Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mingdingxiong]

I'm a teacher with three years of experience and a TEFL certificate. I've worked in elementary schools for three years, but I want to switch to middle or high school for next year. I have a job offer with a school board that I like, but naturally they can't promise that I won't be in an elementary school. My recruiter (one who has nothing but good reviews on this board) says that he'll emphasize my choice to the board.

On the other hand, I've applied to another recruiter. This recruiter can place me in an individual middle or high school, which is exactly what I'm looking for. However, it's been a couple of days since my information was sent off to a school that I liked. In Korean terms, that's an eon. In the mean time, my job offer from the first school board expires next week.

My questions:

1) What are the chances of getting your first or second choice from an MOE? Some posts have said that preferences are meaningless, others have said that, in theory, no one would get their third choice. Still another person told me that in this board, a medium-sized city, no one wants to teach middle or high school, so I'm all but guaranteed to get what I want.

2) The second recruiter also has a good reputation. Should I trust this recruiter to find me a job that I like? That is to say that if the first school she contacted didn't like me, should I keep working with her or other recruiters? While I won't take a job just anywhere, I'm more interested in moving up in age group than I am in location.

3) Finally, if it's been a couple of days, am I being reasonable in calling her to ask what sort of timeline we're looking at? Most recruiters work so fast that I've never had this sort of issue.

Thanks!

[koreatimes]

[mingdingxiong]

She can place me in individual schools, but that doesn't mean I know what the school is just yet. I also don't know whether the first school she applied to is interested in me.

[mmstyle]

OP, keep in mind that SMOE has slashed all high school positions (except 4 or so that were on the list, can't remember exactly, didn't apply to me) and is transferring high school teachers that remain to MS and elementary. Don't know how it will affect your chances, but something to think about.

[mingdingxiong]

You're right that high school jobs are often hard to get, but neither of these places are Seoul, and I'm just as interested in middle school positions.

[koreatimes]