Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bama]

Hello, all:
I would like to come to Korea in mid August to teach English, and I have read many posts here that advise not going through a recruiter. Perhaps I sound naive, but could anyone give me tips on finding a job in Busan? I prefer not to work with a public school, and I have no preference on age groups. Also, is it possible to teach other subjects in English? I have taught math at the university level, so I do have some teaching experience. Any helpful responses are much appreciated! Thank you!

[icicle]

It is difficult to get a job from outside of Korea without going through a recruiter ... And going through a recruiter is not necessarily a bad thing ... The main thing really is the recognise that the role of the recruiter in this process is that he is employed and paid by the school to find a new employee ... So that they are primarily trying to make the school happy and meet the needs of the school by giving them a teacher ... They are not primarily there to find you a job that you like ... So regardless of whether you go through a recruiter or not you need to do your own research and ask your own questions to confirm that the job you are offered is the job which meets your requirements ...

What I have done both times I have been looking for a job here is the contact a range of recruiters with my resume and any specific requirements I have ... For example this time I really wanted a job in Seoul ... which was not in a public school ... was within 30 minutes travel of a couple of places ... and was teaching kindy/elementary ... I got a range of different responses ... rejected the ones which did not give what I had asked for ... and accepted the one I liked the most ...

One benefit from an approach like that is that you can get a good feel for what sorts of jobs are being offered ... and deciding on what you want .. what is most important for you ... And different things are important for different people ...

Icicle

[Zaria32]

I had NO difficulty getting a job from outside Korea without a recruiter. I put my resume on this site and responded to 3 or 4 ads on this site. I had
81 calls and emails from South Korea in the first 48 hours.

I narrowed it down to about 5 possibilities (I didn't want a huge city) and eventually, after 4 or 5 emails, and perhaps 5 phone calls, chose a hogwon in Andong where I was the first and only teacher. It turned out to have been a very good decision.

Oh, and I was 61 years old at the time...so I fell into the category that a lot of people think makes it very hard to find a job.