Korean Job Discussion Forums

[drdst122]

Hello all!

I have found this board through a friend and have been doing a lot of reading to get ready for my journey to South Korea. In all the reading I have done, I still have quite a few questions that I am hoping you guys could help me answer. I am sorry if these questions are blatantly obvious in advance.

I feel like I pretty much know everything I need to know about living in Korea and where I would like to be yet I still don't really know where to look to find a job. I have come across a plethora of sites that claim to have jobs, most likely big recruiting websites but I am extremely tentative in believing them. With all the horror stories and things, I want to make sure I go through a legitimate company or person.

I have been in contact with a guy named James through YBM-Gone2Korea-ECC. Not sure if this is a trustworthy company or not.

What I am looking for:

-Teach in Seoul
-Teach Middle School Age or Higher

Hopefully that can help. If anyone can help me be more comfortable with my search by suggesting how I go about the search for what I am looking for, I would greatly appreciate it!

Sincerely,
Derek

[PRagic]

Try sifting through the FAQs and doing a Dave's search through Google. This topic has been covered pretty much weekly for the past few years.

In a nutshell, here's what you do:

1. Pepper every recruiter out there with your resume and a description of the job/location that you want. Don't be rushed into a decision.

2. Post your resume and requirements up on some job boards.

3. It's a good idea to create a separate e-mail account to handle the good and bad commications that come your way.

And there you have it. Good luck to you.

[drdst122]

Thanks for your response!

I have read the FAQ quite extensively but most of the links and things seem to be outdated or not working.

Is doing a Google search of "Teaching English in Korea" and applying to the big websites that come up in search a safe way of looking?

What do you mean by doing a Dave's search through Google?

[the oak llama]

You should consider whether you are open to both public and private schools, or one over the other.

A recruiter will walk you through the ins and outs of the application process.

I haven't used all of these, but some that seem to have a good rep are:

footprints

korvia

worknplay

If you want to teach PUBLIC school in Seoul your best shot will be to apply to the SMOE through one of the above that is contracted to to so. Their site will tell you. You can start that process now. I don't know when SMOE interviews start or if they've already started.

If you go to the korvia website you will be able to look at the SMOE contract and the application form.

These three may do private schools as well, I am not certain. You should read up on private school experiences and look at the contract sticky in the Job-related Discussion forum.

Best first step would be to decide what kind of school you're willing to work in and then find a recruiter that is accessible and easy to work with.
There are plenty of them so don't feel obligated to one that is dodgy.

VERY IMPORTANT. If you decide you want to apply to SMOE, only do so through one recruiter. If you have multiple recruiters send in SMOE applications for you, it will be held against you. Which why I would stress finding a recruiter that you like first.

best of luck

[Mr. BlackCat]

Hi Derek,

I'm just going to warn you slightly about ECC. There's lots of posts and opinions on this board about the company. I worked for them my first year in Korea. Each branch is different, but from what I gather mine was relatively professional and by the book. I was paid on time and there was very little funny business (for Korea, anyway).

However, the pay was very low for the amount of work. Heck, the pay was very low just to show up, but I wanted to make sure I was with a 'safe' company my first year. But, really, it's alooooooooottttt of work. I was there 9-10 hours a day, bringing work home and at the office one or two weekends a month. Also, your 10 days of vacation will be spilt up and spread out, giving you random Tuesdays off and never really letting you actually take a vacation. Lots of unpaid Saturday BS. Schedule changes willy-nilly. And, most importantly, they will tell you anything to get you over here and then, whoops, some emergecy happens and you teach kindy for the whole year even though they guaranteed you wouldn't.

Research every position offered extensively and prioritize. If working for a safe company is very important to you so you can get your feet planted here, like it was for me, then ECC might work for you. But SMOE is probably a better bet if you can wait to come in September. If money is most important, then there are riskier opportunities out there (just make sure you're able to buy a ticket home at any time). Like everywhere else, but especially here, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. You might hear of people making 4.0 for 20 hours work on this board but I'd take it with a grain of salt. People like to exaggerate anonymously, the bad economy is shortening supply and hourly rates, and people who actually do make that much have been here a few years and have made contacts and connections you just can't have fresh off the boat (or plane).

Good luck.

[drdst122]

Thank you very much for your responses guys. They are extremely helpful.

When I first started this process, I think I sent my application to quite a few recruiting sites just looking to get a good idea and a possible contract. I really didn't know what I was doing but thought it was a tough cookie to crack and needed to apply to a bunch to get an offer.

I hope I haven't had my application sent in too many times.

I am really open to what I will do as long as it's in Seoul and the age of the students is middle school and up. I feel you're right about the ECC thing as they basically told me it's Kindy or bust.

I will read up about private vs. public. I really don't care as long as the pay is on par with the rest and they are fair.

Every little bit of information helps, thanks a lot!