Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mr. bojangles]

I am currently teaching at a hogwan in Busan and have 3 months left on my 1st year contract. A few of my coteachers who started around the same time as me have been offered another year extension. I started off on the wrong foot with my director, but the last few months have been problem-free.
I would like to stay in Korea another year to teach at my current job, but I'm not very fond of my director and am not sure how I should handle the situation.
What would you say is the optimal way for me to proceed, being 3 months away from the end of my contract:

A) Wait another week or so and see if the director approaches me (personally, I dislike the waiting game)

B) Be more assertive and go meet with the director and ask if I will be getting an offer to re-sign (if not, this may be awkward...but at least then I will know)

C) Don't ask and start looking for other job positions that begin in 3 months.

What do you think? Any other suggestions are much appreciated.

[tanklor1]

B than C.

[dethe]

During break start looking for job online. When Korean teacher asks what you are doing say "Looking for a job. The boss hasn't asked me to stay yet and I want to stay in Korea another year." She/he will run to boss and tell them you are looking for a new job for next year. You will have an answer either way in about an hour.

[thegadfly]

If they don't want you to stay, and they want to save face and avoid a confrontation, they may just wait to bring up the topic...if you haven't been approached to re-sign within the same timeframe as other teachers, then I would presume that they do not want you to re-sign. A confrontation about it will not help anyone, and may cost you a neutral-to-positive reference (if they hold no major ill-will, they may not want to re-hire you, but they also may not wish you harm....).

...so, choice A won't hurt anything, choice B won't work and will harm you, and choice C is the wisest choice, while you follow choice A....

There is also the outside chance that people have lost track of time, and forgot to ask you to re-sign. You may want to ask if your boss is willing to write a letter of reference/act as a reference...if your boss acts surprised and asks why, you can mention that you haven't been asked to stay...if your boss agrees without the surprise, that definitely means they were saving face/avoiding a confrontation....

[northway]

Choice B will not hurt, that's ridiculous. Korean culture has it's nonsensical moments, but please. There's no loss of face or confrontation in telling your current employer that you'd like to stay on another year.

[thegadfly]

If your boss wants you to stay, he/she will tell you. If your boss does NOT want you to stay, he/she may NOT want to confront you about it -- if you DO confront the boss about it, he/she may feel uncomfortable...and making your boss uncomfortable just before he/she has to act as a reference is not a good idea.

Worse, if during the confrontation, tempers rise, and either side snips, things can fall to a new low...making the end of the contract play out more poorly than it would have otherwise, and blowing the chance for a neutral or positive resolution.

I do not see a possible upside of the confrontation with a boss that doesn't want to keep you.

[jrwhite82]

Yeah, just go and ask him it will not hurt at all. Tell him that you want to work for him for another year. If he says sure, then great.

If he says that he does not want to resign you, respectfully accept his decision and ask him if he could do you the favor of writing a reference letter.

Asking to work with him again will not burn a bridge. And if he says no, who cares, it is so easy to find a job in Korea when you are in the country already you shouldn't worry. Especially if you start looking now.

Edit - Asking someone to work with them is not a confrontation. Demanding that you work there for another year or demanding to know why they don't want you to is a confrontation. Don't be afraid to ask. If they say no, don't burn a bridge because it will be more beneficial for you to play nice until you find another gig.

Go to his office and say, "Hello Mr. Kim/Lee, I have been thinking for the past couple of weeks that my contract is ending in three months and I want to continue working here for another year. I have grown to really like the school and my students and was wondering if you had considered offering me a second contract." No harm in that. That way you aren't demanding, you put it out there for him to think about.

I would say, more often than not, if a school is not thrilled with you but is at the least satisfied, they will not want to roll the dice and go through the trouble of finding a new teacher. If they are letting you finish a year, they must at least be satisfied with what you are doing. Especially if your troubles were in the beginning and have improved. A school runs a bit of a risk each time they get a new teacher. They risk getting some loser/alcoholic/molester/know-nothing/retread/midnight runner, plus they have to pay a recruiter and airfare AND go through the hassle of getting another E2. Or they can keep you, who does a decent job, that the kids like. and for the past few months hasn't caused any trouble for anyone. Seems like you're the best man for the job!

[Otherside]

+1 to option B, provided you do it right, there can be no hard feelings. Your boss always has the face-saving option of saying the school is cutting down on teachers etc (even if you both know it's BS). Worst case, he says no, you ask for a reference, and provided he isn't a complete jerk, you get a reference and no hard feelings.

[thegadfly]

jrwhite,

I agree that if one asks politely, and in a positive manner, that option B may work, but withthe OP's words like "be more assertive" and "this may be awkward," it seemed to me more like a confrontation and less like the situation you describe.

If a person's performance in a job is borderline -- merely acceptable or adequate -- then the deciding factor is often the personality or perception of the person...and the OP admits to starting off on the wrong foot, and not being fond of the director...all of this sends up red flags about option B -- yes, it CAN work for some people some of the time, but from what the OP has posted, I think it will only hurt and not help...unless the OP is willing/able to do something to get back into the boss's good graces....

[jrwhite82]

I agree with you gadfly. If he does not approach the situation with an assertive attitude and instead asks politely (Which he should do regardless of his standing with the employer) then no harm, no foul.

I think if the director finds him acceptable then he should be offered a second contract.

I also feel he should just go ahead and ask him politely, regardless of what the OP assumes the director assumes about him. That's an awful lot of assumptions going on, and it would be better to just ask politely and get it over with, right??

Ideas to get into his good graces....hmmm...how about offering to give up another year of your life to work for him?

[thegadfly]

jrwhite,

The best way to get into a hakwon's boss's good graces is to attract students, and if you can't attract them, at least retain them once they are in class, and if you can't retain them, at least lose them more slowly than everyone else....

No offense intended to the OP, but I am willing to bet a nickel that the OP isn't a draw -- if the OP were attracting students (i.e. earning more money for the school), then the boss would "get over" whatever happened at the beginning of the year, and would certainly ask the OP to re-sign. Money almost always trumps pride/pettiness.

If the OP were retaining students, ditto above.

Most likely, the OP is losing students slowly...if the OP were losing them quickly, he would have been fired.

None of this is intended as an insult -- Korean students (and parents) are notoriously fickle about hakwons -- they are always searching for that one "better" school, and so hop around every few months. Even just retaining students takes an above-average teacher, and actually being a draw for the school is pretty rare...so, safe bet that the OP is losing students slowly....

Which brings us back to being an average performer...wherein one is judged on personality.... I don't know how the OP "got off on the wrong foot," but whatever it was, it would have to be undone in order to stay....

...I am also presuming that there is something about this school that makes it better than most -- so saying "I'll work for you" may not be enough to cement a job for another year...you know, the employee might have to bring something more to the table than "I don't suck TOO badly...."

[Summer Wine]

I am going with Gadfly on his original position.

[Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida]

Ask. If they don't want you then make plans to move on. Or, count the clock down.

[mr. bojangles]

Thanks for all of the advice. I went to speak with my director today about re-signing and expressed my interest to stay another year with the academy. The director told me with little expression on her face that she is still thinking about it and needs until the end of the month (September) to decide.

I was going to ask why, but I assume its because she wants more time to keep an eye on my teaching and see if I deserve another year.

If you were in my shoes and your director told you that, what would you think? Is she just buying more time with no intention of re-signing me? I'm not sure what to think.

[liveinkorea316]

I would be 99% sure that it was a non-confrontational way to say you are not getting re-employed. If I were you I would start looking for new positions as soon as they become available.