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kingslender
Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Location: Upstate NY
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 Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 4:19 am Post subject: Footprints vs. Park English vs. Korvia; Advice Needed! |
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Hi,
I am stoked to have found this message board 
I don't know anyone who taught in Korea and I need some advice. I am considering similar contracts from Footprints, Park English and Korvia; all three seem to have good reviews on the net. Anyone have personal experience or second-hand feedback to help me out wth my decision? I hope so . . thanks in advance!
http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/
http://www.parkenglish.com/
http://www.korvia.com/ |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 4:51 am Post subject: Re: Footprints vs. Park English vs. Korvia; Advice Needed! |
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| kingslender wrote: |
Hi,
I am stoked to have found this message board
I don't know anyone who taught in Korea and I need some advice. I am considering similar contracts from Footprints, Park English and Korvia; all three seem to have good reviews on the net. Anyone have personal experience or second-hand feedback to help me out wth my decision? I hope so . . thanks in advance!
http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/
http://www.parkenglish.com/
http://www.korvia.com/ |
In my experience they all are bad, especially Korvia. I usually look around for small recruiters with a good reputation. |
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lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Location: somewhere in China
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| Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:06 am Post subject: |
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In the end it's the school. One well known recruiter played games with me, but because the school was good, I still went through them. They were the only school I stayed a year through in Korea.
Spend more time on which school, not which recruiter. |
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wiganer
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:32 am Post subject: |
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Korvia are also the people behind KFTRA, if you are an experienced teacher who goes to Korvia for a job and get a bad reference from your co-teacher then the good folks at Korvia will have no problem in putting you on the KFTRA blacklist which means you will have a hard time getting a job in Korea - you have been warned!  |
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lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Location: somewhere in China
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| Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:11 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| bad reference from your co-teacher |
That's interesting, I have never had a co-teacher working on the "other side". They always agreed with me, but couldn't do anything being Korean or Chinese.
So, I thought recruiters and new schools would want a reference from the school, not co-teacher. A co-teacher's reference would seem biased for or against the English teacher. |
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wiganer
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:26 am Post subject: |
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| lifeinkorea wrote: |
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| bad reference from your co-teacher |
That's interesting, I have never had a co-teacher working on the "other side". They always agreed with me, but couldn't do anything being Korean or Chinese.
So, I thought recruiters and new schools would want a reference from the school, not co-teacher. A co-teacher's reference would seem biased for or against the English teacher. |
I'll tell you my experience of them for what it's worth, I had a job lined up with Korvia in a part of Seoul I wanted to live in and they wanted a verbal reference from my current job. So I had to give them my co-teachers phone number and she tore me a new arsehole over the phone as soon as I left for home. Instead of Korvia contacting me and getting something like a fair and balanced view - they ignored my emails to them (including the official GEPIK letter of reference from the school stamped and signed by the principal) and put me straight on the blacklist with all the co-teachers unchallenged allegations in print.
Anyway - I managed to get my blacklist file and all the allegations with my photo and the school I worked at from the KFTRA website - after threatening the school, Korvia, KFTRA and my co-teacher (who shit her pants and sent a grovelling email denying her part in the shenanigans - she should have been ashamed of her behaviour and the snivelling pathetic letter) they removed my entry from their blacklist. It was enough to stop me getting hired that year but I went to China instead which was for the best but still - don't trust Korvia - if I am ever back in the country I will sue their arse and thats a promise. |
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kingslender
Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Location: Upstate NY
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| Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:57 am Post subject: |
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Thanks. Dang, looks like I should narrow my choice to Footprints or Park English. Any feedback on either of these two? Thanks again for the replies  |
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meagan8477
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:33 am Post subject: |
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| Be selective about the contract you sign. You can use multiple recruiters and pick the best offer you receive. |
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sluggo832004
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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Isnt Korvia what those eatyourkimichi bloggers are always advertising in the vlogs??
By the way I may catch flack for this, but they always seemed cheesy as hell. I know they are informative but, I can barely watch their videos without wanting to close the video. |
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thedudea17
Joined: 20 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:56 am Post subject: |
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| kingslender wrote: |
| Thanks. Dang, looks like I should narrow my choice to Footprints or Park English. Any feedback on either of these two? Thanks again for the replies |
I have dealt with both through the application and contract process...I recommend Park English. Footprints seems "bigger" to me and ALWAYS took more time getting back to my emails and requests. Park English got back to me much faster and thus I got more information about schools through them.
In the end though, you should really focus on which school suits you and visa versa...but for me I suggest Park English just because they answered my questions about schools much more quickly. |
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mdickun83
Joined: 10 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 11:33 am Post subject: |
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| I'm using Footprints right now for my EPIK application. They seem to be pretty good thus far but I haven't actually got my contract yet. They usually respond to my emails fairly quickly though. |
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kingslender
Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Location: Upstate NY
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks again for the replies and steering me away from Korvia!
I think I am going to go with Park English. My experience with both Footprints and Park English has been very positive, but I like how Park only works with Korea and has an office in Etaewon. Also, the woman from Park (Leena or Lena?), was always really quick in returning my emails and setting up interviews.
On a side note, do you really need 100 posts before you can add a picture to your profile? |
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cazador83
Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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| my friend runs Park English. i went with them my first year. good people. |
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earthquakez
Joined: 10 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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Edited
Last edited by earthquakez on Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:33 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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earthquakez
Joined: 10 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:31 pm Post subject: Re: Footprints vs. Park English vs. Korvia; Advice Needed! |
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| sojusucks wrote: |
I usually look around for small recruiters with a good reputation. |
Really? I've found them the worst. They list all these positions where the requirements fit your experience then stonewall you with the excuse that the school is not looking for somebody like you. After you've submitted a good cv, photo and have all the (expensive) documents ready.
Then you look on their website and see all the badly worded applications of people with little experience - you can be sure that the jobs that you are qualified for and would be good for will go to fresh graduates with stereotypical looks. No, I'm not terrible looking, I'm presentable.
My gripe is the fact that the small recruiters with an apparently good reputation will not even give your cv to the school who are looking for decent teaching experience and a person who knows how to keep customers coming because of their experience. Not even for a look. Then they tell you that the schools 'want' this or that but as you can't even let these anonymous schools know of your existence, you can't get considered.
Small recruiters are pretty bad.  |
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