Korean Job Discussion Forums

[edwardcatflap]

[wylies99]

[wylies99]

If a recruiter is buzzing around your school, and bosses, well after everything is settled, beware of them and their motivations. Remember, recruiters make money off of foreign teacher turnover. If you stand between a recruiter and more money for them, then you could soon have a powerful enemy. There are recruiters who call schools and tell them that they have a "young woman in their 20's who would be perfect for their school" but first they have to get rid of YOU. It happens, more than you think.

[jeremysums]

Funny.

I wonder how much recruiters make.

[rayray123]

Not too long ago I talked to a recruiter, he sent me a few jobs I wasn't interested in and said he wants to talk to me on the phone. He had seen my resume, knew my experience, and knew I was looking for a hakwon position. On the phone he says, "You've never worked at a hakwon before??" Like he just COULD NOT believe I would be applying for a hakwon position with out experience. "At a hakwon you will mostly teach young children, but your experience is at a high school. It's a lot different." I told him yes, I know and that I still think I can do a good job. He continued on saying how I only have high school experience, followed by a loud sigh, and that hakwons are totally different. After everything I said he would sigh loudly, and say something about my lack of hakwon experience

The next day he sent me one of the schools I had originally turned down, a rural middle school. Because, as he pretty much said, due to my high school teaching experience I am not capable of working at a hakwon. I didn't reply.

[World Traveler]

"Unlike Chinese and Japanese, Korean is a very easy language to learn. It is the most logical and most scientific language in the world. You will be conversant within a year."

"Koreans love Americans and feel as though they owe them a debt of gratitude for their involvement in the Korean War and for their continued military presence protecting them from the North. People will stop you in the street and thank you for being in their country."

"Teachers are revered in Korean society. Once people find out you work at a hagwon, you will be given preferential treatment."

"1000 won = $1USD."

[Warhammer820]

I spent a good bit of time reading every single reply on this thread. Funny and scary stuff. I would love a rural position next summer and I hope I get it :p

[rayray123]

[cdninkorea]

[jeremysums]

First class treatment. A guy waited for you with a sign.

[Beyondbelief]

My recruiter told me there are four "Korean-American" teachers at the school I'd be going to, emphasizing that they had all at some point in their life "lived in America" and spoke spotless English. By the time I got there and met the co-teachers, most of them spoke little English and none had even traveled outside of Asia..... When speaking with recruiters looking for my job here, I can recall the recruiters using the "Korean-American" bit to try to make positions they were selling look more foreigner friendly, as communication would be easier with co-workers, but its in most cases its a lie to lure you in. After I got to the school, I never heard a word from the recruiter to see how I was doing or check up on things. Classy guy.

[jeremysums]

That's a good one, but also cruel at the same time if they're lying.

[World Traveler]

A recruiter of a big English-teaching company is hit by a bus and dies. She is met at the gates of heaven by St. Peter who says, owing to an administrative hitch, they are unsure where to place her - heaven or hell. Instead she is to be given the choice herself by spending a day in each and then deciding.

Arriving in hell for her �taster-day� she is met by the friendly faces of colleagues from her company, dressed exquisitely in designer casuals. They greet her warmly and show her around hell, which is a beautifully landscaped country club with golf courses and tennis courts. She has a fantastic day playing sports, dining on lobster and steaks, dancing and getting drunk with her friends. Everyone laughs at her jokes and she even gets to meet the devil himself, who is, dare she say it, �kinda cute�. It is with great sadness that she leaves in the evening.

The following day she spends in heaven. Here she hops from cloud to cloud, plays harps and generally hangs out with the angels. Again she enjoys herself very much. St. Peter asks her for a decision the next day. After great deliberation, she chooses hell over heaven. �To hell you will spend eternity�, St. Peter decrees.

When she arrives the country club and golf courses are gone. In their place is a filthy, desolate wasteland. Her friends are still there, but they are dressed in rags, picking up garbage and putting it in sacks. The Devil comes up and puts his arm around her. "I don't understand," she stammers, "yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time.

Now it�s a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable.� The Devil looked at her and smiled evilly. "Yesterday we were recruiting you; today you're staff."

[thebektionary]

"Even though it is a small city, Chuncheon is a very exciting city only 45 minutes away from Seoul."

[pikadoopoo]

"There are no jobs that fit your qualifications. I can only offer you this job: (insert crap hagwon in Gangwon here) Let me know how you think of."

I took matters into my own hands and found a job in Seoul.

I wanted to correct her English so badly.