Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Andromeda]

So, here's the story. I almost have all my required documents together. I've been considering different recruiters and I'm wondering about your experiences and suggestions.

[YTMND]

You aren't marrying the recruiter. Send each recruiter your resume and photo. Interview, and then pick the best school.

Don't just work with one recruiter or avoid others unless someone you trust recommends it.

[wings]

I have experience with 2 recruiters: Work'nPlay and Footprints.

Work'nPlay got me the job I wanted, and was very professional.

Footprints were IDIOTS. I have 12 years of ESL experience, 3 in Korea, and a B.Ed in teaching adults. They made me wait ages for an interview and it was so unprofessional I almost told them to forget it. The person interviewing me hadn't even glanced at my resume before the interview, and kept saying things like "ohhhh, you have experience", "oh, you lived in Korea before". He asked me the same questions that you might ask someone who had never taught and who had never lived abroad: Do you think you can adapt to living in a different country? Give me an example of a time when you taught someone something? etc. After the interview, and a few really random emails about jobs not where I wanted to be I blocked them from my email.

BUT that is only 1 experience, I'm sure others will have their opinions.

[Gorf]

[Troglodyte]

The first places you should apply to are the schools that are hiring directly. Customize your resume and cover letter to match what you know about the school. After that, just send a form letter to as many recruiters as you can find.

Recruiters theoretically work for the schools. In practice they work for themselves. The one person they don't work for is YOU. You'll hear about so and so having good or bad experiences with such and such recruiter. That's all good to hear about, but just remember that there are good and bad jobs out there. The recruiters are filling all of them. So some guy will get a good job with a good school and will feel that the recruiter was a great guy who helped him out. No. It was just the luck of the draw. I've met very few recruiters (through job hunting or through personal acquaintance) that would turn away a school because they didn't feel that it was up to standard. I could count them on one hand.

So.... apply to as many recruiters as possible. When you start getting offers, reject the ones you don't like (plenty more available). Even when you tell a recruiter that you want the job, don't tell the others that you've found something. Just because the recruiter (or even school) told you that they want you, until you've sent them your documents, they haven't really decided. Even after you send you documents it's still possible that they'll change their minds and hire someone else. (One of many reasons to get multiple copies of your documents at the start.) Once you have a visa issuance number in hand, THEN you can turn down the other offers.

Plenty of times recruiters tell offer the same job to several people in case one turns it down, or they hold off in finalizing stuff because they're waiting to see if another applicant will accept. You're just the back up guy.

Anyway, you should get at least 3 copies of your documents. One for getting the visa issuance number. One for whoever else needs it when you get to Korea. One (or even 2) more in case you need to quit and get a new visa while here.

But all of this can wait because most recruiters won't even deal with you until you have all your documents in hand.

[tonyynot]

I just finished the recruitment process and was able to sign with a great school with many foreign teachers in a location I really liked. It took me 3 weeks of interviews, constant emailing and phone calls. I turned down about 5 job offers. Here is some advice hopefully you will find helpful.

Use every recruiter you can find. They work for you for free, put them to use! Post your resume on here and apply to every recruiter who calls and emails you (your phone and email will be blowing up). Don't trust them, be nice and respectful but don't be a pushover. The recruiters only interest is in you singing a contract so they get their finder's fee. You are just possible $$$ to them, that is all.

Make a list of cities you would like to live in and ONLY take interviews within those cities. I would also suggest going the route of large chain hagwons as they usually have a larger foreign staff and are a bit more reliable than the lesser known ones. One of my specifications was if I couldn't find any information about the school on google, I wouldn't even do an interview. It seems there is info on just about every chain hagwon in every city. Always ask for the school name, some recruiters don't send it to you initially for some reason. Don't be afraid to turn down job offers, be very clear with the recruiters about your specifications. Most will try to throw jobs at you anyway regardless of your specifications.

My best advice to you is BE PICKY. These schools want you bad. If you sound friendly, confident, personable and cheerful in your interviews, you will get some job offers to choose from. Follow your gut instinct and don't settle. If you even have a weird vibe about a school, turn them down.

Also, your resume photo means everything. Smile, wear a tie, and look like the nice friendly white American superstar teacher that Koreans want. You'll get schools hounding you to come teach for them. One of the head teachers was even begging me to reconsider taking the position after I rejected it. Talk to a foreign teacher on the staff before considering signing any contract. Just be confident and selective and you'll be fine.

Hope this helps.
Good luck!

[overdrive2023x]

Footprints is the leading recruiter for EPIK, and Korvia is the leading recruiter for GEPIK.