Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Conrad B Hart]

[Czarjorge]

have you been on pusanweb lately? it's pretty damn dead.

[lotusbrick76]

koreaconnections is pretty good

www.koreaconnections.net/

[dedalus2]

Preface: I'm a gyopo with limited Korean language skills and an F4 visa, so maybe since I don't look "American" this will explain some of my difficulties.

While Not in Korea:
-Most of the big name recruiters who post constantly on the job postings never respond to me at all. I got encouragement to apply for public school jobs, but my masochistic streak would prefer a hagwon. Personal preference.
-Some recruiters will send a reply or two, but if I ask further questions, I never hear from them again.

While in Korea:
-OK Recruiting got back to me, but I wasn't too keen on the position. They told me they'd let me know if anything else came up; no response yet within the past month.
-EduOrange met me for an interview and had an interview with a school. The recruiter was going to send me the contract later that evening, but gave the position away to someone else within two hours after my interview finished, promising me a "better position." This was one of those rare cases where I "rejected" the recruiter instead of vice-versa: received constant calls and e-mails about a "really good position" non-stop in the following weeks, that kept coming in until I returned my rental cellphone.

I've been referred a few other recruiters in the past few days but nothing seems too promising...

[jhines86]

Ok folks, I'm new to the forum, but not new to knowledge about Jake Kim. Here's the info from a 1st time ESL teacher overseas. I was looking about going over for 4 years. I came across a recruiter in Busan who put me in touch with Jake Kim at the MBT Hakwan in Ulsan.

My wife and I spoke with Jake over the phone and he sent a photo of himself and his wife. I was a skeptic, because I learned that recruiters (read on) really are for the sale.

Jake is WAY DIFFERENT!

We (myself, wife and 3 kids) signed on, and went over. Jake met us at the bus station, took us to our apart and then out to eat. Seeing that we had 3 kids, the school didn't make us start teaching the very next day. We had a couple of days and then a weekend to get things ready. Jake was at our house EVERY day making sure we were getting acclimated.

Over the course of the year, Jake Kim was the BEST friend (short of my wife) I could have asked for!!! We had many hours of talking about the culture, life and everything.

After 6 months, the owner decided to sell the school at which point Jake was fired as the curriculum director. He went on to find another job, but he was still hanging with us.

There are exceptions to every rule and Jake is one of those wonderful exceptions to recruiters. We went everywhere together, had picnics on rooftops with him, Jini and their family. We were accepted into their family even though we didn't speak a lot of Korean. He interpreted for us when my wife when to the emergency room and he was away on a holiday.

Jake is a great person and I count him as part of my family. While there, Jake and Jini had a baby boy (Kyung Min aka Gideon Jacob) and we were given the honor of naming Min with his English name.

I speak to him often over Skype and I miss him greatly. He was as a starter a recruiter, but he grew to be a brother. So while many of you debate the idea of a good/bad recruiter or a good/bad school, please use some common sense.

Korea isn't a paradise of wonderful, honest jobs. Some school owners are cut throat, and won't care one bit about you. You fill a job and there are many others waiting to take your place.

There are those who will bend over backwards to help and are compassionate about you and what role you play as a teacher.

The same goes for recruiters. BUT when you find a person that will hang with you through the good and the bad, it's a gold mine and a person who I will ALWAYS back. (I know I really don't have a lot of sway, but it's a personal testimony to his honesty and integrity as a human.)

I am sure that if you contact Jake, he will do his best to find you a position at a REPUTABLE school, but don't hold him to the fire when the owner does something contrary, it does happen.

I'll get off my soap box. If you want to know anymore, please feel free to contact me, and I will contact him and go that way.

He and I are trying to get teachers more interested in teaching overseas, and as a teacher here in Missouri, I'm very tempted some days to go back, become an expat and stay there. Even on a bad day there, it is better than public school here. Better pay and more respect...

Have a good day!
Shawn Hines
[email protected]

[randall020105]

[smee18]

In response to the OP's concerns regarding Footprints recruiting, I went through footprints twice, working public school in Korea. Both times they did what I consider to be an adequate job, as well as could be expected I guess. Am thinking of trying another country next year, and will look to them again.

Cheers

[melee]

[Jotun_Symph]

I KNOW A GREAT RECRUITER!!!




a dead one

[CPJ]

A GOOD RECRUITER? -Try them all!

If you're a 'good applicant', you will be flooded with calls from recruiters and schools. In Korea, 'good applicant' usually means that you are a young, attractive, North American female. They will all want you to work with them. They will all treat you really well.

If you're not a 'good applicant', then you will probably be ignored or get the jobs that the 'good applicants' don't want. In Korea, this usually means that you are older, not that attractive, and a non-North American male.

If you're wanting a job, apply to as many recruiters as you can. They will send you job offers. I doubt anyone takes a job because they like the recruiter they are talking to. If this is why you take a job, you have no one to blame but yourself when you hate your job or if you if get cheated.

Talk to the teachers at the school. Ask the hard questions. If you like what you hear, take the job. If you don't like what you hear, pass on the job. How simple is that?

If 100 people applied to the same recruiter, I can guarantee that they will have very different opinions about that recruiter.
Many will say they are great! Others will say they suck! I can guarantee you that every recruiter that has placed over 100 teachers will have teachers at both ends of the spectrum.

So be smart about it! Apply to many, all of them if possible! Then rely on what the teachers at the schools tell you, not what the recruiter tells you.

[coetivy89]

Star Teachers is great.
http://starteachers.net

[ElephantJumper]

Star teachers are excellent at finding positions. However when I got given a terrible contract by a school through them, they wouldn't speak to the school about negotiating it, then refused to help me after I turned it down. Probably not uncommon for recruiters to do that though I guess.

[isitts]

[northway]

[jeremysums]

Where do Korvia place you? Do they have any spot in Seoul?