Korean Job Discussion Forums

tanklor1 · Joined: 13 Jun 2006

So, I find myself on the job market once again. It's been two years since my last interview and four years since I started. I have a sense of entitlement and mild anger to the idea that I have to prove myself to a bunch of strangers. Is there any way to deflate my ego just a tad so I don't come off sounding like a total douche?

nathanrutledge · Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: Marakesh

I make more money, drive a fancier car, and slept with your wife.

Does that help?

Wink

tanklor1 · Joined: 13 Jun 2006

tefain · Joined: 19 Sep 2007 Location: Not too far out there

Put yourself in the strangers place. Would you be willing to give a position and salary to a stranger if you're not confident in their abilities?

(And yes, I know a lot of places here do just that.)

Yellowstone_1872 · Joined: 12 Nov 2010

PigeonFart · Joined: 27 Apr 2006

I understand the OPs feelings.

tanklor1 · Joined: 13 Jun 2006

Carbon · Joined: 28 Jan 2011

earthquakez · Joined: 10 Nov 2010

To the OP - are you in Korea or somewhere else at the moment?

I don't blame you for feeling that way. Despite what some people think, this Korean job market is indeed crappy and is the worst ESL market I've ever seen. What makes it bad is getting past recruiters, for one thing. Evil or Very Mad

I know or know of through friends people who have great cvs/resumes from teaching elsewhere.There are more than just the two cases I'll list here. One teacher (female) I met fairly recently here was on a tourist visa to check out the job scene here. She has a resume that includes longish stints in Japan and China, as well as Mexico. She's got the same ol song from every recruiter - no chance in Seoul. Supposedly she's too old at 40.

She's attractive, doesn't look her age in photos or real life and has everything right on her resume from flawless writing to verifiable referees. No takers. Another foreigner who's friendly with one of my circle in Korea is male and can't get anything but again has the goods on his cv.

They were both told if something along the lines of if they are 'very lucky' they can get some job with terrible (my words) hours, pay and conditions down in some rural area where nobody wants to go.

I've heard from everybody I've discussed this with that recruiters are just blocking nearly everybody who is an older teacher regardless of great experience from working in Seoul. Supposedly Seoul is the bomb (slang - cool, best) place to be but funny how the better educated, more moneyed Koreans in Seoul want inexperienced North Americans, the younger the better.

Anybody care to tell us how accurate that is? I call bs. I recall from my Tokyo days that a similar city has more natives who want real experience and skills from foreign English teachers - especially the ones with significant money. You can't tell me that Seoul parents want the opposite.

West Coast Tatterdemalion · Joined: 31 Aug 2010

Entitlement in South Korea? Especially being a foreigner? Good luck with that. You could work in Korea for a hundred years and a job in the ESL racket would look at your resume and the resume of a guy with zero experience in Korea and probably hire the guy with zero experience. No such thing as entitlement in this land. Unless maybe you are somehow involved with a chaebol. Then maybe.