Korean Job Discussion Forums

[takethree]

It seems almost everyone has a bad story (or two or ten) about hagwons. Anyone have any good experiences (and names of institutions) in Seoul that they'd like to share? In hindsight, what are some things to look out for when talking to recruiters/bosses that are actually POSITIVE indicators of a good experience?

The bad stories are helpful to an extent, but for those of us still interested in coming, the good stories will perhaps be even more useful.

Thanks.

[some waygug-in]

This is my latest theory on hagwon jobs, so I may be 100 miles off.

I believe there's a reason why there are so few "good" hagwon stories.

It's not that there aren't any, it's that when people find a good one, they

tend to hang on to it for a few years. They don't want everyone and their

dog applying. So they don't go around blabbing about it.

They tend to recommend friends for those jobs when they

do leave, so very few of those jobs get advertised.


Most of the one's advertised are not so good.

[ttompatz]

[wonkavite62]

I agree that being an expat requires a leap of faith! Although working abroad can be exciting, I also agree with Tompatts that you need to do some investigation while actually applying for a job. I like to get some feedback from people working at the school (NOT just management), and I like to find out as much from the school itself as I can. What I don't want is to put on rose tinted spectacles, and get so excited about being actually picked for a job that I miss out something important and then whine: "But nobody told me about this before I came to Korea! It's not FAIR!"

[takethree]

Yeah, I definitely understand that due diligence is needed. And I'm not just going over there blind - I realize it's a lot of work to transition to a new place.

The larger point of my question was not to necessarily find the name of a good hagwon, but instead find out what people saw in these hagwons when they were first being recruited that made them say, "Oh, this sounds like a good place."

Or alternately, now that they're there and enjoying it, what are some of the things that make it that way? Did they get any idea of these things when they were being recruited?

I'm ready to go into interviews with what to watch out for in the negative, but I'm lacking what to look out for in the positive.

[some waygug-in]

Check the green list for supposedly positive reviews.

http://greenlist.tokyojon.com/

[ttompatz]

[comm]

If a hogwan's employees are doing midnight runs every 6 months, you're going to see all kinds of advertisements for their jobs.
If NETs are staying there for three years at a time, you're never going to see them advertised.
It's pretty simple, really.

[Skippy]

Here are some reason why you do not hear about good schools.

One even after 10 plus years of being the number one board for Korea and ESL. I would guess less then 1 percent of the total E2 people come here and post here. This is not including F-Visa holders, people in other countries or Koreans. People have lives and other concerns. Posting and visiting on forums are not what they are interested in doing. Many people are too F**KED to even post on a black or white list. Why write for five minutes when they can watch a TV show, go out for a beer, read a book, or click on another page. Heck even me a times, find better things to do.

The only time people really write on the forums is when things go wrong or badly. I never see a post labeled "My Boss is paying me on time!" or "How do I stay longer at school". No most post are people asking about bad situations or events. So this board is filled with the negative stories and events so by that action you would think all hagwons are crap. I do see the odd in the middle of threads of people commenting on their school and if it is good or OK. In general, my school awsome threads well are boring, no drama!

People are lazy. Take the first one of the amount of people here in Korea that even on the boards is low, then mix in that people are human. Humans are lazy. Why bother writing a good story. I have seen some many people who could not even spend 2 or 3 minutes to contribute a doctor to a doctor list on a facebook page. Name, address, phone number, maybe a link. Or people are not even bothered to even write a clear concise question. The multitude of mind blowing questions that could be answered with spending 5 minutes with google. So with all that laziness..... NOTHING. Nothing is what happens, no news, no comments, good hagwon reports, etc.

Next people are selfish. Some people come here when something goes wrong and ask a question. Maybe get some help, and then once they get it...... NOTHING..... Some people just take and take do not contribute. Like any forum it needs people who will contribute. When even that 1 percent of people of E2s on Daves, do not even fully contribute. Literally, if I would say this board would disappear if 20 or 30 of certain posters stopped. So OP lets say you get some tales and info, where are you going to be in a couple months. Will you be back here posting of what is going on with your job. Or will you like most people get what you need and then fade away.

[World Traveler]

Great post, Skippy, but I would say almost all the people who have things go wrong are also too lazy, busy, or selfish to put their school on a blacklist or write about it on Dave's. (Or they don't know about blacklists or Dave's). People with the most plum jobs (unis and the public schools that are good) have the most down time/free time to come on Dave's and make a lot of posts here. That screws the perspective, too. (People like to brag.) A disproportionate number of posters on Dave's are men with Korean wives (and in some cases because of that they feel the need to defend Korea and the ESL industry here). I guess I don't fully agree with you. I think most hagwons out there are bad (shady). Non-hagwon jobs at universities are much better in my opinion. SO many hagwons are not good. The majority have serious issues from my experience (first hand, second hand, and otherwise).