff time). You should take this as a blessing. SMOE is well known for treating it's applicants (and teachers) with less than polite behavior (and pushing their inefficiency costs onto applicants and current teachers).
Last year SMOE fired 100 new applicants at the last minute. No warning. These applicants had waded through the application process etc, signed contracts, visa numbers, had bought plane tickets etc. In fact, some of these unfortunates were just about to board their planes to Korea. That just about says it all.
Good luck. You've just had a lucky escape. |
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crazy_bagman
Joined: 07 Jan 2009
Location: Donducheon
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| Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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I had to deal directly with EPIK/SMOE as I was still in Korea at the time and was told by recruiters and EPIK that I had to apply directly.
I knew about last years incident with the 100 teachers getting fired, but I was informed it was a fluke. I took a little leap of faith and now I got burned.
It sucks but it's the fact I have to find a new job so late in the game after I took steps back in March to find a job for the fall semester... |
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