Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kev7161]

Hi all,

This is my first post to the Korean job board (but have, literally, thousands over on the China forum!) and I'll certainly do some reading in my spare time but here's my thing:

I'm trying to land a gig for a summer school in Korea. I've never been there, the pay offers are generally around 3,000,000 won, and all that extra money would work out well right now. I've been in contact with a couple of different recruiting people and they don't seem overly helpful in telling me all the paperwork things I need in order to work for ONE FRIKKIN' MONTH in Korea. So, I went to the Korean embassy in Shanghai and got a list of what was needed for a C-4 visa. Granted, I can get my health check and my criminal background check in China (I was told I can) but I'm not going to bother with those things until I get a job offer and an invitation letter.

One person, after three positive sounding emails just stopped responding. He seemed VERY interested based on my resume and our email exchanges, then . . . nothing.

Another person was very much the same. Said I had a great resume and wanted to set me up for a phone interview. We arranged a time and I was home waiting for it and no phone call. I emailed to find out what happened, many apologies followed and asked if we could do it on the next night. Well, that was the afternoon I was going to Shanghai so I suggested the following night instead and . . . nothing. No confirmation or counter-suggestion. I emailed on my suggested night to find out what was going on and I got a response the next day saying the school they were representing was no longer interested!?! How I went from great resume and I was an excellent candidate to no-longer-interested is beyond me.

My emails are nothing but polite. They're not pushy or aggressive or anything. I ask questions to find out what I need to know about a possible job position so maybe that's the problem? They don't want you to know too much about the situation you'll be getting into?

It's just a summer gig, for crying out loud. A lot of hoop-jumping for 4 weeks. I understand the whole protect your citizens (children) from potential monsters and slackers but come on! I'm reading TONS of (longer term) job offers on Dave's and other websites but it seems like an awful lot of paperwork. Do they want foreign teachers or not? I guess for the salaries offered it might be worth it, but still. By the way, both summer camps would've wanted me to work 6 days a week, 9 to 5, about 7-8 classes per day. I figure I could handle that for one month but is that typical for full-time school year jobs? Geez!

So, if anyone has any leads or ideas or suggestions, I'm all ears! Thanks.

Kevin

[lifeinkorea]

[kev7161]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I really like my job in China. I'm the head teacher in our international department as well as Academic Director. I make quite the good salary + benefits (as well as overtime for anything beyond 35 hours per week) so I'm not looking to change jobs. I'm just wanting a summer gig for extra $$ and a chance to visit S. Korea where I've never been. I don't know that my job in China pays AS MUCH AS a job in Korea (from what I see) but my hours are great for me. I never work evenings or weekends and I'm often off work by 2 or 3 PM on the week[edit]days.

But with my qualifications and experience, I thought it would be easier to land a gig there. Perhaps summer camps are mostly hiring those that are already in country and I can accept that. I have a line up for a summer camp in China, but the salary will be easily half (or less!) of what I could make in S. Korea . . . but not so much in the way of hoop-jumping!

[lifeinkorea]

[kev7161]

Sure they match. Simple: I don't work here in the summers (July and August . . . oh yeah, and a whole month off for Chinese New Year/Spring Festival in mid-winter. That's when I go on holiday for REAL). I only get paid 1/2 salary in the summer months (for doing absolutely no work at all - I can live with that) so making some extra dollars during all that free time is always handy. I've never been to S. Korea. I can certainly afford to go and just visit for a week or so, but there's nothing wrong with also wanting a summer-time job, esp. when the pay is good. Evenings and Sundays are free for me to walk around and absorb the local culture wherever I may land. I'm not looking to climb mountains or go to the beach or visit the rural areas to soak up "real Korea". Just would like to get a taste of the place and say I've "been to Korea" and . . . if I DO want more, I can return in the future as a bonafide tourist and do all the REAL touristy things.

[kev7161]

Thank you, I edited my sentence to read:

I am often off by 2 or 3 PM on weekDAYS.