Korean Job Discussion Forums

[adventure pidgey]

Hi,

A transparently newbie question, I know, but with the search function out of operation, I thought I'd go ahead and ask.

My wife & I are planning to come to Korea in the beginning of 2009--we know that the start of many contracts is in the beginning of March, but when's the best time to start looking for those jobs? Do the better offers get taken up earlier? If so, in what month(s)?

Given that we have time to plan, we'd like to make the most use of it.

Thanks in advance!

[Ya-ta Boy]

It depends on what kind of job you are looking for.

If you are going to look for a hakwon job, then any time of the year is good. Hakwons are especially busy during school vacation periods (June, July, August and Jan/Feb).

Public schools/universities start their semesters in March. If you are after one of those jobs, then you can begin looking around October when the schools begin to know about job openings. Typically, schools have a 60-day notification clause before the end of the term (late Dec.).

Are you going to use a recruiter? If so, send your application in late September or so and state that you are interested in a March beginning.

[ttompatz]

The best time to look for a job is when you have your documents in hand.

Until you have your actual degree parchment, sealed transcripts and criminal background checks in hand there is nothing anyone can do to secure your employment.

Once you have them, the employment process is quite fast (as short as 12 days) from offer to getting on the plane (for legal employment).

The bulk of the public school hiring happens during Jan and Feb for the March 2 start. There is another big recruitment drive in June/July for the end of August start as well. Public school foreign teacher allotment happens by lottery (fewer teachers than schools) and many schools do NOT get a FT during the main recruitment drives so there is an on-going recruitment for FTs during the whole year.

As was mentioned previously, hakwans hire year round. There are about 1000 jobs posted every month (and about 500 applicants to fill them).

There is no rush and no panic to make your choice. Take your time, find what you want.