Korean Job Discussion Forums

[LivePoetry]

Hi everyone, I've just applied for a bunch of university jobs (in total will be around 10) and I'm having a dilemma. Does anyone know if schools usually want you to sign a contract right away if they want to hire you, or if they give you an offer and give you time to consider other offers from other universities before you have to make a final decision?
The first interview I"ve been offered is for Chonbuk National University in Jeonju, which really isn't my first choice because its a very small town. They want me to come to Jeonju for an interview AsAP, which would mean I'd have to do some serious bargaining with my not so nice supervisor at my current job to get a day off work. The reason they want me to come soon is that they think all the positions will be filled by June. SO this means, I am assuming, that they want you to just sign right away if they hire you. Are all unis like this?? I think I have a chance at some other universities since I have an MA in English (literature) and I will have one year of teaching experience with adults and uni students in Korea, but of course not sure how stiff the competition will be. Should I just take the first thing I am offered to be safe, or does it make sense to hold out for a more desirable position?? is it even worth going to this interview? when I talked to the guy over the phone I could have sworn he was trying to convince me not to come teach there...

[withnail]

"Does anyone know if schools usually want you to sign a contract right away if they want to hire you, or if they give you an offer and give you time to consider other offers from other universities before you have to make a final decision?"

Hmm, that would be just lovely, now wouldn't it?


Yes I'm afraid that if they offer you the job, they will expect you to accept or reject fairly promptly and will usually give you a deadline by which time you have to give your answer. I guess the duration of this is going to vary from place to place but it won't be long I'm sure, as they need to know whether to keep recruiting or stop.

I'd say with your credentials (MA English + 1 year hagwon exp, right?), it depends where you have applied to but you are in no position to be choosy with no university teaching experience. With the MA, you'll be in with a pretty good chance in cities outside of Seoul and also quite a good chance in second/third tier universities in Seoul, providing none of these put stipulations on the experience.

However in Seoul, and at the more famous name universities, you would have the bare minimum qualifications and there'd be tons of people with years of experience and TESOL qualifications ahead of you.

Jeonju's not such a bad place to start. You really need Korean university experience in order to be able to pass up offers that don't particularly appeal to you.

If you are willing to disclose where else you have applied to, others will be able to rate your chances, I'm sure

I am certain you won't get a definitive answer from anybody on here unless they are on the hiring commitees of the universities in question.

If you satisfy the minimum requirements as specified in the job ad, then you are eligible, but often the better uni jobs specify that you should have two years (for example) of Korean university experience and even if they do not, that's what they use to discriminate between applicants.

If so and you've gone ahead and applied anyway, then your application is speculative and you will be lucky to be considered and only if they don't get enough people applying with what they specified as their minimum requirements.

If you do satisfy the requirements (i.e. they didn't specify experience or what type of experience it should be) then clearly, you would imagine they will call people to interview, in order, to the extent that they have more than the minimum. In this event you'd be pretty close to the bottom of the pile.

They might get to you once they run out of people with more university experience and extra qualifications like TESOL certs etc.

This seems logical but who really knows apart from the hirers themselves?

They might possibly, for example, invite a sample of both vets and relative newbs like you and then see who looks most attractive to them personality-wise.

Anyway, it's a difficult call but as they say 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'. Beggars cannot be choosers!

I wonder what you mean when you say that the person seemed to be telling you not to go there - after all they offered you an interview!

One thing's for sure - you are going to have to go to several interviews if you want choice. If you can't get away from your job to attend these then I think you're in a spot of bother!

I guess it depends on the level of your unwillingness to move to Jeonju and but staying in hagwon will not advance your cause - you need to get on the ladder...

[PRagic]

The better your credentials and the further away from Seoul or Pusan you are, the more time you can take to 'think about it.'

Believe it or not, a lot of hiring committees in Korea will actually ask you if you would accept a position if it were offered to you!

[Mr. Peabody]

[PatrickGHBusan]

Lots of solid advice and information by withnail. If I were you OP, I would pay close attention to his or her post.

I will add (unless it was already stated) that you are now in "low season" when it comes to University hires. Prime hiring season is in the late fall/early winter for a March start.

Now, with your qualifications you will at least get a look from most hiring committees. The time they take to look at your application will then depend on the qualify of your file (how many good references for example).

If you get called for an interview, attend. If you are serious about getting a University position doing a few interviews will be good for you as you will learn the ropes and hone your interviewing skills at that level.

It will mean sacrifices in time (taking work time off) but if you want to get a University job, you have to accept that there will be some sacrifices and tough choices.

I would not look down on getting a certificate while you wait for this new job. TEFL Certs can boost your application a bit and perhaps get you a few more interviews.

Since you have no University experience and not even (as of yet) one year of teaching experience in Korea, you cannot really afford to be all that picky when it comes to University jobs. What you need now is experience at the university level to gain access to the better university positions.

Good luck.

[lifeinkorea]

[Castaway]

[Swampfox10mm]

Make sure you have a nice and professional photo. I can't stress this enough. Bad photos cause the entire resume to get sh*tcanned at our university. Same if you forget documents required. Being young, single and attractive also helps here. I am not joking.

[legrande]

[PatrickGHBusan]

Young can actually work against you at some Universities however.

[Swampfox10mm]

[Scott in Incheon]

My uni doesn't hire like to hire young people if you mean under 30. And we have no problem hiring married people.

We don't hire people for window dressing...we tend to hire people we think will be effective in the classroom.

[Swampfox10mm]

[Scott in Incheon]

[PatrickGHBusan]

I will echo what Scott said...

The University I worked for in Busan hired no one under the age of 30, neither did a few other Universities in the Busan area.

The University I worked for had no "window dressing" policy. They hired qualfied teachers (Foreign and Korean) based on the needs of the department.

I am sure this differs in other places.

By the way, if they could find Koreans to fill these positions, it would be normal and expected that they hire them. These are afterall Korean institutions that teach Korean students....