Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Karea]

........having to go through a bloody recruiter???? Grrrrrr!

For first timers, are they absolutely necessary? It's only been a few weeks and already the situation is getting on my ***s.
It does seem a bit juvenile how I cant really have direct contact with the schools, it's all Mr X said this, Miss Y said that blah blah, and it seems to take ages just to relay something really simple.

Also, they seem a bit untrustworthy. One just keeps asking for the status of my documents and when I tell them the logical and best thing to do is to apply for jobs whilst I am waiting for my documents (as it's a mere formality) I get no response back.

Anyway, not wanting to rant further. Is it possible to find a job without going through a recruiter? All the job advertisements for teaching positions seem to all be posted by recruitment agencies. So I'm just wondering if there is a way to get in contact with schools directly?

Did any newbie to Korea manage to find their own job from their home Country. Or is the best way to do this to go to Korea as a tourist and then look whilst there??

So many questions..........

[some waygug-in]

It's getting harder and harder to find a job on your own.

I found my first job by just posting my resume on this site and then reviewing the offers until I found what I was looking for....it took me 6 months and in the mean time I was working in Mexico.

Every job since then, I've either gone through a recruiter or had some connections help me.

You can use recruiters to your advantage, don't let them pressure you into accepting anything until you've had a chance to check out the offers.

[Fat-Elvis]

When applying through recruiters, how easy is it to get stuff like contact information for previous teachers, pictures of the apartment you'll be living in, etc?

Also, are there any recruitment companies that are better than others? Any worth signing up for?

[andrewchon]

Assuming all your papers are legit and you meet the requirements and so on:
1. If you know someone in the business in Korea or
2. get contacted by a teacher looking for a quick replacement of him/herself or
3. come to Korea and hang around Itaewon or Hongdae bars and clubs
then you can bypass the recruiters.

If you are in E-2 visa catagory, you still have to do a visa run to a 3rd country. In my opinion, recruiter path is the least painful way. ( and the laziest) Be true to yourself O brave one.

[Karea]

One recruiter told me that "it's hard to find jobs now because of the recession". Are they just feeding me a load of bs because they spy a newbie for that job in the sticks they can't fill or is this true??

As I've been advised in another thread here that I shouldn't get pressured or rushed into taking a job I'm not 100% happy with as there are loads of them.

[some waygug-in]

Yes, the market is saturated with newbies right now, so the schools can be picky.

That doesn't mean you "should" take anything they offer tho.

[alphakennyone]

I wouldn't buy the "recession" bull. I found a job easily, and I'm horrible in an interview of any sort, even on the phone. Yes, jobs are hard to come by in our home countries. However, jobs in Korea, thanks to the exchange rate, are also much less financially rewarding than they were 2-3 years ago.

If you have trouble finding a job in Korea, try China. The pay is often higher there now (12,000 RMB is more than 2 million won currently) and the cost of living is often much lower, unless you choose to live in Shanghai and go to Western restaurants all the time - then it can be the same or more as Seoul. The only reason I'm headed to Korea is to try out the public school system and see if it's any better. If not, I'll be working at a "hagwon" in China.

[some waygug-in]

It's not better, I can guarantee you that much.

[alphakennyone]

Then I guess I'll be looking for jobs in China while I'm in Korea

[Justsurfin12]

You might want to check which recruiter you're using...

I'm currently using Gone2Korea and have been really happy so far... they got my resume and within the first week had an appointment set up for me to interview with a private school... they've heard back from the school after the interview, and have basically told me-- you did well, so we expect an job offer/contract in the next couple of days.

I also spoke with Rowan at ESLPlanet. He seemed very professional, etc. and seems to really push public schools...

If you do a quick search here (which is what I did) you'll quickly find a few recruiters that consistently get high reviews...

[PeterDragon]

Nobody has yet mentioned the most obvious way to get around recruiters: Pick carefully through job classifieds for schools, companies or local school districts that are advertising directly without using a recruiter. Admittedly, this can be time consuming, but the only person you could hire to do that work for you would be... a recruiter.

I can also tell you from experience that when a recruiter seems to be advertising mostly individual positions, rather than making sweeping claims about GREAT JOBS REPUTABLE HAGWON AND SOME PUBLIC!!!$$!! , applying for said specific positions is almost as smooth and seamless as having no middleman at all.

[Johnysuth]

[Oreovictim]