Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Starla]

So I interviewed with six schools so far. Two pulled away their offers because the foreign teacher changed their minds about resigning two because I wasn't willing to start soon enough (unable to is more like it though), one I forgot why and the last, offered the position to me with the contract, photos of the school, etc.

Well, they offered all this to me before I could speak to a foreign teacher which they said they would let me do after the interview. I then got an email address for a foreign teacher which didn't work after I tried several times so I asked my recruiter to please find out if there's another email address I could try. She said the school is on vacation and she didn't want to bother the teacher and director. So I waited from Tuesday through Saturday during which I tried emailing the teacher once more and it worked. Mind you, this was a hotmail account so I'm sure the foreign teacher had access to it from home and I'm guessing was instructed not to reply to the email without showing it to the school director or coordinator first. I told my recruiter that I emailed him and she said she contacted the school to let them know that on Sunday night.

Well, the email was not replied to a day later and I was about to call the school to see if the teacher was available to speak to only to be told by my recruiter right before I called that the position was not available because I took too long to decide and another teacher already accepted the position. Well, that's nice considering I was ready to sign the contract had the foreign teacher uttered a word to me by email.

I'm having this problem lately where I do the interview, they like me and I email the foreign teacher only to be told the position is no longer available along with some excuse. I make sure not to ask questions that would make me sound suspicious but seriously, I don't want to be stuck with a nightmare of a job so I won't accept an offer without asking some questions of the foreign teachre that would reveal the nature of the job and school to me. It seems like some schools have an issue with that because this is when things seem to fall apart for me. Is this normal and how would you recommend going around it? I had plans to be in Korea in late August but I doubt that's going to happen now.

[Bigfeet]

That's why I was only interested in working at a public school. I won't work at a hagwon until I've had a chance to see them in person.

[Tobias]

Things to look for when checking out a school:

1. Check the blacklist and see if the school is listed. Even if a school is on it, however, this doesn't mean you should avoid it like the black death. And the reverse is true as well...if a school isn't on it, that doesn't mean it's cherry. The blacklist simply gives a starting point.

2. Check the outfit's turnover. You can simply ask the recruiter how often he or she places people at the gig. If the recruiter is 'like family' at an outift, you need to walk away from the deal. He stays too busy placing teachers at that employer. Not good.

You can also make inferences. Schools that replace people in midstream (halfway through terms) should set up red flags. Are they replacing teachers because those teachers ran?

Schools that must replace many teachers at the end of a term also set up red flags. Sensible people don't leave GOOD jobs. When given the choice, most will stay on and re-sign at a good outfit. They, because they are sensible, will leave a rotten apple.

You can also watch Dave's job forum for names that keep popping up in the 'help wanted' section. Schools that advertise a lot are bad news. Their turnover rates are so high they become flower pots on the help-wanted-ad page. Replace a quitter today, BE a quitter tomorrow, my friend.

3. Avoid schools who are in a rush to replace somebody who has suddenly quit. No sensible teacher will leave a gig in midstream unless there's a damn good reason. Usually this reason is "the school sucks". Emphasis on USUALLY. Sure, sometimes one has to quit because of a death in the family. But how often does this happen when compared to how often folks leave schools because those outfits simply suck?

4. Understand a recruiter is biased and will try to polish a turd. They will also try to land naive people who may be a tad desperate. Desperate people or those who are naive will more often stick with a bad outfit. And when a teacher completes his or her obligation, the recruiter gets the bonus. Naturally, a recruiter will want to place a person he thinks will have the best chance of completing his or her contract. A recruiter who is able to make this call is a recruiter who knows the truth about a gig. And just the fact a recruiter has to make this call means you need to walk away.

From your post, I'd say those outfits you mentioned whose teachers decided to stay on may be worth checking into again sometime down the road. Teachers will eventually leave good jobs after all...just not nearly as frequently as they will leave bad jobs.

If you're patient and avoid rushing into a job, and you use your noodle when looking, you'll probably avoid the spider webs. And spider webs are everywhere in this business. This is a job for marginalized folk with no connections, after all.

[Toon Army]

well despite it being frustrating I think you`re doing the right things at least by asking to speak to previous/current teachers before accepting anything. As you probably know, if a hagwon is trying to make excuses for not giving email addresses/speaking to teachers that`s a big red flag in my book and most here would probably agree

[Fresh Prince]

[Illysook]

I'm frustrated too. I finally signed a contract and I feel like I've jumped off of a cliff. Has anyone heard of NALA Language school in Yonsin?

[Tobias]

Come on. Tell me you didn't sign with NALA in Yonsin? The absolute WORST outfit in Korea?

Gotcha. Just kiddin'.

If you've done your work and know what the outfit is like, you should be fine. If you've blindly walked in while being led by a biased recruiter, well....

[Illysook]

Well, if you are going to move to the other side of the world, can you ever know enough? At some point you just have to hold your nose and jump in the pool. I do have a friend who lives nearby and teaches at a university, so even if it's bad, I'll be alright.

[Starla]

[matthews_world]

First thing that came to my mind was do you have any strange accent?

[Starla]

[ontheway]

Here's another possibility, not for you, because, well, we don't know you, but ...

Very often a school will interview a teacher, everything seems OK, but then when they see the teacher's picture, the school will decide that the person doesn't "look right" for the job.

[Join Me]

[Starla]

[sarahbeara_413]

Hey Starla, i'm actually in the same boat as you right now. I'm looking for a job in Busan and i've contacted some recruiters and even interviewed with one school that liked me but she won't give my recruiter a straight answer with regard to an offer. I was told by another recruiter that there's been a jump in applications for Busan for whatever reason so i've just been waiting it out to see if anything comes up. If I don't find anything in Busan in the next few weeks I think i'll look into working on Seoul.

Have you tried ESL-Planet for a job in Seoul? They had a hard time finding a school in Busan but had plenty in Seoul. If you send me a private message I can send you the contact info for the girl I worked with over there. I really liked them, they didn't seem to be full of crap and were really helpful.

Good luck with your search.

P.S. If anyone knows of any decent openings in Busan, let me know, thanks!!!