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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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erica27
Joined: 09 Aug 2014
Location: USA
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 Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2014 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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| radish kimchi wrote: |
| So, that is where you are a "newbie", fresh out of the college oven? Hot piping youngster ready to be exploited. |
Not everyone looking to teach in Korea is an ignoramus, so I highly doubt I would be so easily "exploited"- I might be new to the teaching game, but I'm not new to how the business works.
| radish kimchi wrote: |
| Korean employers might not be "genuinely" interested in your history. They are more "genuinely" interested in how much money you can bring to them. Sell yourself as a slave, and that is how you will be "genuinely" treated as. |
I'm sensing a little "I sold myself to a crappy employer without being prepared" syndrome.
I don't think that they are "genuinely" interested in that fact either, but it does come across when I speak to people about why I am pursuing a teaching job in the first place. People who are not "genuinely" interested in teaching, especially teaching abroad, have no right doing so. If thats the case, I suggest finding a new path to take- I hear McDonald's is hiring. Maybe you could even work your way up to manager.
| radish kimchi wrote: |
You should be able to get 10 or more per week. Something you are doing/not doing is not good or working in Korea is not the right place.
Going to Korea first will not solve your problem. You need to find out why you can only get 1 interview every 2 weeks. If you had 100 interviews in your home country, then I would say to go to Korea and try in person. |
However, you are failing as a "qualified" candidate with only 4 interviews. Address this issue first. Find out why you aren't being interviewed more often.[\quote]
Yeah, 10 or more per week if I'm an imbecile willing to interview with schools that are on the lowest of low blacklists (or completely not where I want to live/work) and haven't done my research. Sorry, but I won't waste my time or the interviewer's time. Maybe you did 10 interviews a week, but I'll have to pass on that.
Perhaps I should have clarified that I have only DONE 4 interviews, not that I have only been OFFERED 4 interviews? 
| radish kimchi wrote: |
You might want to refrain from the "ya'll" lingo.
Until Jethro opens up a hagwon in up there tarnation hills and sprouts them black gold, you mights be best missy with the other kind of salutes like "everyone". Ya'll come back now, ya hear?
That makes me wonder if this is a "genuine" poster in "grief" over only 4 interviews. |
So I thought your response reeked of a little supremacist stereotyping... lo and behold, there it is! I didn't know we were running an English academy right here on Dave's ESL Cafe! Why golly, I would've never guessed it. Do you spend hours correcting all the "u"s, the "tho"s, and "cuz"s on all the threads, too? Wow, thats some real dedication. 
I must say, you've got more spite and lack of manners in your response than most of the threads full of Korea-hating lowlifes do! Congrats!
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Troglodyte
Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 4:28 am Post subject: Re: Taking Ages |
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| erica27 wrote: |
Anyone think I'm just totally unemployable? I've got my documents ready to go... I don't think I'm being too picky- I know how hagwons work and I know how quickly they can screw you over. I can't say the interviews I've done go terribly, in fact I think they've gone really well.
How long did it take for ya'll to find good positions? Do any of you have experience finding jobs WHILE in Korea as first-timers? One of my options at the moment is to go back to Korea on my own time and money since I have somewhere to stay temporarily and it seems like it might be be easier and faster that way..  |
The problem isn't that you're unemployable. The problem is that you're asking for a very specific job in a very specific area. There are only going to be a few jobs come up in a short amount of time (a few months is a short time) and those jobs will first of all be filled by word of mouth (you're looking at the most sought after area) and those which aren't will be spread out among various recruiters, some of which you probably haven't contacted. Of those who you have contacted, they'll offer those jobs first to the best candidates because they want to be sure the school hires THEIR teacher and not someone else's. (They want that commission.)
If you do come to look for jobs in person then you'll definitely increase your chances of getting the job you want. It won't guarantee it though. Teachers with a few year's experience also tend to be based in or around Seoul (if they're the types who want those same jobs that you want) so they're also going to be doing in-person interviews. Still, the fact that you can do interviews will automatically put you above all of the other newbies who are applying from abroad. One downside, you probably won't get airfare to Korea provided. Instead, the school will probably pay for your visa run to Japan.
If you've lived in Seoul before then you know it has a good metro system. There's no need to find a job in the center of Seoul. If you find a job anywhere in Seoul or even one of the satellite cities along the metro lines then there's not much practical difference. Even if you were way out at the end of the Incheon line, you could still get to Itaewon in an hour. Many long termers (and a LOT of Koreans) even prefer the satellite cities because they're nicer places to live and simply commute to central Seoul for work. |
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So Sincere
Joined: 04 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 4:30 pm Post subject: Re: Taking Ages |
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| Troglodyte wrote: |
| The problem isn't that you're unemployable. The problem is that you're asking for a very specific job in a very specific area. There are only going to be a few jobs come up in a short amount of time (a few months is a short time) and those jobs will first of all be filled by word of mouth (you're looking at the most sought after area) and those which aren't will be spread out among various recruiters, some of which you probably haven't contacted. Of those who you have contacted, they'll offer those jobs first to the best candidates because they want to be sure the school hires THEIR teacher and not someone else's. (They want that commission.) |
This is probably the closest to the truth you'll hear as to why you haven't obtained a job yet.
I just went through a round of job hunting that was even more specific. I was looking for something only in Busan teaching university students and adults.
My best advice is to hound recruiters daily. Annoy them if you have to. Look for new postings the same way you'd stalk your celebrity crush on Twitter. Regardless of the title "recruiter", if you want a specific job in a specific area, you will be doing most of the work to obtain said job. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 6:14 pm Post subject: Re: Hi |
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| wonkavite62 wrote: |
Well I graduated from one of the top 200 universities mentioned,  and I got a public school job in a rural province of Korea. But I spent 2 months unsuccessfully looking for another job and decided to come home, so as not to waste money.
North America needs to get its act together and give proper jobs to graduates and not just internships. We also need a proper boom. It would behove us all, if all those people who complain about Korea on Dave's ESL would also post their comments of Facebook and other social sites back home. It would do us all a lot of good if potential jobseekers in places like California or Ontario were aware of the downside of teaching in Korea, and the current tight job market.
Some of the oldest teachers in Seoul told me that the job situation in Korea is so dire partly because people were posting all sorts of positive (AND ONLY PARLY TRUE) stuff on Facebook about working conditions, salary, and the ability to save. And desperate jobseekers believed it until they started working in ROK. Korea is more popular now because it's seen as a "good" location. Let's redress that balance. |
Wishful thinking? If North America would quit voting for idiots who not only promise change but bring the wrong kind of change. With the economy being bad as of late, it's perhaps not the kind of change folks intended in 2008, but it's what they got. The chickens have come home to roost. Past recessions were shorter and recoveries were quicker. This current situation is absolute BS. Here's to hoping folks back home wake up in both 2014 and 2016. |
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bmaw01
Joined: 13 May 2013
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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Art history? Asian studies?
I hope you like the unemployment line. Finding a job as an art history major is impossible. Asian history? I hope you plan to go back for more schooling because I doubt you're going to find employment. More schooling equals more student loan debt. Those fields have a high rate of unemployment.
Take it from someone whose older. Go back to school and major in a field that's going to make you money. I taught in South Korea for 2 years and most of the people I've met were literature majors, anthropology majors, art majors, etc. You get the idea.
My sister lost her job as a lab technician, and went back to school to be a programmer. She got a job within a month and is making over $30 an hour. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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| bmaw01 wrote: |
Art history? Asian studies?
I hope you like the unemployment line. Finding a job as an art history major is impossible. Asian history? I hope you plan to go back for more schooling because I doubt you're going to find employment. More schooling equals more student loan debt. Those fields have a high rate of unemployment.
Take it from someone whose older. Go back to school and major in a field that's going to make you money. I taught in South Korea for 2 years and most of the people I've met were literature majors, anthropology majors, art majors, etc. You get the idea.
My sister lost her job as a lab technician, and went back to school to be a programmer. She got a job within a month and is making over $30 an hour. |
You know before the recession, the economy was booming and arts people got jobs not in their fields but starting at the bottom of companies and working their way up. Now, it's crap and folks are having to settle for less. Is it getting better or not? Time will tell.
It is true that specialized fields will be more immune to economic downturns. |
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Cave Dweller
Joined: 17 Aug 2014
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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| You may be better off taking a job in the vicinity of Seoul, where it is much easier to get a job. If you stay for another year, you will be in the country, have a transferable E-2, be available for face-to-face interviews, and have a year of relevant experience under your belt. |
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