Korean Job Discussion Forums

[marsavalanche]

I had a job interview today done by one of the teachers at the school, and not one of the Korean staff.

It went really really well, and I'm very interested in the school. The person claimed they were renewing, and another teacher was as well.

During interviews it's always a good idea to talk to one of the teachers there, but in this case the teacher was interviewing me so I could ask the questions I wanted and get answers right there on the spot.

But I was wondering.... do you think some outgoing teachers would lie about things like renewing just to get a new teacher in and obey the school's orders? Sounds shady one foreigner screwing over another. Maybe I'm just being paranoid I don't know.

[millyfrend]

Anything is possible though.

[fugitive chicken]

Sometimes they do it when their supervisor is breathing down their back during the interview. Happens a lot, actually. In that case I would ask for their email to get the dirt privately

[ttompatz]

[walterkim18]

[marsavalanche]

In all honesty I thought everything was fine, it's just that I've heard sooooo much negativity from these forums I'm being super picky in terms of looking for a job now.

If I never came here I would have signed the thing by now.

[lifeinkorea]

If they are renewing, who isn't? Are they just growing and need a new teacher? These are the things you need to ask a few people. See if you get the same story from all of them.

Another tactic is to ask the same questions multiple times. See if the story changes.

[interestedinhanguk]

Absolutely. Humans lie. Foreign, Korean, it doesn't matter.

I was lied to by the foreign teacher during a phone interview before coming to Korea. He lied about many things. He knew there were wrong and shady things at my school, but he re-signed because he was a pushover. He was aware that the issues were wrong and shouldn't bring someone else into it. Regardless, he painted a rosy picture and screwed me.

I even got his e-mail address so I could do dirt-digging there. But, he lied on the e-mail, too.

[jrwhite82]

There could be many reasons why someone would lie. Maybe he is afraid you would decline the offer and list an excuse he told you about. Maybe the employer is a dictator that should be feared. Maybe he is just a compulsive liar and HAS to.

If two people are renewing, that is a good sign. Trust your gut and remember that most people who are really happy with their jobs don't come on Dave's to brag about it. They are far too busy being happy and enjoying their life. So the population of unhappy teachers is a little disproportionate to reality here.

[interestedinhanguk]

[bobbybigfoot]

Of course.

And the other thing you need to consider: how do you know any email address is legit? Could be a shill feeding you a line of bologna.

[Junior]

[northway]

[jrwhite82]

[sirius black]

Its sorta an unsaid, unwritten rule that the 11th commandment of Korea is 'thou shall not lie to another foreigner about a job'. However, there are exceptions to this assumed rule.
A couple good questions to ask another foreigner is what are the best things and worst things about this job? See how quick and forthcoming they are about the bad things. If they say there isn't anything bad its obvious a cause for concern. No job is perfect, even if its minor there is always something that could be better about a great job.
If you aren't satisfied with the answer come at them from another direction but pretty much asking the same question such as 'If you could change one thing (or two) about this job what would it be? Maybe ask to be a facebook friend so that you can ask some other questions if need be and see how many wall posts they have in their history about how much the job sucks or venting about the job.