| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Suwon23
Joined: 24 Jan 2008
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:48 am Post subject: Companies to look into when moving to Korea to teach? |
 |
|
| I worked for CDI for a year, and it worked out well, so now that I'm going back to Korea I am planning to apply with them again. I'm an American grad student going to Korea for a year or two to pay off loans. I speak a little Korean, prefer big cities, and also have teaching experience in Japan. What are some other good companies that I should look into as an alternative to CDI? I've done a little research on my own, but it's difficult to know where to start, so I thought I would ask for advice here. Thanks in advance. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
If you are willing to take on CDI again, then the options are endless. Send out your resume and you will get emailed from companies.
Recruiters will also send updated lists of current jobs. I stopped getting some of them back in May or June, but I haven't submitted my resume out since then.
You are better off catching the current wave of companies this way than relying on a company someone would recommend because they worked for them years ago (oh, like CDI!!) which might not be good anymore.
Good luck  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Suwon23
Joined: 24 Jan 2008
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Thanks for the reply. I guess I'm not even sure where to start sending my resume. I haven't been to Korea in years. Is there a website I can go to, that will give me contact information of various businesses and organizations in Korea? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Suwon23 wrote: |
| Thanks for the reply. I guess I'm not even sure where to start sending my resume. I haven't been to Korea in years. Is there a website I can go to, that will give me contact information of various businesses and organizations in Korea? |
You can start on Dave's by posting your resume. Then you might get some replies from recruiters, I don't know how busy they are nowadays. I did this last year, and I got a lot of emails for 3 days straight, then on and off for a month. I still get offers. I used to get a list of about 30 school offers. 20 of them were not applicable for me, but 10 were doable offers. Three of them seemed worth pursuing. Probably none of them would be good initially. So, you do this for 2-3 months and see where the market lies.
Since I have lived in Asia since 2003 (with only one trip home in 2007 for 4 months), I found that visiting schools, going in for face to face interviews, and giving yourself as much time as needed is the best way to get a school.
It might cost you a bit (like 1 month's rent), but if you get a good job offer, you won't be asking for help to leave a school after 3 months into it. Chances are, your first school into Asia (whether it be because you are new or returning) will just be a stepping stone to a better school.
If you decide on a school out of the country, then I suggest you think of this possibility. Get a school that wants to "try out" a native speaker at their school for the first time. If it doesn't work out, they will likely want to find another teacher or get rid of you and teach without one. In that case, transferring your visa to another school will be easier.
If you sign on with a public school job or one of the big hagwons, then they might not be willing to release you. This means new documents and everything.
However, you can get a lot sorted over the phone. Try working with recruiters and go from there. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
itiswhatitis
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:16 am Post subject: |
|
|
The great majority of recruiters in Korea are very honest and helpful.
This is my personal advice:
Whatever you do, get a hagwon job...NOT A PUBLIC SCHOOL JOB!!! I hated my public school job but I love my hagwon job. From my experience, most foreign teachers here feel the same way.
If you do go for a public school job, make sure that it is NOT IN SEOUL. From my experience, the public schools are much more relaxed outside of Seoul. But a hagwon job is still by far your best bet. If you hear anything bad about a hagwon, it was probably from someone who worked at a hagwon in Korea 10-15 years ago when the ESL business in Korea was in its infancy. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:48 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| itiswhatitis wrote: |
The great majority of recruiters in Korea are very honest and helpful.
This is my personal advice:
Whatever you do, get a hagwon job...NOT A PUBLIC SCHOOL JOB!!! I hated my public school job but I love my hagwon job. From my experience, most foreign teachers here feel the same way.
If you do go for a public school job, make sure that it is NOT IN SEOUL. From my experience, the public schools are much more relaxed outside of Seoul. But a hagwon job is still by far your best bet. If you hear anything bad about a hagwon, it was probably from someone who worked at a hagwon in Korea 10-15 years ago when the ESL business in Korea was in its infancy. |
Then why do we hear a hakwon horror story every week?
Every week or two on Dave's alone we get a horror story about someone getting shafted at a hakwon...And that is just ONE website.
The blacklists are chockful of recent stories about bad hakwons.
There used to be a 200 page contract sticky thread (I reviewed most of them) as I have in the current contract sticky thread. The vast majority of hakwons do not pay pension or medical insurance. Yes some do but they are the exceptions.
If you are at a good hakwon (it honors Korea labor law) then that is the exception not the rule. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 8:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
iswhatitis is either a recruiter, a troll, or extremely naive/lucky.
I'm gonna go with recruiter.
...maybe this dude (recruiter in disguise):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzCy3kipXVs
(Look at the likes compared to dislikes: newbs are eating up his sales pitch like it is gospel truth.)
| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
| I'm sure there are great hogwans out there, but they are few and far between and not the standard. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
itiswhatitis
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 9:29 am Post subject: |
|
|
| My primary objective is to give a dose of reality to those who think that they have it made with a public school job....HAGWONS ARE BETTER |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jeremysums
Joined: 08 Apr 2011
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:32 am Post subject: Re: Companies to look into when moving to Korea to teach? |
|
|
Check out Hagwon jobs.
| Suwon23 wrote: |
| I worked for CDI for a year, and it worked out well, so now that I'm going back to Korea I am planning to apply with them again. I'm an American grad student going to Korea for a year or two to pay off loans. I speak a little Korean, prefer big cities, and also have teaching experience in Japan. What are some other good companies that I should look into as an alternative to CDI? I've done a little research on my own, but it's difficult to know where to start, so I thought I would ask for advice here. Thanks in advance. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida
Joined: 27 Oct 2006
Location: Not Korea
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:53 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| YBM. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
brickabrack
Joined: 17 May 2010
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
I think it's all a coin toss.
I want more than 10 days off a year.
I get close to 50. What's important to you?
My PS is awesome. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
