Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tomato]

A prospective employer sent me a message asking me how old I am.
My prospects for this job look grim because I'm middle-aged.
What difference does it make how old I am?

Do they think:
older teachers are dull?
older teachers are less popular with the children?
older teachers drive business away?

If they make any of these assumptions about me, they are wrong, and I can prove it
Any way to get them to listen?

[J.B. Clamence]

Another reason is that in Korea, older folks are considered harder to bully and less likely to put up with crap.

[Demophobe]

Energy, friend. That, and perception. ESL is for the young, not us fogies.

Look for the right kind of job, and age is a plus. Hagwons....not really. Schools....yep.

[Derrek]

My current job chose me partially because I'm well over 30.

They didn't want some guy in their 20s mackin' on the high school girls (or visa-versa).

[Dalton]

Marketing. A young sexy teacher. And all the reasons above.
My school specifically wanted a mature married male with teaching experience.

[pecan]

I asked some of my students about what they thought of younger and older teachers. They commented on how both have abilities, and that they learn from all teachers. However, they preferred younger teachers, because they felt that the younger teachers understood them better and could relate to what they were going through.

True or not, their preference will influence the market.

Nut

[sadsac]

It's also a confusionist society where age automatically engenders a level of respect. This only applies when they want it to. Many directors of hagwons do consider having an older more experienced teacher brings with it inherent problems, namely as a previous poster stated control and manipulation of that person. There are still plenty of jobs out there though, you just need to find the right one. Best of luck.

[seoulmon]

There was an English teacher teaching English in Japan who was REALLY HANDSOME. One day he was walking to class and he notice there was contruction going on. It turns out, they were building a special window in his classroom so students could pass by and see the "handsome English teaching staff."

[batman]

The director at my last school usually had a preference for 'young and dumb'. If given the choice between a 40-something-year-old with a couple of years of experience in the ROK and a 22-year-old fresh off the plane he would, generally, go for the newbie. His feeling was that the newbie would not know enough (or anything for that matter) about the laws and customs of Korea. The newbie would be easier to manipulate, control, scare, beat down, crush and then - when all seems bleak and desperate - save. My previous director had a typical abusive personality. He did not want someone who was capable of taking care of him/herself. He was always 'happier' when he had someone who was dependant upon him (even if it was for the littlest things). The age factor also plays great for marketing (our teachers are young and fresh! they will be your friends and go drinking with you after class!). A twisted way of thinking perhaps but easier to understand when one realizes that the teaching of English is, in general, the least important thing on the menu (and I believe this to be true for both universities and hogwans).

[Real Reality]

J.B. Clamence may be correct.
batman's message is accurate.
"His feeling was that the newbie would not know enough (or anything for that matter) about the laws and customs of Korea. The newbie would be easier to manipulate, control, scare, beat down, crush...."

For the age/status conscious Koreans, it is important to guess and/know the approximate age or relative status of their counterparts.
http://www.executiveplanet.com/business-culture-in/132166234632.html

Traditionally, older people are accorded honor. For instance, at dinner the eldest person sits first and eats and drinks before anyone else can begin. Anyone older must always be addressed with honorifics, even among acquaintances.
http://www.pbs.org/hiddenkorea/culture.htm

Korean society is not egalitarian: a person's status is strictly defined in relation to others. How do foreigners fit into this scheme? The simple answer is they don't. Korean society thus remains very inwardly focused. Living in Korea as a foreigner requires patience....you should not expect to be accepted as a member of a Korean's inner circle.
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/pubs/korea-en.asp#Cultural

Foreigners Experience Difficulties in Living in Korea
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2004070522448

[Dalton]

I'm working on my fourth contract now. 4 schools. My current contract will be my second year at my current school. Yes the numbers don't add up to the unknowing. Every school I've worked at wanted a mature married male because young single males are alcoholic horndogs in their humble opinion. In my experience there are plenty of schools with older owners that value experience and not every young male is a lazy, alcoholic horndog.

I believe the opportunities for middle aged males are better here than at home but the same problem with young'uns too intimated to hire experience exists. But it's less of a problem here. The real problem here is the pic. Koreans seem to hire people according to their pic reguardless of their qualifications. Not one has ever guessed my age correctly in four years. They all knock 15 or more years off. Maybe I'm lucky.

[coolsage]

Yes, appearance, or image, seems to count for much here, and if one has reached a certain demographic (i.e. forty-something), and has married status, then, at least at the uni level, one is not regarded as an unmitigated horn-dog. On the other hand, the administrative staff, who are frequently younger, still operating in Confucian-time, don't have a frame of reference for people who are older, but of a different culture, and don't want to be told what to do; rather, consultation is the key here. It's often a new experience for both parties, but it can be accomplished.

[captain kirk]

Don't let it get you down there Tomato. Looking for a job is always a heart in one's throat pain in the butt in the long run. Prospective employers peering at one with bifocals tipped up and checking one's oil. But there are some good people who are bosses in Korea. I know I met them and work there now. Her attitude was that whether you're a little fat, or a little old, or whatever, it doesn't matter to the kids. What mattered to her was whether she could sense the person had energy, seemed consistent, and comfortable with themselves and so could be comfortable with others. She had on her aura-detecting goggles and said I had a humdinger, and that if she could bottle some of that gunk she's be a millionaire. Everything but the last sentence.
Any blunders I've made in job-seeking have been reluctance to get up and dance/teach when there was considerable pressure on them to make a decision, since they were shopping to fill a vacancy. I felt self-conscious about jumping up and 'acting relaxed' in front of the kids 'on demand', as it were, not knowing the bosses and feeling 'observed' and uncomfortable. It isn't a natural environment to relax in, job hunting. ESPECIALLY just back from two months in Thailand barefoot and sleeping in a hammock without an alarm clock.
But like I said at this job the interviewer could see who I was and I felt comfortable from the start, before I started teaching. These things do happen. I hate to use the cliche 'karma', but getting nudged out of the running for being 'old' nudges the bosses out regards their haggie being a good place for you to feel comfortable, and enjoy.

[Real Reality]

Coolsage,
Word Count
39 + 59 = 98
98/2 = 49
An average of between 15 to 20 words for essays and research papers helps produce a clear and readable style. It's the same average as well-respected publications such as New Scientist or the Economist consistently produce. Below 15 words and there's a danger your writing will become too choppy and disjointed. As you go above the 20-word average, your document becomes more difficult to read. An average sentence length of 25 words is far too high. Faced with long sentences, readers often give up halfway through or forget the start of the sentence by the time they reach the end. The more words in a sentence, the harder it becomes to understand.
http://www.write-an-essay.com/essay-writing-length.html

[coolsage]