Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mackfifti]

-Knocking on doors
-Through a friend
-Responding to Online ads
-Asking a Taxi driver
-Approaching random people on the street

What are some methods of getting a job while in Korea without using a recruiter. Getting a job without using a recruiter can be very difficult, because of the language barrier and the lack of Seoul knowledge by the foreigner. When calling, most front desk receptionists will hang up the phone after hearing English and won't even try to help you. Also, while knocking on doors, a lot of hagwon owners will shake their hand at you and say "no" because they are not hiring teachers at that time period. Has anyone had success?

[Eedoryeong]

I have had some success, but you have to know enough Korean to function with some basic conversation which requires being able to listen to questions in Korean. You also have to have mastered pronunciation enough that you are not a giggly distraction when you speak. Failing that, you are dependent on others who would act the role that a recruiter would have assumed for you for free.

EDIT: There is another thing, and this is debatable but I'll put it out there. When you don't go through a recruiter you have no cultural filter to meet expectations normal to you on your end. You are completely dealing with Korean expectations without adjustment to western standards, like housing for example or method/rate of pay just to name two. Holding a Korean employer's offerings up to other expectations counts for a lot. You should be sure that you can jive with local thinking on these and other things before you do this. If they haven't gone through a recruiter, it might be because they think that walk-in-closet with no window would make a fine apartment and they can't see why the recruiter yelled at them about it. Just saying.

[mike in brasil]

You aint naver worked in Korea before and you're gonna come looking for a job on the ground?

[amnsg2]

I know that somebody came to my hagwon looking for a job, and it really caught my co teacher off guard. She said he sounded Russian (but I thought he sounded North American from the next room) and was really confused by why he'd turned up. I think if you're turning up to random hagwons, they're just going to turn you away but if you send letters/ emails first then they might invite you to come and interview.

Join up with loads of job hunting groups, and city groups on facebook where jobs might be posted: this one is in Daejeon ---> http://www.facebook.com/groups/9788977905/

There are tons more, probably loads better ones.

Ask around, and see if anyone has a friend leaving a job. When I was between contracts, I was told about a couple of jobs by friends that I never followed up on.

But I don't see why you'd cut yourself off from recruiters when they're the main source of jobs. They suck, but the system works and introduces you to jobs you'd never hear about otherwise.

[yfb]

OP had a now-deleted thread asking how he could get a job on a tourist visa without a four-year degree.

OP, I don't know if you're dense or just trolling, but teaching in Korea on a tourist visa is flat-out illegal. Most hagwons won't even give you the time of day if you don't have your E-2 docs in hand. If you don't even have a degree, just go home. There are enough teachers here already far more qualified than you are.

[Troglodyte]

[luckylady]