Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chilsung]

I cannot believe so many teachers of late applying for jobs demanding in a cover letter that they deserve 2.2-2.5 million when applying for jobs that say 2 million. First of all it is bad ettiquette to demand anything before someone even offers you the job. I must tell you that your resume is no further looked at simply deleted.
The resumes that most of the current teachers applying are the most sub par examples I have witnessed in years. No wonder so many complain about not getting good jobs out there.
There are many reasons that you don't get the jobs. Firstly it is your resume and cover letter. What you do and say in an interview is crucial also but first have to make the cut. Most schools recieve an average of 100 resumes and only seriously look at 5. Most of you won't make it to a good school because your resume is poor, even if you seem to have the ability.
Here is a list of some dont's
First of all don't waste my time with objective: "I WANT A JOB IN KOREA" It is a waste of space and of course you want a job in Korea or you would not be applying for a job in Korea. Redundant and irrelevant.
Second the so called skills resume is such a poor way to go for the education field. If you are going into the private sector it is ok with some generic types of positions. If the job does not say that your duties include computers or any other office skills, we don't care. Only list relevant information that applies to the position.
Third, what do I care if you were a carpenter 5 years ago. When listing work experience, list only jobs that were relevant. Do not go into detail about your skills and duties unless it applies to the job. (waistes my time and I then just delete you).
Fourth write your resume and cover letter to each specific job applying for. If you have 3 years experience teaching in University, then why are you applying for a kindergarten position. I recently read a cover letter that stated this person was interested in teaching in Mexico. WHY APPLY TO A SCHOOL IN KOREA. Deleted.
When my name is on the add, do not write To Whom it may concern: I am a person and if you ignore me I delete you. Do not send me your resume on a list of 10 other schools. Let me think that I am your first choice.
Finally, just because you have 1.5 years teaching in Korea does not entitle you to an award ceremony. You are still a new teacher. Not totally inexperienced, but be honest how much better are you then you were 6 months ago. Also if you are experienced teaching Kindergarten and applying for a Uni position, you have no experience. You are begining an entirely different field. Singing "Jack's a Mechanic," does not prepare you to teach Literature and Writing courses.
If the job does not request that you have MA Tesol, or any of the other qualifications, then you will get paid the same as other teachers. Some jobs require you to have different abilities. But if your duties are the same as the other teachers in the school then you will get paid the same. Your qualifications get you in the door, but unless they are specific with the job then being overqualified doesn't help you. "10 years experience is good" but unless it was with my school, you are a new teacher.
For interviews, if you don't dress business casual or professional on some level, you will not get the job. Dirty jeans, Tshirt and an unkempt appearance makes a bad impression.
When on the interview, you should ask about the school. IE curriculum, students, level of abilities, any extra duties that are required. If you say that you are only willing to work 6 hours and never do anything extra, then I will find someone who is more than a paycheck chaser. This is a profession not a dead end job, like you had back home. You need to approach it with conviction and duty. If you are looking for a school that you can just float by, you will find it, but those schools also will cheat you and bend you over if they need to. A good and dependable school takes care of those who are committed.
I am not blaming you, just letting you know that there are skills needed just to get the job and most of you are not getting the right guidance.

[mishlert]

This is a good post as I'm sure there are teachers out there who need a wake up call. But unless you are ranting, you should think about proof reading; I saw countless grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes.
Again, the post is good and gives sound advice, but if part of that advice deals with writing, then you should make sure yours is up to par; the first draft is always from the top of your head, but then come the countless proof readings, and re-writes until you are confident enough with the final product to hand it in.
I know that you know all this, that is why I was a little confused when I saw the errors.

[steroidmaximus]

again, criticizing someone for their spelling mistakes. . .like I haven't seen that before. . . anyway, this person sounds like a director, not a teacher, so if she/he has a few spelling mistakes, what difference does it make?

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

The person is Korean so lay off them (re: spelling/grammar mistakes).

I'm sure he/she could make mince meat out of your Korean.

[rapier]

Chilsung i'm assuming you're a western recruiter- therefore you're undoubtedly very professional and choosy etc- which is good.
However a lot of teachers are used to working with korean recruiters/ schools, who don't know their RR's from their elbow. Not sure of the situation now, but a year or so back i could've written "pig farmer" on my resume and still scored a 2.0 job herding around little animals.

[Mankind]

[BTM]

Yow! Rantall McRantyPants in the house!

Although I do understand your frustration, I can't say I'm very sympathetic, if you're a recruiter (I don't know if you are or not - you don't seem to mention in what capacity you read so many job applications).

A recruiter in Korea ranting because their applicants are unprofessional is like a Nazi complaining about how Gypsies and Jews are mass-murderers.

Pot.Kettle.Black.

That may not be the case with Chilsung in particular, but if he paints all job-seekers with the same broad brush, it'd be fair to do the same to all recruiters, no?

Unless he's not a recruiter. In which case, never mind.

(Regardless, there are some good points in the rant. I'd think that it'd be easier to weed out the doofuses when they submit crap resumes/cover letters, though, making the whole process of finding someone decent to hire that much easier... )

[canuckistan]

Perhaps the "casualness" with which people can get a job here (no background/reference/educational checks) tends to trickle down to the application/interviewing process as well.

[captain kirk]

holier than thou Rantall McRantypants indeed. and highly condescending. for example, "this is a profession not a dead end job, like you had back home". do i hear the korean groupthink, 'you are here because you couldn't get a job back home'. to which one could counter, 'nobody else will come'. or, 'how do you know what kind of job i had back home?, boss McJob?'.

or how about, "10 years experience is good", but unless it was with my school you are a new teacher". ok, boss. i know nothing. continue softening up like this and i'll be perfectly tender and malleable, and lower my head while you rant, korean style.

but my favourite is this;
"If you are looking for a school that you can just float by, you will find it, but those schools also will cheat you and bend you over if they need to. a good and dependable school takes care of those who are committed". 'Commited' as in head down and hard at the rock pile with a sledge, more like. not a nerve left to raise an objection, flummoxed by pretention and bafflegab. if a school leaves you alone to do your job and doesn't demand the appearance of commitment, which in korea means being tied to a 'nothing is ever good enough' runaround intitiated and re-initiated and constantly revised 'spontaneously' by a middleman who cares more about korea than 'the foreigner' (whole original post reeks of 'you're all not worthy, so who do you think you are?')....then that school is going to 'bend you over if they need to?'. makes sense.

"a good and dependable school takes care of those who are committed". well, those of you with weak egos and who need taking care of please apply to be taken care of, if you are entitled and worthy.

and clean up your rooms

[chronicpride]

Yeah, enough with the proofreading posts/grammar critics already. Comments like that instantly cheapen your reply and often makes the reader overlook your valid points.

Personally, I think the resume advice is good for applying for jobs in the non-asian ESL market. Schools and recruiters place more value on picture/appearance than resume. If you don't look the part, then your glossy resume that you spent all night working on, isn't worth squat. That's the reality, not necessarily what I agree with or support.

One should focus on having a quality picture done. Perhaps even by a professional studio.

I had a teacher that sent me a great picture/resume. He had a collage jpeg of a headshot, plus a shot of him in a classroom environment with kids, and a full body shot of him in a suit with a bright smile.

If you can be innovative like this, rather than some of the other stuff that I see, like shoddy webcam shots, you will get a lot more attention than dressing up a resume.

[captain kirk]

oh, and the finale;
"I am not blaming you, but letting you know that there are skills needed just to get the job and most of you are not getting the right guidance". a passive aggressive piece of work meaning, perhaps, 'you are unskilled, i'm 'letting you know' you need skills just to get in the door you clumsy, big-footed, pampered and uneducated spoiled brats i'll soon whip into line, 'giving you' all the help you need(because you 'need help').

please allow me to be committed to your institution boss McRantypants!

[William Beckerson]

[William Beckerson]

[Saxiif]

What the origonal poster is missing is that if you're the right demographic its about as hard to get a hagwon job aiming for the ground. I didn't realize this when I wrote my first couple e-mails back when I was looking for a job but after a while it became pretty apparent that I could get job offers by writing "me young white american! here photo! gimme job!" And if that does the trick, there isn't that much of a point in being especially professional, especially if you're dealing with a person who you'll never talk to again once you get the job.

[OiGirl]

I think spelling and grammar is relevant in this post. if I am looking for a job and get a response that is poorly written and difficult to understand, I'm going to delete it as fast as you'd delete my resume. If you are a recruiter, I really can't trust your ability to communicate with me and to find me a job that is what you say it is. If you are an owner, I don't want to work for the owner of an English school without a decent grasp of English.

I have education, exerience, and ability in the field of English language education, and if you are not interested in offering me a higher salary than a recent graduate with a degree in an irrelevant area and six months of experience as an auto mechanic, well, then again, I'm not crying because I don't want a job that offers both of us the same non-negotiable salary. I don't want a job that hires unqualified, inexperienced teachers in any case.

You're not breaking any hearts here. You don't meet my requirements any more than I meet your magical requirements.

I'm not sure how working in Korea at any level is "a profession." I think it can possibly serve as one part of a career in English teaching, but I don't think that in and of itself it can be called a profession. For this reason, you are going to get a lot of barely qualified teachers. Improve the status of English language teaching in Korea and you might get better applicants to choose from.