Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Krishire]

As the name implies, I have an interview with Yonsei next week and I am terribly nervous. I know that when you are outside of Korea, getting a university position is very difficult and I really didn't think I had a chance with a school like Yonsei! I have my MA in Linguistics/TESL and have some university teaching experience. I guess I am just wondering what the interview will be like, what kind of questions to expect, and, generally, if anyone can give me some helpful advice. I�m so nervous and I want to know if there�s anything I should/ shouldn�t do to improve my chances of being selected.

Thank you guys so much!

[Princess Soraya]

The best advice I can give you (if you haven't already had the interview) is expect anything and nothing. There is no template for university interviews. After all the stories I had read and heard about getting a job at a university, not a single bit of advice came in handy.

I work at one of the top universities in Korea, was hired from home (which is not in North America), had a telephonic interview and was under the impression that the interview had gone dreadfully. After writing off the position (due to what I thought was a disastrous interview), I was hired by the Graduate School, with colleagues whose experience in years almost totaled my age (27 and 25 years respectively).

The point is, there's no template you can follow. Just do it! All the best.

[PRagic]

Is the Yonsei postion departmental or at the lanuguage institute?

[Krishire]

[Carbon]

[hogwonguy1979]

Yonsei's language institute has a horrible rep, so do some checking with teachers there etc.

[Krishire]

[withnail]

You can do much better than this crowd, Krishire! The name of the uni is good but I reckon you can probably swing a real department position rather than a unigwon job.

Lots of universities have set up separate buildings, often called 'Language Education Centre' etc where they make extra money by selling courses to the public, kids or staff and offering conversation instruction.

So you would not even be teaching that university's students or not for credit courses. Often the vacations will be markedly less, so to the pay, the hours will be more, but you might be 'wowed' by the fact that it is affiliated with a famous name university.

I think you can get a much better job with longer vacations, better pay and shorter hours because you have uni experience

[Krishire]

Thank you for the really kind words, Withnail.

I don't really expect to find an Uni position since its the fall hiring season and I am outside of the country. I know that this does happen, but I am trying to be realistic. . . . I am just hoping that teaching some college age students and business professionals might give me a little better looking experience for my Uni job search in the future.

[Castaway]

Advice for interviews:

I used to struggle with interviews. One time, I embarked on a job search and did half a dozen interviews in the span of a week or two.

That taught me to brainstorm typical questions, prepare answers ahead of time, and rehearse them a bit.

I now have a Word file with questions and answers. I update it before every new job search. It's made a huge impact.

Remember:

This is also your chance to make an impression. I have had interviews where the person simply said, "So what is it that you want?" That's it.

Be prepared to sell yourself. Have a clear, rational explanation for 1) why you want the job, 2) what you have to offer, and 3) why you would be a good fit.

Don't be afraid to steer the interview in any direction you want. Often, I end by saying, "Excuse me, but I would just like to reiterate why I think I would be a good choice for this position ..."

Also:

Don't forget to have a few questions ready. You look dumb if you have no questions. Make sure they're probing, not niggling.

[Krishire]

Thank you, Castaway!

I do a little of that already, but I think it's a great idea to have a Worddoc prepared! And I didn't think to have a large list of questions. . . I always research each position very carefully to try and answer my own questions, but I can see how having some prepared makes an applicant look more diligent. >.>

[Castaway]

[Draz]

Having the name of a famous university on your resume (even if you just work in the LI) will make a huge difference getting other jobs. You are not likely to get better unless you can do in-country interviews. It depends what your goals are really. If it's mainly a way to get to Korea and have a stepping stone to other uni jobs in the future, you should jump all over this one.

[Castaway]

[Krishire]

Well, I have read a few less than positive blogs about Yonsei FLI. . .but I am willing to do what I have to for a Uni position in the future.


. . .are Unigwons a common occurrence?