Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cheolsu]

We wrapped up the hiring process for a foreign instructor in our English department a few weeks ago, which I hope is long enough for everyone involved (except for the person we hired) to forget about it. Still, I'd like to describe our process in general terms. I won't talk too much about our school, except to say that it's a good but not great university (both for academics and working conditions) located in Seoul.

Here's what stood out in our hiring process, in which I participated along with a small team of Korean and non-Korean faculty:

- we got over 100 applications from a wide range of people, some with resumes that vastly overqualified them for our job, a few with resumes that seemed too good to be true

- preference went to those with something other than the typical profile of a BA (with or without a TESOL certificate) and a few years of experience at a public school or hagwon

- this meant that in order to even be considered for an interview, people had to have either had a completed MA (related and/or finished MAs were preferred, but unrelated or in-progress MAs were also acceptable), a teaching certification from back home, experience at a university or perhaps experience at a school that somehow got our attention, such as a foreign language high school

- we ended up with about a dozen interviews, and every single person who got one had either taught at a university before, had an MA, or was in the progress of getting an MA

- looking at the applications on paper, I thought that it was an open-and-shut case: we had some very qualified applicants and then some not-so-strong applicants who got in on the strength of experience

- however, I was surprised at how different the interviews were from our expectations. It sounds like a football cliche, the one were announcers note that some teams "just make plays when they have to" while others don't, but some people interview very well and others don't. A lot of people with MAs spoke very well, but couldn't give focused answers to fairly simple questions. Those who had experience at other universities seemed to forget how to do their jobs when it came to describing how they teach, how they work, or describing their thesis or ongoing research.

- we ended up going with a candidate who, on paper, ranked near the bottom. I think he was the only one without a completed MA or prior university experience. However, he simply interviewed well. He gave direct, clear answers to questions, made it clear that he could teach well and that he could work together with us. The others, meanwhile, struggled to get this impression across.

- please, please, please wear a suit. Only about half of our interviewees looked presentable for a job interview. I don't think it factored into the decision at our school, but I can't imagine people wanting to listen to a guy who wore casual slacks and sneakers (yes, this happened, and the ensuing interview was jaw-droppingly bad).

- a few of the people who interviewed here will probably get good jobs somewhere else (or might have already done so) with more experience interviewing. Many of the others, meanwhile, are simply hanging onto jobs they have by virtue of experience.

- none of the people with related MAs and prior university experience who applied accepted our offer of an interview.

- there obviously is credential inflation (I would call it an adjustment, since Koreans without MAs can only dream of teaching at a university), but I honestly don't think it's that competitive. I imagine that eventually we may get to a point where there is a glut of experienced MAs (when I say MA, I mean a related MA) who can't make a decent living, but I don't think we're there yet. Someone with an MA, a little bit of university teaching experience and the ability to present well would have walked away with this job.

[World Traveler]

[cheolsu]

Of those 100, about 60 had nothing but a BA and 1-4 years of experience at a hagwon or a public school. Of the 40 left, about 20 had unrelated MAs or more than four years of experience at a hagwon or public school. In our eyes, an MA in sociology makes you no better at teaching in our department than a BA in English. That left 20 people with at least half an MA in English/linguistics/TESOL or a couple of years of university experience on a BA. Pretty much all of them got interview offers (except for a few that had a related MA but no teaching experience, they simply got beaten out by those who had teaching experience). A few others who would have gotten interviews didn't get one because their application wasn't complete. At that point, it was anyone's game, and it really wasn't that competitive.

It's only competitive if you have no specific qualifications for EFL beyond a CELTA or a TESOL certificate. Those who are established in this career (MA, a few years of experience) didn't even bother interviewing with us.

[Rutherford]

Thanks for the information.

[diver]

Cheolsu,

This is in relation to a different thread, but...

Would you mind telling us what your qualifications and experience level are? Maybe a rough outline of the other foreigners on the hiring committee as well?

(and because this is Dave's - I don't mean it to be confrontational. It's related to something that was discussed in another thread).

[cheolsu]

This is my fifth year teaching and my first year at a university. I have almost completed my MA. I don't want to specify the qualifications of the other foreigners in our department, but we have a mixture of partial MAs, completed MAs and BAs with a lot of experience. I was the only foreigner on the hiring committee, mostly none of the others were available.

[World Traveler]

I remember how you said you got in with just a BA which really surprised me, but then you also said your BA is from a prestigious university. And did you also say your BA is in English? That could help for sure. You were the only foreigner on the hiring committee? That's a shocker. I assumed those with the most seniority (experience) would be chosen to do that. Others happened to be unavailable at the time?

[tob55]

[byrddogs]

[cheolsu]

[cheolsu]

[jeremydc808]

Great thread. I am halfway through my first year teaching and will begin my online M.Ed/ teaching cert through University of Texas. I know it's not an ideal way to get started but I feel like I'm headed in the right direction.