Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ginger7]

I have a job offer and several email addresses of current and former teachers. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on good, pointed questions to ask these teachers without being too invasive or too vague. I have a list of a few but I wanted to get some advice from the pros.

Thanks in advance.

[ThePoet]

Did you like the job?

Was there anything about the job you didn't like?

Would you recommend this job to any of your friends?

How are the students?

How does the contract compare to actual working conditions?

Would you work there again if it was offered to you and your present situation was not available to you?

[seoulsista]

Are you hours consistenct or do they change depending on the schools needs?

Are you vacation days given in blocks or a day here a day there?

Are you allowed to dicipline the kids and will the director back you up?

How much overtime are you asked to work on a typical month?

Are you always paid in full for this overtime?

Are you often asked to work on Saturdays/Sundays?

[Aussiekimchi]

keep it short and sweet.
You will probably be talking to a teacher between classes or after their shift is over.
Poet's questions were great and will be able to give you a fair idea of what to expect.
Also remember that the school boss will probably be listening in to the conversation.
Sometimes you don't always get the whole truth but it is the best you can do.

[sheba]

Does the school/apt have aircon? (I wouldnt survive summer without it!)

Does the school have video cameras in the classrooms?

How far is the apartment from the school?

How far is the apartment from amenities? (I live in a small town which is fine for me, but the other few people I know here HATE having to travel 30 mins into the city to go to a western restaurant/foreign bar/movie theatre etc)

Why are you leaving?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

A few litmus tests:

Do / did you have to wait til 5 / 10 / 15 days after the month to get paid for the previous month?

When students speak to you in Korean do they use banmal or jondaemal?

Was a deposit for your appartment deducted from your first paycheques?

How many hours do / did you spend at work during your longest work-weeks?

How often did you hear 'a parent complained...'



Honest answers to these should give you a pretty good idea of what kind of workplace you'll be headed to and how much respect you'll be given.

[Grotto]

How close is the apartment to the school?
How does the staff treat the foreign teachers?
How do the foreign teachers treat each other?
Are you paid on time?
How much tax are you paying? Pension? Medical?(do you get all these benefits?)
Does the apartment have air con? The school?

How many classes do you teach a week? How many students per class? What is the teaching schedule? Do they honour the contract?

What is there to do in the area? Gyms? swimmng pool? shopping?
Is there anything I should bring?

[Ya-ta Boy]

I would ask...

Have you ever felt treated unfairly?

Do you feel the administration is professional?

How are your relationships with a) your primary co-worker and b) the other members of the faculty.

Do you have the feeling that your boss understands you are a foreigner and treats you with that taken into consideration or are you expected to totally conform to Korean custom?

When do you feel the most stress at work and why?

[ginger7]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I sent out emails of twelve questions to five current and former teachers and hopefully they reply back so I can officially sign the contract!

[some waygug-in]

What kind of books/resources are there?

If the school has decent books, do they have the picture cards/ tapes/ videos and other resources that go with the books? or do they expect the teachers to just wing it?

Did the school provide these things or did the teachers have to buy a lot of what they use?

Does the school do things like move students from level 2 to level 5, just to impress parents?

Does the director make ridiculous decisions that you as a teacher have to deal with? Things like make you teach a book that is "way beyond" the level of the students, or not allowing teachers to bring anything outside of the textbook into the class.

[Homer]

All good suggestions here ginger.

Twelve questions might be seen by some teachers as a bit much.

Also did you tell them who you are in the email (A person considering teaching at their school)?

Personally, I prefer the phone call to the email. It could have been easy to get their home numbers from your potential employer and/or recruiter(?). That way you get quicker feedback.

As for the boss looking over...that happens in some cases but it will harly happen with email unless the boss is physically chained to the computer at work (if the teacher(s) uses this computer of course) as soon as a waeguk gets on it.