Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Voyeur]

I'm trying to get down to Korea within 4-6 weeks maximum.

I JUST graduated TESOL and I am just this minute finished off my resume and template for a letter or introduction.

I have a photographer friend and she is going to set me up with some pictures this weekend for free - both hard and soft copies.

While I am not blond nor am I an Adonis, I apparently do have the classical Canadian/American whitebread Wall Street type looks that some say are an advantage in Korea. I'm6 foot 3, black/brown hair, clean shaven and clean cut, broad shoulders, nice build, and apparently not too hard on the eyes, blah blah blah. But vanity and fear of being pompous both must take a backseat to money

Today someone told me that I should be sending out that picture WITH my letter and to send my resume all at the same time and that I should start tomorrow if I am this pressed for time. He said I should go and get the pictures done tomorrow even if I have to pay for them and that I shouldn't be sending out any of my letters to promising schools without them having my picture. I thought that the picture and one's looks were a nice bonus but not that big a deal - he swears up and down that in fact it can be a huge deal and can make a big difference much more often than most are willing to admit. He says if you have looks that sell they need to be part of the very first impression they have of you from square one. There are only so many promising schools after I sorted through the crap. His point is that I'll be hurting my chances with this small and limited list if I don't send a picture immediately and it is better to wait until I have one or best to just spenmd the monety to get the pictures asap. Me, my instincts are to get the free photos but now I am not so sure.

Also, did most of you send the resume along with the letter or wait for a response? When did you send the pictures - esp. any of you who felt that the picture was a good selling point?

[Mody Ba]

Just curious. By the way, your post sounded like an ad for a personal.But at least you are modest enough to admit you are "not Adonis" ,even though you say you have "classical white bread looks".Yes,looks are very important at some of the "schools" over here....even though "vanity and fear must take a backseat to money" You sound like the kind of guy most of the hakwons are salivating over,even though you are not blonde.(Of course, you could always bleach your locks if you wanted to REALLY impress the "students".)
Well,anyway, you "graduated TESOL"(welcome to the horde!)
With your "whitebread, WallStreet "looks you might do very well at one of the hakwons....at least for awhile...at least until they rip you off, which usually happens.Incidentally, now that you have filled us in on your looks,do you actually contemplate teaching anything(not that that is so important at a hakwon).Lord help us all!

[Voyeur]

Thanks for the comments Mody. Yeah, I do plan on teaching something to someone. But I got the idea to do this ESL thing about 5 days ago jumped into a TESOL class and just finished. I'm trying to get to Korea ASAP so I'm a bit rushed. What to do about this picture situation was my current logjam so I posted about that and given my urgency I focused the post solely on that thus no mention about teaching aspirations or anything else etc... I am not one for obvious self-promotion especially in these kinds of areas - it just never comes off well. But I really had no choice here. To get the right answer on this I need to give the right information so I just said it. I didn't like to do it but I did. I think most sensible people have a very good idea of how they rate in appearance vis a vis the more commonly accepted norms and benchmarks. Saying it gratuitously is crass and pathetic but not being able to assess oneself and transmit that info. when required and when cash is on the line is almost as bad. So I'd appreciate a little benefit of the doubt here.

I'll take your post as a vote for the "get the picture immediately and send it out with everything" course of action. As I said, I am hardly gorgeous and I doubt I'd look good as a blonde guy. But if I did look good blonde and it would make me more money and dying actually worked well for men and could be maintained easily then for sure I'd dye my hair right now. I'm all about the Benjamins at this point Mostly because I have been in business awhile I fully expect to work hard and dilligently and be punctual. I feel that if I do this I will become a good teacher and am confident in this. That being said, I cannot truly transcend the limitations of where I am employed. If my employer wants me to teach in a stupid manner and this makes everyone happy then stupid I will be so long as the pay is on time and the school seems financially stable. As soon as those last two things show any change I will vote with my feet.

[merrilee]

Voyeur,

Absolutely send your pic with your resume and letter. Believe me, it's to your advantage. Recruiters and directors do not even look at my resume; they see the pic and email me with questions like "What is your phone number? How old are you?" Naturally this information could be found quite readily on my resume.

And I don't have blonde hair, either.

[kylehawkins2000]

I don't think its a big deal either way. How long does it take to send a pic? Just email it as an attachment......it's there in seconds. Don't sweat it man. No place is going to turn you away or not look at your application becuase there is no picture.

PS. I'm assuming you are applying by email, and not snail mail.....

good luck,

Kyle

[merrilee]

btw, are you not set up to receive PMs? I tried earlier and it's sitting in my outbox for some reason.

[Voyeur]

[HamuHamu]

Why wait until you have professional photos taken - send a scanned copy of any old snapshot of yourself.

I think that you may be taking the "please send a photo" request from the schools the wrong way. Don't think for a minute that every person here is gorgeous, or has "Wall Street good looks" (whatever they are). In fact, I would have to say that if you had a room full of the ESL teachers in Korea, you would have nothing more than an "average" looking sample of western folk, when it comes to appearance. There are some beautiful men/women here, some unattractive ones, some overweight teachers, some thin-as-a-rail teachers, and a whole lot of people that just fall into that category of AVERAGE.

Rather, they want the photo to make sure that you have a western appearance, and you aren't covered in piercings. Hey - some schools may not even care about the piercings.

As for sending it with the resume, that doesn't really matter. If they specifically state in the ad that you MUST send a photo with your resume, go for it. If not, they will email you back and say "hey, great, now send us your pic."

But regardless, do not for a minute think that you were hired simply because you are attractive. Don't get a swelled head over an offer for every job you apply for.

[Voyeur]

I am in a very big rush. I am trying to do the entire ESL process from conception to arrival in 4-6 weeks total. Therefore I need to do everything as efficiently as I can in the best possible order I can. I will not wait for professional photos now that I understand that they can be of some advantage - I will have my friend take them tomorrow or go out and get them done myself tomorrow and add them to my applications that will start going out tomorrow. Why should any of them go out with anything less than my best when I am on such a tight schedule (self-imposed as it is)?

I was in business and often wore very banker-esque blue and grey suits with white shirts. When I asked my friend last night to describe my looks for the purpose of asking this question she was the one that said I had Wall Street type very caucasian looks. So I used the phrase - I'm not sure I fully understand what it means either.

Anyways, I hardly think that my looks, or anybody's, are necessarily a huge selling point nor do I feel they in any way gurantee a job. But now that I get the idea that they do constitute an edge, no matter how minimal, I'm gonna take that edge and use it since I need all the help I can get right now. I'm very sorry to have come across as conceited. I tried to do my best to avoid this but still get the advice I needed. In retrospect I should have asked in a generalized way before providing specific details. If I had done so I would have found out that there was in fact no need to provide any personal details on this matter - a generalized answer based on generalized info. would have provided just as much direction here as the approach I took. I just was a little over eager to get all the facts down so as to decide the point quickly. I'm sorry if I came across as being annoying or overly infatuated with myself. Not my intention. Thanks a lot for the advice.

[merrilee]

Voyeur- I haven't signed yet. I tried to send you a pm earlier and I don't think it worked. Email me- [email protected]

[Voyeur]

Merrilee,

Your PM did work but I took it to hotmail anyways if only to actuallly use my new hotmail account. Thanks agin for being so nice.

[kylehawkins2000]

dude, just send the applications in. Don't worry about it.

It is a bit of a different situation for females maybe.....women being hired for their looks are more common than for males.

You will not expediate the process any by waiting for photos to arrive. Just get a couple of applications in. I really think you are taking the 'send photo' thing a bit too seriously....

[Voyeur]

It is all good. I phoned my friend just now and called in a favour and she is going to take care of things tomorrow morning instead of this weekend. I do understand what you are saying Kyle and if the choice was between applications now without photos or them later with, I'd just send them out. But I have little time and want to do everything I can control perfectly since I am fully confident that many other things will go less than perfectly. So now there is no choice - I'll do it both.

[waterbaby]

[merrilee]

Waterbaby, you're full of answers. thanks.