Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aristotle84]

i am fielding a variety of offers from different hagwans. Specifically I have so far been offered 5 contracts in my two-week search for a teaching job. They range from YES Youngdo, e-bo-young talking club, SLP, and CDI.

Yet, every time I have posted up each contract on the sticky they get absolutely torn apart by grotto, alabamaman, ttompatz. I am realizing that it is VERY difficult to get a good contract.

What does it take? The schools have all scoffed at me for professionally and politely asking them to make changes to the contract. They just say I am asking for too much. So how is it that some teachers can get the contracts they want?

- YES Youngdo is full of crap, they make you do 2 hours of required prep each day, plus there's REQUIRED OT (10 hour working day) during intensive sessions, this applies to everyone in all YES schools. Some girl who worked there told me that she found YES Youngdo to be the best of the hagwans where she worked...

- e-bo young talking club seems to be the best so far in terms of hours, but they have a less than scrupulous reputation for their $hitty teaching materials.

- CDI works their employees like a DOG, i have spoken to someone first hand who worked there

- SLP = slave labor program, according to everyone

ALL of the above hagwans want their employees to work at least 8 hours a day. Everybody on this forum says that the good hagwans only make them work 6 a day. Where the heck do they get this? Where? I would really like to know as I have not found ANY thus far where the teaching hours are 6 a day.

The majority of hagwans listed on Dave's job board have working hours like 10am-6pm, some 2pm-10pm, some even 9am-7:30pm!!!

To sum it up, which hagwans offer good, legitimate contracts straight up without the candidate having to negotiate? Is there such a thing?

Although I find it frustrating that I am turning down these offers, I am keeping my hopes up. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

[ttompatz]

[princess]

I know what you mean. I have four years of experience in Korea, and I've been searching for a new school for 7 months now. I've been using recruiters, 1 which never responded to me, 1 responded saying they would find me a job with my preferences and never answered again, and one only tried to set me up with crap. They tried to set me up with SLP and an ECC that wanted me to come in 5 days without even showing me a contract. I turned down some other not so swell places, including one with those horrible 9-8:30 hours.

[Grotto]

You need patience.

You need to know what you want, where you want to be, how much you want to work and how much you want to be paid.

You need to stick to your guns because recruiters will try to sell you to the highest bidder and have no qualms about screwing you over.

You will never find a 'perfect' contract in Korea but you can keep yourself from being screwed over by signing a crap one by following some basic guidelines.

Get a set schedule. You want to know how long you are going to be at the school. If they want you to work outside of that schedule they can pay you OT for it....they make extra money when they schedule different hours...why shouldnt you?

You also want to know how many classes a day(each day and how long those classes are)

You should push for 5 sick days a year and dont settle for less than 3

Single accomodations
Fully furnished
minimum 10 days vacation per year + all national holidays and weekends
roundtrip airfare
provided curriculum....they often put curriculum development into contracts which doesnt belong there but its not a deal breaker.....they put alot of crap in contracts that doesnt belong there!

[Unposter]

First, are you in country? If you are here, it is much easier to negotiate a contract. If you are back home sitting around waiting for an agent to do the hardwork of getting you "the" contract, you may be waiting around a long time.

If you are in country, start walking into schools and negotiate yourself.

Second, I would suggest trying the lesser name schools. The big franchises get lots of teachers coming and going. They have little incentive to give you "the" contract unless you have a track record of bringing in big business.

On the other hand, the smaller hakwons are less stable. And, if you have "the" contract, it is going to be that much harder for them to make a profit.

It is a tough balance.

But, please don't get discouraged. If there is one thing I have learned in Korea, it is that stranger things have been known to happen and it usually does. Just when you least expect it...something happens.

Grotto gives good advice. If you really want it, you have to be patient. Maybe the real question is do you really want it?

If you really want to make money, you might want to consider a bonus system for bringing in large revenue into the hakwon. When it comes to hakwons, think less of I am a teacher and more of I am a salesperson. Sad but true.

[manlyboy]

Sounds like you'd be much happier in a public school.

[jinju]

How to get a good contract? Dont apply for hagwon jobs. Its that easy.

[soviet_man]

[aristotle84]

thanks for the input everybody, it is much appreciated

[jlb]

My hours, as stated by my contract are either 2:30-8:30 or 3:30-9:30, with one hour prep time. I've been laying low and coming in only 30-45 minutes early and no one has said anything about it. So the positions are out there! Keep looking. My school is not part of a chain.

[PRagic]

Hammer out your pay, your work hours, and your accomodations, but be cordial about it. Contracts here are the start of a relationship, and you gain 'face' by being flexible. It's hierarchal, so 'flexible' usually means biting it for the team (translate: the boss). Keep your contract next to the john just in case you run out of paper. If you make it through the year (or two), dust it off if you need it to go to the labour board for something. Believe me, if you throw the contract up in their face, no matter your perception of right or wrong, you're going to look the fool.

Cheers and good luck. It's an experience.

[Homer]

What Tom said is dead on.

I would ad:

Know your worth on the market here. That means don't accept lower pay than what your qualifications warrant but also don't expect conditions that are above your experience and qualification package!

It does go two ways.

Contracts here are a guideline, not a hard set of rules. Your guiding factor has to be the teachers at the school and if possible former teachers. They can tell you the day-to-day conditions at the school.

By all means get a contract that is as clear as possible but understand that a contract is there to define your job and responsibilities and your employers duties and responsabilities. A contract is also supposed to protect (financially for example) both parties (you and the school).

If you are a complete newbie (B.A. in a non-ESL field and no experience) then you will have access to newbie positions (more akin to entry-level).

This gives you a proper scale of comparison.

Soviet man makes a good point about not writing off schools too fast based on basic rumours or vague information you may get here! Check for yourself...talk to teachers!

The decent positions are out there.

[MollyBloom]

You should definitely contact Park English recruiters. They have really helped my boyfriend and I get a great job. We also revised the contract about 3 times, and got everything we wanted. If you search them on this site, you'll see other good stuff about the company.