Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tycho Brahe]

So i have my first interview with a school tomorrow.

Any idea what I should expect?

I have no english-teaching experience. I have taught undergrad philosophy classes/tutorials.
Up 'til now I've worked in admin or editorial jobs

Would they quiz me on college related stuff?
I have studied alot of linguistics but .... its not like string theory and maths for 4-8 year olds have much of a relationship ....

[kirsi]

Describe your personality is the question I get the most...

I think they care less about what you say, and more about how you say it (clearly, no strange accent, etc.).

But I am guessing you will probably have more than one interview, so you'll get plenty of practice prolly

[Tycho Brahe]

thanks.

any more commonly asked questions would be really helpful

[Kikomom]

Can you tell us what kind of job you'll be interviewing for? Hagwon or PS?

Zippy told me that his interviews with hagwons made him feel like HE was the one doing the interview, so get your list of questions for them ready. Ask if there is a current teacher that you can contact. And take notes to go back to later when you're narrowing down your choices.

[Tycho Brahe]

hagwon.

they have one other native speaker out of a staff of 8 at the moment.

[kirsi]

Yeah, I realized I needed to be better prepared with questions to ask them. I have a short list (anyone else have good questions to ask?).. I think it is better to ask the school people stuff about the school and then if you want to know about the apartment, a former teacher's email address, etc. then it is better to ask the recruiter.

Questions for schools:

What are the lessons like / is there a set curriculum / what will I teach from?
How many students in the classes?
Level of English
What kind of training is there?
Age of students

[Justsurfin12]

I posted this somewhere before, but this is the email I got from my recruiter giving me tips on interviewing:

[Tycho Brahe]

so the school didn't bother calling this morning.


Thanks anyway for all the advice.

this thread might be real helpful for other people though

[Theo]

[Tycho Brahe]

A recruiter, who I've already emailed saying that I'll still be available at x times next week.

Kind of annoyed I wasted a friday night for the sake of being sober the next morning but oh well ...

[Theo]

This disappointing episode is only the first, I'm afraid, in a likely string of disappointments and frustrations. Things in Korea don't always operate according to the professional standards and procedures of one's home country -- to put it mildly.

Good luck, TB!

[Tycho Brahe]

thanks theo, and everyone else.


I figured out one golden rule for interview preperation all by myself.

Be very very up front about what time suits you. I just got off the phone with what seemed like a lovely man who was very interested in my area of study. He was even asking me about my masters thesis (trying to explain that was hilarious) and my undergrad work... and trying to convince me that life in Busan is really nice because they have western food like KFC!!!!

which was all very pleasant except it's 2:45 am here in dublin

[Karea]

[SFValley]

[tanklor1]

I often interview people for positions and there are a few things that I look for in general.


What doesn't fly.
"I want to see the world and experince a different cultre"
What it tells me.
You want to travel on someone elses dime.
What doesn't fly.
"I want to spend a year abroad before I go to grad school."
What it tells me.
You want a "gap" year....ohh....I thought you wanted a job with, you know, actual job-like work, silly me.
What doesn't fly.
"I have a friend teaching English over there."
What it tells me.
My friends having a blast earning money and drinking their azz off on the weekends and I want to join them.

What does work:
"I'm looking for a job right now and I can't find one at home."
Why it works
It's the turth for a lot of us and I'd respect anyone who said that.

What does work
"I did (X) volunteer work dealing with (languages/immigrants) in my (Community/school)
Why it works.
It tells me that you've been in this field for a while and you have some prior experince in the topic. It ain't much but it's a seed that could be grown.

What does work.
Having a working knowledge of another language besides your native tounge. It doesn't have to be an Asian language but if you can carry on a three minute conversation in two languages then you're one step closer to getting the job.
Why it works.
If you took the time to learn a second langauge then you already have 30% of the battle completed becuase you know what you have to go through to learn another language and what it takes to get there.

When it comes to asking questions I always have a stock list of questions that I look for.

things not to ask about.

Money (you know that you're going to get paid, you are not going to win any points with me if you ask about money)
Nightlife (Don't ask about the nightlife, honestly, what kind of impression do you think that leaves?)

Things TO ask about. (in this order)

1. How old is the school?
2. How many native teachers are on staff?
3. How many students are there per class?
4. What are the ages of students?
5. How long are classes?
6. Will I have a co-teacher, if so, will they be in class with me?
7. How is the school strcutured?
8. What is the grading process?
9. What is the city like?
10. How big is the expact community?
11. Can I have the e-mail adress of a different or former teacher?

Noticed what I did with the questions. There is nothing there outside of the job and the things that would affect me to do the job. Honest to God it never ceases to surprise me whenever I run into an expact who said. "Well, I came here on the spur of the moment" I often just let out a deep sigh and leave them to live in their psudoworld. Honestly, I have the mentailty of "I'm here to work" so anyone that I select to come over better be on my wavelength. I have little tollerance for people who are living here but treating the job as a secondary purpose. Without these jobs you wouldn't be here plain and simple.