Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rayne]

I've been in contact with recruiters since April but I still haven't gotten an interview with any schools yet. Some of my recruiters say that schools don't hire until about a month before the start date, but is that true? I am hoping to arrive in late August/early September.
Do I seriously have to wait until early August to start the interview process?
Even if I get interviews, there's no guarantee that I will get job offers so this makes me even more worried.


I'm getting extremely anxious and I am considering to cave in and be open to hagwons since there's only two months until September. But all my research has been devoted to GEPIK/public schools and I have no idea how to be alert for reputable hagwons.

Someone please quell my fears.

[missty]

April is too early for GEPIK. I have been applying for a month and only now am I getting more schools contacting me. One school pushed the interview back to the start of August, which is annoying as I want to have a plan ready by then.

But I have had interviews for schools and one job offer already, so maybe your search is too narrow? Are you open to many places in Gyeonggi-do? I've widened my search beyond my preferred area and found more options. Also, I have been told that GEPIK schools aren't getting much funding, so if you are really qualified (like me) then you may need to lower your expectations for the pay scale in order to find something you like.

[rayne]

[missty]

Hmm, I don't know then. Are you in Korea now? As most places want me to travel for an in-person interview. Also, the places closest to Seoul are obviously the most competitive, and my job offer currently is in Suwon a little further south. I too am still holding out for a better location though.

I am using a couple of recruiters but Korvia have been the best so far. They reply to my emails really fast and seem to be working really hard to secure me a good job. I would definitely check them out if you haven't already. WorknPlay are also helping me out along with a couple of other smaller recruiters. I'm sure you'll find something soon, as its only in the past week that I have had a lot more interest from schools in and out of GEPIK.

[rayne]

[missty]

That sucks you had a bad experience with Korvia, I guess it might just be the luck of the draw who you get as your recruiter? Either way, don't give up! When I applied a month or so ago they also told me I was too early and that positions only start opening up in about July time. Maybe go and find some new recruiters too, as it could just be that the people you're talking to don't have any positions available but others will. As soon as I started contacting more than one recruiter my stress levels dropped and I had a lot more options.

[rayne]

[N2Bubble]

I am in the exact situation as you, rayne.

I looked into GEPIK beginning of May and went through the initial phone interview and all that jazz. The recruiter from Korvia said that positions don't really open up until June, but to get all my documents together. When I finally sent them all to her with the vid, she disappeared on me for about a week, and then started to suggest hagwons when I explicitly told her I'd like a public school. Right before that she also asked if I wanted to apply to rural areas because 'as a fresh-graduate', it's really competitive.

I'd also like to go this fall, and be around the south border of Seoul cause I have a friend that lives near Anyang. I'm a female asian that was born in Canada, and I also think that's a factor, but I also haven't received any negative feedback about my application, the only downfall being a 'fresh-grad'.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? I've only worked with Korvia because I thought that with PS, if they get your document more than once from different recruiters, you're automatically disqualified.

[rayne]

[ttompatz]

If you are in Korea then why are you even bothering with a recruiter for a GEPIK job.

Go to the policy division at the GPOE office (Suwon-si, Jowon-dong) and drop off a completed application. Unless there is something seriously wrong with your application you will be hired in the next intake. (catch a 4-1 bus northbound from Namun to Haniltown and you will drive right by it.)

As an alternative, bang on a few doors. It isn't that hard to drop of a bilingual cover letter and resume at the Principal's office of a few schools in the area you want to work in.

10 resumes and you will get an interview. 25 and you will get a job. If you work in a PS in Gyeonggi you will be under the GPOE and have a bog-standard GEPIK contract.

.

[rayne]

[mayorgc]

I was an asian male who was offered a really rural public school. I kept contacting different recruiters and eventually, I landed in Anyang.

Just keep trying different people.

But maybe the landscape is different now compared to when I applied. Maybe you have to take what you can get.

[N2Bubble]

[rayne]

[shostahoosier]

I got my placement through Korvia for the Fall 2009 intake, which was pretty much around the time that it started to get more competitive to get hired in Korea.

Korvia managed to get me an interview at a huge school in Ansan right away but apparently I wasn't what the school wanted. Korvia did eventually place me at a very rural school on the edge of Gyeonggi which I love but it was done so last minute, I almost think they wouldn't have bothered to place me had this school not needed someone.

I basically found out about my school the 1st week of August. This was terrifying for me because that was almost 3 weeks from when I had last heard from anyone at Korvia. I know from your side it sucks because you need to know if you'll be leaving in September, but I think for a lot of people, things tend to be close.

They definitely never offered me a hagwon gig anywhere.

Have you tried skyping the recruiter or maybe trying to speak with someone in the Korean office (pretty much all of their staff here speaks English)?

I have met some of the Korvia people (staff) in Korea and I thought they were cool. I used to text one of the directors whenever I had questions and he would respond even though I wasnt applying for a new job. (No, I dont have his number anymore, sorry).

You should realize though that at the end of the day, being a recruiter is a business and they're not really your friends. They're busy this time of year but disappearing hardly seems acceptable to me. I wouldn't pester them, but I wouldn't let them forget that you're out there either.

Also to the gyopo male, I have a gyopo male friend here in Korea who was placed in one of the nicer planned cities just outside of Seoul. The school specifically requested a male gyopo, so there's always a chance. If you're "ethnic" (I'm African-American) a lot of times it boils down to how the last teacher performed. A lot of schools will request a particular demographic (for instance, South African female) because they had a pleasant experience with the last teacher and dont want to bother with change. Korea right?

Good luck!