Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dbee]

Why is it exactly that so many people seem to think that this is a good idea for a newbie looking to find employment in Korea ?

As far as I'm concerned, it's terrible advice to anyone who is unfamiliar with the country.

To come over to a non-English speaking country, navigate your way around, stay in hotels, pay for your own meals, then try to scope out exactly where and what hogwons are exactly. Then find your own way to the interviews and try to ask the teacher and school relevant questions when you don't even know what questions it is you should be asking. Or try to find your way to some isolated public school in the country side, that your recruiter has recommended you ... ?

Then when it comes around to signing your contract, you know you're going to have to bargin hard just to get your flight paid for, because your boss will boss will assume he/she won't have to pay for that since you are here already. Not to talk about hotel, transport and food costs.

I can only imagine that the majority of newbies will end up getting lost, spending way too much money, and getting so confused that they'll either end up taking the first job they can get. Or they'll just take some recruiter job and probably have a phone interview anyway ...

[SPINOZA]

You're absolutely right.

The bright sparks who say "come over here and look for a job" aren't thinking things through. They are folks who know Korea, can presumably read Korean, speak a bit and know what's what. A total newbie coming over and looking for a job with no Korean ability and no knowledge of the country whatsoever is - I assume - very rare. It's totally perplexing to read folks say to someone they should go to a foreign country where English isn't widely spoken on a tourist visa and expect to engage in any kind of productive job-hunt.

I wonder how many of the people who say this actually did it themselves? Very brave and lucky of them if they did, full credit to them, but I'm guessing most didn't, because it's not reasonable.

[red dog]

Good points -- I first came over with a job and certainly couldn't have afforded not to. But if I ever decided to return to Korea, I'd probably spend some money and take a proper Korean language course before looking for work. I think newbies should do the same if they can afford it -- they'll probably have a better Korea experience that way -- but of course many can't. It's too bad companies don't provide a short introduction to Korean language and culture before throwing new teachers into such stressful situations. We'd probably see fewer disgruntled people on these boards, fewer midnight runs (no, I never did one), etc.

[Big Mac]

I agree that it is stupid for people to go to Korea first to look for a job. You would be missing out on airfare and would have the problem of navigating around in unfamiliar territory. Why would you do this when it is so easy to line up a job from overseas?

[Trespasser]

I prefer to see the working and living conditions before signing a one year contract. Meeting prospective employers and co-workers in person is important to me. It will cost less than eighty U.S. dollars per month for a round-trip ticket. It is understandable why some people prefer to have a job before they arrive in S. Korea. I am in no way saying that it is wrong and/or stupid to sign a contract before leaving your home country. It just isn't for everyone.

[xCustomx]

I came over here on my own, though my situation was unique. I lived with my friend's grandmother for 4 weeks while I was looking for my job and secured my officetel. I could read Korean before I came over and speak a decent amount, enough to get by. I would never get a job here first without getting a chance to see where I'd be working, the accomodations, meet with co-workers and sit in on some classes. During my 2.5 week job search, I saw some crappy places, 1 of which offered a shared apartment that smelled like urine.

Coming here by yourself is not for everyone. It was stressful for about 1 month, but I found an awesome job where I was teaching only 12 hours a week for the first 5 months and about 22 since then. Not to mention the 17 pyung apt with a view of the mountains, 1 minute from the subway, a huge park 3 minutes away, and seoul 30 minutes. i don't mean to brag, but your chances of landing a gig like mine from overseas are not very good.

and regarding the airfare that someone mentioned about not getting paid for, you should be able to negotiate that from the school that you sign with, at least getting 1/2 of it paid for

[ttompatz]