Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gwycliff]

Has anyone here just bought a one way ticket and job hunted in Korea? I feel like meeting your prospective employers in person would be way easier. It seems a bit more risky, but I feel like they would hire you just the same. And it would be easier to tell if they were sketchy or not that way.

[vaticanhotline]

You might think that it's better to do it this way, but it isn't, although you are right in principle. Assuming you get a job here, you'll have to go back to whatever your home country is to get the visa processed before you start working here. I do know of one dude who was here for a month and took a job in a hagwon after he couldn't find the job he preferred (Uni, he has an MA in TESOL so he assumed, not unreasonably, that he'd be a shoo-in), went home to get his visa, and decided against the whole thing altogether.

[decolyon]

You don't have to go home to get a visa. I got a new one (not extention) just a few months ago. Just had to do the run to Japan.

In fact, the situation the OP lined out is what I did. I was in Thailand on extended vacation. Came to Korea on visitors visa. Job hunted and did the visa run. This worked well, but would have worked better had it been a hiring season for the public and private school. As it was in the middle of the summer, not much was hiring. But I went to and sat down with like 5 schools and got contracts from all of them. I took the one that was the least bad.

Thing is, I wasn't the only one doing this. Other people had the same idea. I was often right behind or right before someone else interviewing with the school too. So, you wouldn't be alone if you go this route. The fact is, there are so many teachers here working every angle right now. I can't wait till the economies back home get better so the work force thins out a bit.

[InDaGu]

[Murakano]

[ttompatz]

One side note here:

IF you are resident (not just a tourist) in a 3rd country you do NOT need to go home for your consular interview for your 1st E2. It can be done in the 3rd country (where you are legally resident) or most likely just waived rather than required.

.

[northway]

[Troglodyte]

The rule is that you are SUPPOSED to do an interview at a Korean consulate in your home country for your first E2 visa. But.... plenty of people DO get their first E2 visa in Japan. Last year when I got an E2 (not my first, just my most recent) I met a bunch of other guys at the Korean consulate in Fukuoka who were getting their E2 visas as well. Most of them were not first timers, but a few of them were. In their case, a hogwan flew them over to Korea to start work ASAP while the visa application was being processed (yes, they were working illegally) then sent them on a visa run to Japan to get the E2 visa.

But you might just as likely be refused the visa. I haven't heard yet of anyone being refused a first time visa from a consulate in Japan but I'm sure it happens often enough. Most recruiters won't be interested in you though, so you're only likely to get an offer if a school is REALLY desperate. BUT, if you've had an E2 visa before, then being here in person will put you pretty much at the top of the list for getting offered jobs. You could pretty much pick and choose what jobs you want.

[Capo]

new rules make it a risk that you will have to go home. However, before i got both my jobs here on a one way ticket and started searching not sure it is still possible for first timers, But it is the best thing to do, I got an awesome hagwon job in my first year usually working 4 hours a day and could go home when i didn't have classes and had a nice villa and good boss. I visited maybe 10 places before finding that one. Interestingly they were the only one to give me a real interview instead of just saying your handsome etc. it seemed in the other places I was interviewing them, which just showed me how desperate they were.

I miss that schedule who can complain about working 2 till 6 or 7.

[northway]

When I was applying I found that recruiters had no problem using the Guam option if you were from the States. The round trip ticket is cheaper than paying a full-fare one way from the States, even if they give you a 100,000 stipend, and it allows them to meet you in person and make sure you're not a total disaster. This was in September of '09, so I can't speak to how things are working now. If you're not from the State and need to do a Japan run I can't say.

[Axiom]

Same question as the OP, only my situation is a little different. I will be able to work in Korea on a family F2 visa. I have an Adult Education degree. I have finished the course work for the MATESOL. I also have two years teaching experience in OZ. I have started to apply for a couple of uni jobs, but I am wondering if it would be smarter just to come to Korea without a job and look for one on the ground.

Any thoughts.

[eb]

I did it last year ( 2009) and would not reccommend it to anyone for the following reasons"

1. If you don't have an established place to stay and a good savings account( limited funds) then it COULD be a very very bad situation ;as it takes more then a month alone to process the visa AND you would have to cover your OWN living expenses ( housing,food,transportation) during this time. Your more likely to just end up in a worse situation out sheer
desperation and anxiety of running out of funds'. If you go to Korea on a toursit visa, then you also need to be able show proof of a round-trip ticket ( so take that extra expense into account as well) and what will happen if you have to change the departure date (?). Penality?

2.You would be trying to find work in an extremely saturted market.
Just because your avaialble to come for an in-country interview, doesn't mean your going to automitcally be hired as there are many F-4's ( like Axiom) now that are applying and competing for those same exact ESL jobs and ( again Axiom) having the same exact though you have about just comming over and reestablishing thier Korean Connections. Don't forget.,they also already have thier own visa, which means no waiting time for schools' AND MANY more dobale industry qualifications ( like Axioms').

Not sayin' you couldn't do it, just think about it.I have been there and it is not pretty nor relaxing. In fact, it is quite the opposite.


BTW, Axiom- I wrote all of this BEFORE I saw your post.

[Troglodyte]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[quote="Troglodyte"]

[depth]

can any of the forum experts advise,,,, how / where do you look for jobs if you are already in korea?

i can think of 4 ways - recruiters , english newpapers in korea , dave esl, street walking...

thanks for any answers...